Fw: Congress Can Stop the U.S.-India Nuclear Proliferation Agreement - FCNL

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Guthrie" <kathyguthrie@fcnl.org>
To: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 4:28 PM
Subject: Congress Can Stop the U.S.-India Nuclear Proliferation Agreement -
FCNL

When President Bush arrived in New Delhi last week, India had the
capacity to produce 6 to 10 nuclear weapons per year. When he departed
after reaching a tentative nuclear deal with India, that South East
Asian nation will potentially be able to produce nearly 50 nuclear
weapons per year.

Before the new U.S.-India nuclear agreement is implemented, however,
Congress will have to approve changes to existing legislation that
would weaken several nonproliferation laws. This deal would undermine
years of work by the U.S. to strengthen the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT), the international agreement endorsed by 188 nations that
bans the export of nuclear technology to countries that don't agree to
international inspections of their nuclear programs.

India has refused to sign the NPT and has conducted tests of a nuclear
weapon as recently as 1998. Nonetheless, the Bush administration wants
to provide India with nuclear technology and fuel. In exchange, India
has agreed to international inspections for 14 of its 22 nuclear
reactors. This proposal undermines the NPT by tacitly encouraging other
countries to make bilateral nuclear agreements with non-NPT members in
violation of a basic principle of that agreement.

The proposed U.S.-India agreement could also deteriorate relatively
stable relations between India and Pakistan if the latter perceives
this agreement to be an aggressive move. What would stop Pakistan from
reaching a similar agreement with China? Furthermore, even while the
U.S. is criticizing Iran (an NPT member) for developing its nuclear
technology, the U.S. is simultaneously creating a double standard by
offering India (a non-NPT member) similar nuclear technology. The U.S.
loses a lot from this nuclear agreement with India and gains very
little.

*Congress Can Block This Deal*

The verbal nuclear cooperation agreement that President Bush negotiated
with Indian Prime Minister Singh last week is far from a done deal.
Congress will soon begin debating legislation to implement the
U.S.-India nuclear agreement.

Please let your representative know that you care about reducing the
nuclear danger and that you oppose the U.S.-India nuclear deal. To see
reasons and talking points visit http://www.fcnl.org/redir/1506india/

Rep. Ed Markey (MA), a leading critic of the deal, recently quipped,
"You can't preach temperance from a barstool." If you have
not done so, please encourage your representative to cosponsor
H.Con.Res. 318 (http://www.fcnl.org/redir/1606hconres318/ ), a
bipartisan resolution expressing concern about the proposed nuclear
plan. See an updated list of cosponsors:
http://www.fcnl.org/redir/1706cosponsors/

Some congressional offices have not heard from their constituents on
this issue, so many may think that the public does not care about or
understand this issue. Your emails and calls to your representative are
key, especially if he or she is on the House International Relations
Committee. Find out if your representative is on this committee at
http://www.fcnl.org/redir/1806houseir/

Read FCNL's Legislative Action Message on the U.S.-India nuclear deal
from two weeks ago: http://www.fcnl.org//redir/1906indialam/. For
updated information about the U.S.-India nuclear deal, please visit:
http://www.fcnl.org/redir/2006nuclear/

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