US - India Nuclear Deal's Future Uncertain

The Washington Post
Apr 4, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Jeopardized by an Indian political squabble, the landmark U.S.-India nuclear deal -- one of President Bush's top foreign policy priorities -- is at risk of being left to an uncertain fate when the next president takes office in January. The three contenders to replace Bush -- Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama and Republican John McCain -- endorsed legislation in late 2006 that would reverse three decades of American anti-proliferation policy by allowing U.S. shipments of civilian nuclear fuel to India. The pact faces fierce opposition in India, where communists who support Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition continue to bar it. The next U.S. president could revive Bush's coveted deal if it should fail this year, but it is not clear that any of the candidates would consider it a priority. Also, the new administration would be working without many of the high-level Bush officials who led painstaking talks with India and then persuaded skeptical U.S. lawmakers to approve the deal.

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