Washington Post commented on Indo-US nuclear deal yesterday. Excerpts:
Until recently, it seemed that an ambitious Bush administration bid to restore nuclear cooperation between the United States and India might be dead, a victim of domestic Indian politics. Anti-American Communist parties that support Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s centrist government were blocking the deal. But Singh took a bold risk to salvage the pact, trading Communist support for that of a smaller regional party in hopes of assembling a new majority. This week the gamble paid off, as Singh’s government survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote. Now, the question is whether the pact can survive the American political process.
There isn’t much time; under US law, Congress must be in session continuously for 30 days to consider the deal. Before that clock can start, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group must give India a green light. While those approvals are likely, they won’t happen instantaneously. And because of the long August recess, there may not be more than 30 “legislative days” left before Congress adjourns on Sept. 26. The deal raises many legitimate questions. But, on balance, it is in the United States’ interest, and Congress should find the time to say yes — in a lame-duck session after the November election, if necessary. US nuclear cooperation with India ceased when India, which had refused to sign the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty, exploded a nuclear “device” in 1974.
