Oh yeah? Howz that?
Because it made it hard for the US to say “Nuclear weapons are limited only to the authoirsed 5” whilst simultaneously participating in the pathetic fiction that neither India nor Pakistan officially have nukes and pouring such assistance into India’s nuclear infrastructure.
The dela was clever on Bush’s part for long-term strategic goals, though poorly executed. In terms on the US drive to restrain proliferation, it smacked of “Do as we say, not do as we do.”