The United States' nonproliferation lobby is apparently relishing the controversy ignited by erstwhile Defense and Research Development Organization scientist K Santhanam that the May 1998 Pokhran thermonuclear tests were not a full success implying that India needs to test again.
It was good fortune for India to have Atal Bihari Vajpayee lead the government at a crucial moment in our history. He avoided India meeting the fate of Iraq or Ukraine, asserts military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
India has repeatedly rejected criticism by foreign governments, lawmakers and human rights groups on allegations that civil liberties have eroded in the country.
The 119 nearly identical construction sites, that could potentially house powerful weapons capable of reaching the American mainland, are similar to those seen at existing launch facilities for China's arsenal of nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles, the report said.
A nonproliferation hawk, who vehemently opposed the US-India civilian nuclear deal, former Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher will take over as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.
Making nuclear exemptions for India, says Senator Edward Markey, 'only infuriates Pakistan and leads them to further increase their own nuclear capacities.'
Two nonproliferation hawks, who vehemently opposed the US-India civilian nuclear deal, will soon man the White House and State Department and lead the charge to push President Obama's non-proliferation agenda to seek a worldwide ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and a strengthening of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty that is bound to bring pressure to bear on India that has been loath to sign the CTBT and has maintained the NPT is discriminatory.
The nonproliferation lobby is not happy at all with Congressman Howard Berman's bill, which he introduced in the House of Representatives on September 25. Nonproliferation activists feel that their strongest advocate, who had been critical of the India-United States civilian nuclear agreement, has let them down by capitulating to the Bush administration with a piece of legislation, which is a clone of the measure that was approved two days earlier by the Senate Foreign Relat
The nonproliferation and disarmament lobby in the United States, which has been vehemently opposed to the India-US civilian nuclear agreement, is ready to pop open the champagne to celebrate.The nonproliferation lobby is elated as the demise of the agreement is close at hand, with even senior members of the Bush administration acknowledging that the clock has all but run out on the deal.
'There is simply too much bringing us together,' says nuclear proliferation expert Leonard Spector.
'I don't think the world should be ruled by any country. And I think India's fierce independence makes it foolhardy for anyone to try "blackmail." '
Expressing concern over the continuing buildup of nuclear weapons in South Asia, the United States has asked India and Pakistan to restrain their atomic and missile programmes and play a positive role in the global non-proliferation community.
The United States has said it supports a direct dialogue between India and Pakistan as outlined in the Shimla Agreement
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will discuss non-proliferation issues among other things during her trip to India in May, a United States official said on Saturday. "The Secretary will be in India, both in Delhi and in Kolkata. She will have a chance in the context of our bilateral dialogue to talk about the full range of issues, including nonproliferation issues," said State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland.
The nuclear nonproliferation lobby has urged the United States administration to ensure that America's dual-use technology is not diverted by New Delhi to its nuclear weapons programme.
Lisa Curtis, the head of conservative Heritage Foundation's South Asia Program analyses the Obama visit to India in conversation with Aziz Haniffa.
An Indian journalist, who testified before a United States committee discussing human rights situation in Kashmir, said Pakistan-sponsored terrorism has been completely overlooked by the world press for the past 30 years, evoking a sharp reaction from a US Congresswoman who questioned her objectivity while reporting.
'I owe India an apology, as when she suffered the Mumbai Terror attack on November 26, 2008, when Jews and Americans were singled out for death by Pakistan based Terrorists, I joined in arguing for restraint. I was wrong'
In a report card assessing the progress on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament in 2009-2010, the independent Arms Control Association headquartered in Washington, DC, has given India an overall C+ grade on an A through F scale. The association rates the performance of 11 key states in 10 universally-recognised categories of nonproliferation, disarmament and nuclear security.
Hours after a US study warned of a "very real possibility" that deadly warheads could be stolen by extremists singling out Pakistan as a likely source, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday that his country's "nuclear weapons are safe and well-guarded".
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's presence at the first-ever Nuclear Security Summit hosted by United States President Barack Obama, beginning April 12, will be key for 'critical substantive reasons', believes Dr Ashley J Tellis, an expert on nonproliferation and nuclear security matters.
Even as the United Nations Security Council voted to impose new and punitive sanctions against Iran for its alleged clandestine nuclear weapons program, the United States and India have apparently reached a modus vivendi vis--vis each other's concerns regarding Iran.
"Pakistan must be dissuaded from using terrorism as a state policy, and part of the US engagement with Pakistan should be focused on that result," says Ed Royce, senior Republican lawmaker.
The war-ravaged nation of Afghanistan has offered to try and help bring about a rapprochement between the United States and Iran, even as Washington continues its campaign to isolate Teheran over its alleged nuclear weapons programme in violation of its nonproliferation obligations.
'This includes increasing restrictions on freedom of expression and the detention of human rights activists and journalists'
The reported affirmative reply of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Fareed Zakaria's question whether India would be willing to sign the NPT (Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty) as a nuclear weapon state (NWS) has evoked some debate amongst the Indian security analyst community about the wisdom of such a move.
With billions of dollars from contracts to be earned from India's ambitious nuclear power projects, the Japanese government has started intra-governmental negotiations to decide whether it should ink a civilian atomic pact with New Delhi, which is yet to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Condemning the release of disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist A Q Khan from house arrest, an influential United States lawmaker has introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives, which termed Islamabad's behaviour as 'incompatible'. "This is a blow to justice and international security," said Republican Congressman Ed Royce, who introduced the resolution in the House of Representative on Thursday. The legislation condemns Khan's release.
Pakistan has approximately 60 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, although the figure could be higher, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service.The report states that Pakistan "continues to produce fissile material for weapons and appears to be augmenting its weapons production facilities, as well as deploying additional delivery vehicles -- steps that will enable both quantitative and qualitative improvements in Islamabad's nuclear arsenal."
American Congressman Ed Royce, a ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the senior-most minority member on the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Nonproliferation, who was part of the Congressional leadership that met with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during his recent visit to Washington, is disappointed that the United States-India civilian nuclear deal wasn't completed to make it the signature highlight of the Obama-Singh summit.
The manner in which India and Pakistan have pursued atomic weapons has 'upset the balance of nuclear deterrence', United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday, asserting that the US is working hard with both countries to try to limit their number of nuclear stockpiles.
The Obama Administration has reiterated its strong commitment to the US-India civilian nuclear deal consummated during the tenure of the previous George W Bush Administration and said it's "embedded" in a broader strategic dialogue between Washington and New Delhi, but contended it's certainly not a template for negotiations with the likes of Iran.
The nonproliferation lobby in the United States, which is vehemently opposed to the India-US nuclear deal, has objected strongly to the new draft proposal submitted by the Bush administration to the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Vienna, before it convenes on August 21 to consider the India-specific exemption from NSG rules. The group has termed the proposal 'an abomination that should be flatly rejected by the NSG'.
The continuing and sustained terrorist attacks in Pakistan, including the recent attack on its army headquarters, and the past record of the nuclear black market operated by the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb A Q Khan, are certainly cause for concern and remain so, but that country's nuclear arsenal is secure, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said
"Universal adherence to the NPT itself -- including by India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea -- remains a fundamental objective of the US," Rose Gottemoeller, Assistant Secretary of State said in her opening remarks at the Third Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2010 NPT Review Conference being held at the UN headquarters in New York.
"I believe that a personality like Trump, with his character, will never be hostage to anyone," Putin said.
Sounding the call, Ed Royce from California, who is Ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism and Nonproliferation, said those involved in planning these attacks should be transferred to face trial before the international community in The Hague.
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