India, US seal nuclear cooperation pact: TV

Reuters ^ | Mar 2, 2006 1:56 AM ET | Reuters

[indcons]

[MJY1288]

Great News tonight, really great news

[Just A Nobody]

May God bless America and India - partners in peace and progress.

Yes!

[DollyCali]

Yes, I am glad I am up on one of my rather rare late night marathons of sorts.

[DollyCali]

BIG CHUCKLE

[parisa]

This is amazing, historical, GREAT NEWS! Good for India, good for US, trouble for mollas of Iran.

[indcons]

Some useful background information: Hearing on U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative
(R. Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs, addressed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on November 2, 2005)

[MJY1288]

Drudge still has the Headline that Bush was Warned about Katrina... What a load of crap... It was Bush who declared the entire area a disaster area 2 days before Katrina came ashore so that the local officials could initiate their disaster plans that they failed to implement. But some how Katrina is Bush's fault!!! We live in an age where our MSM is an organization the Soviet Union dreamed they could have had during the Cold War.

Mark my words, a Backlash is coming for these traitorous bastards in the MSM sooner than they think

[DollyCali]

those with more political savvy than me.. Before this agreement/visit, were we NOT closer with the Pakistani govt than the Indian? I am not the mental giant politically at FR but am trying to learn!

[MJY1288]

Well I'm off to bed, The alarm rings in 3 hours and my arse will be dragging in the AM

[indcons]

Howdy, Justanobody....good to see you again.

This agreement is historic mainly because it succeeded against the Cold War mentalities of some bureaucrats and the leftist press in both countries.

I'll be very interested in seeing how the treachrous MSM covers this historical event. Will there be ANY positive coverage by the MSM? Or will we see stories on "Katrina/Bush Fault" instead? (Unfortunately, I think it'll be the second scenario).

[DollyCali]

oh dear.. pay day for you also!!!

*wink*

[iPod Shuffle]

MSM doesn't care about this historic agreement. Not just because it is a clear win for Bush (and India and America), but because the story isn't "sexy"

[iPod Shuffle]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/print?id=1677864

U.S., India Reach Agreement on Nuke Deal
U.S., India Reach Agreement on Landmark Civil Nuclear Deal During Bush Visit
By DEB RIECHMANN
The Associated Press

NEW DELHI, India - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush announced Thursday their nations have reached agreement on a landmark nuclear deal, a coup for Bush's first visit to India.

"We have reached an understanding on the implementation of our agreement on civil nuclear cooperation," Singh said during a joint appearance by the two leaders. "I have conveyed to the president that India has finalized the identification of civilian facilities to which we had committed."

Under the accord, the United States would share American nuclear know-how and fuel with India to help power its fast-growing economy, even though India won't sign the international nonproliferation treaty. It would represent a major shift in policy for the United States, which imposed temporary sanctions on India in 1998 after it conducted nuclear tests.

"We concluded an historic agreement today on nuclear power," Bush said. "It's not an easy job for the prime minister to achieve this agreement. I understand. It's not easy for the American president to achieve this agreement."

Bush, mindful of opposition among some in the U.S. Congress to such a deal, called it "a necessary agreement."

"It's one that will help both our peoples," he said. "Again, I applaud you for your courage and your leadership."

[indcons]

The prior ties between the USA and India were governed by Cold War necessities. Things have changed a lot in the last 5+ years in which Pres. Bush has been in power. PM Manmohan Singh (the Indian Prime Minister) credited the upswing in US-India ties to Pres. Bush.

An excellent source for an analysis of the new horizons in the US-India partnership is this transcript from a hearing on "U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative." Here are a few interesting excerpts from this hearing:

"President Bush’s desire to transform relations with India is based on his conviction that, as he has said, "This century will see democratic India’s arrival as a force in the world." We believe it is in our national interest to develop a strong, forward-looking relationship with India as the political and economic focus of the global system shifts toward Asia. We know that many in Congress embrace this view. And the time is right. The Cold War, when India was the ultimate non-aligned nation and the United States the ultimate aligned nation, is long past. It is time to shift our U.S.-India relationship to a new, strategic partnership for the decades ahead.

India is a rising global power with a rapidly growing economy. Within the first quarter of this century, it is likely to be included among the world’s five largest economies. It will soon be the world’s most populous nation, and it has a demographic distribution that bequeaths it a huge, skilled and youthful workforce. India’s military forces will continue to be large, capable and increasingly sophisticated. Just like our own, the Indian military remains strongly committed to the principle of civilian control. Above all else, we know what kind of country India will be decades from now. Like the United States, India will thrive as a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual democracy, characterized by individual freedom, rule of law and a constitutional government that owes its power to free and fair elections.
[...]
In addition to aligning ourselves with a country that shares our democratic values and commitment to a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society, developing civil nuclear cooperation with India will bring concrete benefits to the U.S. and to the international community more broadly. Under Secretary Joseph will address this initiative in detail, but let me outline here some of the key reasons why we believe this initiative makes excellent sense:

Security Benefits: All the steps that India pledged on July 18 strengthen the international nonproliferation regime, and all align with our efforts to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction. India’s September vote in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that found Iran in noncompliance with its nuclear obligations reflects India’s coming of age as a responsible state in the global nonproliferation mainstream.

Environmental Benefits: Nuclear energy is one of the few proven sources of energy that does not emit greenhouse gases, and thus can help India modernize in an environmentally friendly manner that does not damage our common atmosphere and contribute to global warming.

Commercial Benefits: As a result of our involvement in India’s civil nuclear industry, U.S. companies will be able to enter India’s lucrative and growing energy market, potentially providing jobs for thousands of Americans.

Energy Benefits: India’s expertise in basic science and applied engineering will add significant resources and substantial talent in the development of fusion as a cheap energy source if India can participate in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) program and help make the next generation of reactors safer, more efficient and more proliferation-resistant as a member of the Generation-IV Forum (GIF)."

The full-text of this hearing is available in post #27 on this thread (the hyperlink leads to State Dept.'s web site).

[Howlin]

I just saw the rerun start for Hardball; they had a TEAMSTER saying "We just cannot sell our ports to foreign countries."

[indcons]

Thanks a lot for a more complete story. Pinging AM in case the initial breaking news story needs to be modified.

[iPod Shuffle]

Singh has turned out to be quite a leader in his own right. Many feared he'd be little more than Sonia Gandi's (sic) puppet.

[DollyCali]

thank you!!!!

[newzjunkey]

I can't get too excited by this news but I'll accept it as good.

What I'd like to know is this: when are we going to get (modern) nuclear power?