Posted on 09/18/2004 12:14:57 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
WASHINGTON: Ahead of a meeting between the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W Bush next week, Washington has agreed to lift export controls on equipment for nuclear facilities to India and liberalise high-tech trade, including those related to space science.
US export licensing policies will be eased to foster cooperation in commercial space programmes and certain exports to power plants at safeguarded nuclear facilities, a joint statement titled 'The Next Steps in Strategic Partnership between India and the United States' said on Friday.
The first phase of this partnership was concluded yesterday following two-days of intensive talks between External Affairs Secretary Shyam Saran and senior US officials in Washington. The joint statement described the agreement as "major progress." "The United States and India announced on Saturday major progress in the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) initiative. Implementation of the NSSP will lead to significant economic benefit for both countries and improve regional and global security," it said.
Probably about time we admitted it and helped them make sure they don't have a melt down. ;-)
(For those of you who wanna know... that was a joke.)
I hope this means that the peace with Pakistan is getting more solid. Ideally, Pakistan would give up its nukes and actually depend on India for strategic defense, at least until the threat of Islamism has been neutralized for a couple of hundred years.
Statement by the President
January 12, 2004
Next Steps in Strategic Partnership with India
Released by the White House Office of the Press Secretary
In November 2001, Prime Minister Vajpayee and I committed our countries to a strategic partnership. Since then, our two countries have strengthened bilateral cooperation significantly in several areas. Today we announce the next steps in implementing our shared vision.
The United States and India agree to expand cooperation in three specific areas: civilian nuclear activities, civilian space programs, and high-technology trade. In addition, we agree to expand our dialogue on missile defense. Cooperation in these areas will deepen the ties of commerce and friendship between our two nations, and will increase stability in Asia and beyond.
The proposed cooperation will progress through a series of reciprocal steps that will build on each other. It will include expanded engagement on nuclear regulatory and safety issues and missile defense, ways to enhance cooperation in peaceful uses of space technology, and steps to create the appropriate environment for successful high technology commerce. In order to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, relevant laws, regulations and procedures will be strengthened, and measures to increase bilateral and international cooperation in this area will be employed. These cooperative efforts will be undertaken in accordance with our respective national laws and international obligations.
The expanded cooperation launched today is an important milestone in transforming the relationship between the United States and India. That relationship is based increasingly on common values and common interests. We are working together to promote global peace and prosperity. We are partners in the war on terrorism and we are partners in controlling the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them.
The vision of U.S.-India strategic partnership that Prime Minister Vajpayee and I share is now becoming a reality.
It is hard to square all the circles involved with China, Pakistan, and India. India is the natural enemy of the other two. We proclaim one as our foremost trading partner while the other is our closest ally in the war on terror.
I always wondered the US position if Pakistan never played ball. The timing on the Gen. Musharraf coup was perfect.
Well Pakistan never got it's nukes for the sake of the Indian threat,it had that plan in mind way before India tested it's 1st nuke in 1974.Jinnah reportedly said somethingin jail after India's test that goes like-"Now the Christian,Hindu & Jewish civilisations have the bomb.Only the Islamic civilisation does'nt.We vow to eat grass for a 100 years to build the bomb"-the Saudis & Libyans funded most of Pakistan's early nuke development,while the Chinese provided the blueprints(to keep India tied down).the Arab-Paki cooperation hightened highly in 80s(during the Soviet war in Afghanistan) that it had the Israelis worried.They reportedly planned a joint strike ala Osiraq with the Indian airforce,but Indira Gandhi backed out citing international pressure(read Arab & American).So even if India has a peace settlement with the Pakis(being an Indian I can say it is close to impossible),they won't give up their nukes-theirs is the "Islamic" bomb,something most Pakis are proud of .Most folks on here think that Iran will have the Islamic bomb,but the Shiites are the minority in Islam,so Pakistan's bomb is a symbol for the majority Sunnis(weird logic,isn't it??).If you do a google search on "Paki-Saudi nuclear cooperation" you will come across reports of a supposed agreement between them allowing Pakistan to base nuclear missiles in Saudi Arabia(giving the Saudis nuke deterrence against Israel) & Pakistan free oil & a solid second strike capability against India(something they don't have).
If the US didnt ease export controls,the French,Canadians & Russians would have got a free run in the Indian nuclear market(which will grow significantly over the the next few decades as energy consumption increases).
I didn't suggest they would volunteer to do this. And I'm still serious about it.
If Pakistan's current socio-political dynamics are altered ,I think your idea can work.For that the Mullahs & the army have to be fully defanged,the ethnic problems in places like Baluchistan,Gilgit-Baltistan(in Pakistan occupied Kashmir) & Sindh have to be dealt with & (the unofficially acknowledge) hatred for India has to stop-in short,Pakistan in it's current avtar has to be totally revamped.That would require a real bloody civil war,American military intervention or an Indian invasion(you would also have to factor in China in that case) & subsequent reintegration into the Indian union(something I pray doesn't happen for another 30 years).
Pakistan,like Saudi Arabia(only place in the world named after a family) was a flawed idea from the start & as we see in both nations, we understand why.
Of course human nature is to wait until the worst possible thing has happened before taking drastic action that is required. We may have to learn of a rogue Pakistani nuke by direct methods before we realize that the Islamic bomb should never have existed let alone be tolerated.
Whatever the case, I hope that India and the United States continues to recognize increasing common ground. The democratic future of the planet depends on our two nations cooperating against terrorism, communism, and the emerging Chinese fascism. The latter is the real threat beyond terrorism. With a weakened west, recovering from sporadic WMD blows to its population centers and economy, China would be able to encroach much further with its Pacific rim and South American influence.
Ever wondered why Israel became India's second largest arms supplier in under 6 years???Why they supply everything from long range UAVS to cruise missile systems to long range early warning radars for missile defence???They see Pakistan as a latent threat,which can blow up any day & the only way they can keep Pakistan on it's toes is to tie up with India.Any "solution" to the Paki problem has to entail India,any other way just won't work in the long term-the Israelis have recognised it more than you think.Any instability in Pakistan is the last thing India needs-we have lost over 60,000 lives to those bastards & seen Hindu extremism rise up in response(making life not exactly comfortable for a Christian like me).
There are a few things that keep Pakistan together-the army ,the mullahs ,Arab money & Chinese weaponry & the occassional American aid grant.the Army & mullahs are kept together by hatred for India(being an Indian,i can vouch for that,try reading some of their websites).Zia Ul Haq ,started the process of radicalisation in Pakistan in 80s at the time of the Afghan -Soviet war.He 'islamised' the army(stopped sending officers to train in Britain,stopped playing Polo etc) & gave big incentives to Islamic groups ,which have mutated into the terror groups.The Mullahs & the generals feed off each other-the Mullahs have kept the generals in power,by not instigating the people & the Generals have obliged by giving the Mullahs & their ideology free reign over Kashmir & Afghanistani terror.Hate to be cynical,but Musharraf's steps to counter the Mullahs have been feeble(though u cannot blame him for that)-if he takes on the Mullahs,he risks a civil war,if he takes on the army & ISI.......
You have to factor China into the Pakistani equation to get even a semi-solid clue of the complexity of the mess here.China has been Pakistan's pre eminent ally for nearly 50 years-more than 60% of all Paki weapons & their nukes & missiles are of Chinese origin.Pakistan has bled India & enabled China to remain unchallenged on it's soft underbelly,Tibet(they do the same to Japan with North Korea).Do you honestly think that Beijing will allow Washington or anyone to defang Islamabad??If Pakistan loses it's current status-India would increase in clout & more importantly Islamic radicals in Zinjiang province & elsewhere will cut loose(Pakistan has helped China in crushing Islamic rebels).For solid evidence of the trust that China still has in Islamabad,look at the port that they are building on Pakistan's Makran coast (near Iran)-it will give Pakistan a buffer against the threat of an Indian attack on Karachi & grant Chinese shipping,naval or commercial a launching pad into the middle east.
It's not too late for us -- yet.
In any case, your points are well-taken, and all of your posts on this thread are worth reading. But America is on the march. The world order established before 1991 is now officially dead. The hopes anyone had that the great powers would retreat into their corners while globalism replaced cold war confrontations were crushed by the falling weight of the WTC. Some of us realize that this is all about Chinese strategy and Saudi financing.
You may have to endure some setbacks while we rankle among ourselves about what to do next. But it's clear to me that anything which sets China back strategically is good for the west, and good for global democracy.
As far as most people see it,the real thugs in Saudi Arabia & Pakistan & elsewhere haven't suffered a scratch & will not as long sleazy economics dominates the foreign policy of all major powers be it the US,EU,Russia or even India.If Iran was attacked before Iraq,honestly the world would have been much safer.Now they are on the verge of going nuclear-the American involvement in Iraq has given them an unimaginable grace period of over an year!!!-just my humble opinion,i know a lot of folks on here will disagree.
I wrote earlier "Jinnah reportedly said something "-it's not Jinnah who made that statement(the bloke died in 1948!!!),but Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto,who got arrested & executed by Zia Ul Haq.Error is regretted!!!!
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