President Bush is in India recognizing India's acceptance despite their nuclear capabilities demonstrated in 1998:
Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the deal, which will open most Indian reactors to international inspections and provide the growing nation with U.S. nuclear technology, during a joint news conference after meeting privately to hammer out details.
"We made history," Singh said of the deal that will aid India's quest for more global influence.
Under the accord, the United States will share its nuclear know-how and fuel with India to help power its fast-growing economy. It represents a major shift in policy for the United States, which imposed temporary sanctions on India in 1998 after it conducted nuclear tests.
And in what is surely a most dense assessment, some worry about the impact on Iran and North Korea:
Critics said the deal undermines the Nuclear Nonproliferation Agreement, which India won't sign. And they say it sends the wrong signal to leaders of North Korea and Iran, who have snubbed their noses at international calls to halt their nuclear weapons programs.
Signal? Just what signal would stop two psychopathic regimes that hate us from going nuclear and then trying to use nukes against us or our allies?
Me? I like the signal very much. We aren't refelxively against non-Westerners getting nuclear technology or even weapons. We are against nutcases getting nukes. I like that signal very much.
And India is acting like an ally already, joining anti-piracy patrols in the Strait of Malacca:
Joining the patrol is seen as India's way of getting involved with the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI). India has originally declined to get involved with PSI, which is a multi-national naval effort that spots and stops aircraft and ships in international waters, and searches them for illegal weapons. Aircraft would be forced down at a participating country. India did not want to be one of those participating countries. But now that it's on the straights patrol, it is likely to participate in ship searches.
Funny how Chinese oil imports go this way. Probably a coincidence.
The two largest democracies had no business being on the opposite sides of a conflict. May our alliance deepen in the years ahead.
UPDATE: The Department of Defense has commented on the latest developments:
Defense trade and technology cooperation are vital components of our defense relationship. These will serve key objectives of our strategic partnership by helping to build ties among our defense establishments and industries and to develop interoperability among our armed forces. Defense technology cooperation will contribute to strengthened military capabilities and will also result in economic benefits through expanded trade.
It is our goal to help meet India’s needs in the defense realm, and to provide important capabilities and technologies that India seeks. We are on a path to accomplish this. Where only a few years ago, no one would have talked about the prospects for a major U.S.-India defense deal, today the prospects are promising, whether in the realm of combat aircraft, helicopters, maritime patrol aircraft, or naval vessels.
India lies astride China's sea lines of communication to the Gulf and Africa where China is investing in contacts with the region's rogues to supply them with oil and natural resources.
With new friends like India, explain to me again why we should care what Belgians think?
