US accepts Indian demand on N-fuel

[foxhound]

Salaam!

News Update:

US accepts Indian demand on N-fuel

Ref:http://www.dawn.com/2007/07/27/top14.htm


By Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON, July 26: The United States has accepted India’s demand that the supply of nuclear fuel for its reactors will continue even if New Delhi conducted another nuclear test, diplomatic sources said.

The United States and India signed a deal for nuclear cooperation two years ago, which has been endorsed by the US Congress. The deal, however, has not yet been finalised because of differences over US demands that India should not conduct any more nuclear tests and should not use the spent nuclear fuel from US supplied reactors for military purposes. India has conducted nuclear tests twice, in May 1974 and May 1998.

A condition in the draft agreement says that nuclear fuel supplies to India will stop automatically if it conducts another nuclear test.

New Delhi has rejected both demands and until last week Washington insisted that relevant US laws required it to place such restrictions and it could not ignore them.

Last week, senior Indian and US diplomats met in Washington to sort out these differences and said in a joint statement that they were close to doing so.

Meanwhile, sources, when asked to comment on reports in some newspapers that both sides have overcome their main differences, said that the US had agreed to assure India that it would continue to receive fuel for the reactors it bought from the US even if it conducted another nuclear test.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Whoa!

In the US there is a saying that there is nothing called a free lunch!

One must wait and see what is on the fine print!

 

[Bushroda]

Whoa!

In the US there is a saying that there is nothing called a free lunch!

One must wait and see what is on the fine print!

Sir,

It could well be a point where US was forced to offer this lunch. Afterall, the rate at which Indian economy is growing it would need huge amount of energy resources and that could push the oil prices way beyond $100/barrell way before US anticipates.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

In the British era of India, businessmen were looked down upon and the multinational employees were called boxwallhas and not allowed to become members to the Clubs. They were social pariahs.

Today, to be businessman is the acme of sophistication and it is all US' doing which has made crass money making with little ethics a respectable vocation!

Therefore, while you are right that the Indian 'marketplace' is an 'in' thing, yet I think Americans are not only looking a gift horse in the teeth but will also be demanding that it should be made of gold.

 

[con]

Burns has reported to the press that "US President" has the fundamental right to recall nuke support if India conducts another test.

Frankly I dont see what is so special about India despite the market,that US is ready to turn blind eye on a nuke test.

 

[Contrarian]

There is simply no possibility of India conducting a nuke test and getting away with it, UNLESS Pakistan or China conduct it first and even then it would take all the lobbying capacity that India has.

Whoever and whatever says otherwise is simply deluded. But this is not regarding that, India does not need to test another nuke for a long time to come. The major issue was reprocessing spent fuel. And having it done in India is good along with IAEA safeguards.

Ofcourse im assuming that the fuel spent in the military reactors is free to be used/reprocessed as we like.

 

[joey]

Salim bhai I share the same skepticism as you do, Infact I'm dead sure we have signed the CTBT through this deal, forget about any N-Testing anymore, even if there are legal ways that exempts us from this (i'm sure it is there), We have waited 30 years for one test when there were nothing and who expcts our poiticians to have balls to test when there can be some form of repurcissions? The risk of doing that even slight would exempt us from doing that a form of soft diplomacy you can say.

Nonethe less We can make 200Kt to 300Kt bombs as per we tested and upscale the design, but that isnt just enough if threat scenario changes in future.

Lets see till I see the entire text however this fuel reprocessing issue is true and is a right we would never have given away and we will exercise the same.