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Argument: US-Indian nuclear deal undermines non-proliferation efforts
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Michael Krepon. "The US-India Nuclear Deal: Another Wrong Turn in the War on Terror". Stimson. 29 Mar. 2006 - Our biggest nightmare, as the Bush administration has correctly and repeatedly stated, is the most dangerous weapons in the wrong hands. The interlocking network of laws, regulations, and collaborative efforts to prevent nuclear nightmares is built around the Nonproliferation Treaty. The Treaty and its reinforcements, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Proliferation Security Initiative, allow us to distinguish between good guys and bad guys. But it’s the rules, and not the labels, that matter most.
...It’s hard for a sheriff to uphold the law against bad guys while making exceptions for good guys. This is precisely what the Bush administration proposes to do for India. India is a special case, because it doesn’t belong under the NPT’s big tent. It is worth the effort to bring India under the tent – if the effort to do so doesn’t contribute to its collapse. Stakeholders in the NPT have been working hard to shore up the tent by tightening export controls and by strengthening inspections at nuclear facilities. The more successful they have been, the more they have squeezed India. More tightening of export controls is clearly needed, even as we seek to make some dispensation for India, which, as the administration asserts, is a responsible state with advanced nuclear technology. The resulting dilemma is inescapable, since the rules we change on India’s behalf can also weaken the rules we want other nations to abide by.
