US-Indian Deal Could Spark South Asian Arms Race, Markey Says

One provision of the US-Indian deal over nuclear weapons is that the US will provide India with a steady stream of nuclear fuel to power the nation’s nuclear reactors. Besides possibly being in violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), this agreement could potentially fuel the arms race between India and Pakistan, neither of which has signed the treaty. The agreement would essentially allow the US to help India build nuclear weapons, another type of aid banned by the treaty. While the Bush administration insists that the agreement will not allow India to produce many more nuclear weapons, critics argue that the deal will undermine the NPT. Officials do not expect a final decision before 2007. – YaleGlobal