White House rejects critics' arguments over Indo-US nuke deal

Washington, Mar 9 (UNI) The White House has rejected the arguments of critics that the Indo-US nuclear deal would set off an arms race or set a bad example for Iran, Israel or North Korea.

No sooner had President George W Bush returned from his New Delhi trip, where he announced the nuclear deal, critics of his administration and proliferation experts have begun to question ''the wisdom'' of hurriedly signing an agreement with India that would allow it to gain US nuclear technology and fuel for its growing energy needs.

''Greater use of nuclear reactors to produce energy for the Indian people will not undermine regional security or stability,'' White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in a point-by-point rejection of critics' arguments.

''It is not credible to compare the rogue regimes of North Korea and Iran to India. Unlike Iran or North Korea, India has been a peaceful and vibrant democracy with a strong nuclear non-proliferation record,'' the spokesman said.

On Tuesday, President Bush briefed some members of Congress about the deal at the White House and heard some of their concerns.

The main concern that emerged was that India, which had not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was allowed access to sensitive American technology reversing longstanding US policy.

Secondly, non-proliferation experts worry the agreement opens a loophole in the NPT, which could be taken advantage of by others, like Iran and North Korea and accused Mr Bush of selling out weapons non-proliferation goals in favour of the accord.

In an attempt to calm these concerns in the US Congress, which has to approve the Indo-US nuke deal before it can become effective, the White House yesterday put out a statement answering these concerns point by point.

The White House also denied that the deal would accelerate the nuclear rivalry between India and Pakistan, saying Washington ''has no intention of aiding'' New Delhi's atomic weapons programme or of concluding a similar cooperation deal with Islamabad.

''We do not intend to pursue a similar civil nuclear cooperation initiative with Pakistan,'' White House said.

It also dismissed any notion of a double-standard that might embolden nuclear ambitions in Iran or North Korea.

In an obvious sign of the gathering partisan storm in the US Congress over the deal, one of the staunchest critic of the deal, Massachusetts Democratic Rep Ed Markey said in a statement that ''the Indian nuclear deal is going to face very rough sledding on Capitol Hill, as a bipartisan coalition forms to block this ill-conceived scheme.'' He even made fun of what Mr Bush got in exchange for the civilian nuclear deal ''mangoes''.

''India walked away from the negotiating table with unsafeguarded nuclear facilities, a free pass into the world of nuclear weapons states and the blessing of the United States, and the President went home with mangoes,'' Mr Markey remarked.

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