Ashok Mago, chairman of the Dallas-based US-India Forum and a community leader, has been nominated for the "Apostle of International Understanding" by the Unity International Foundation for his "exceptional role in bring India closer to the US".
'Modi's investment in the relationship with Washington is the biggest deliverable of this visit. He means business and that's fantastic!'
Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran, who was the original Indian interlocutor of the US-India civilian nuclear deal negotiations with erstwhile US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, is unapologetic about his recent remarks at the India Habitat Centre lecture series in New Delhi which left many foreign policy experts both in India and the US puzzled.
Such a partnership between the two countries, after the civilian nuclear deal, is essential to jointly meet the challenges of climate change, prime minister's special envoy on climate change Shyam Saran told a meeting of US corporate leaders organised by the US India Business Council. USIBC had played a significant role in the passage of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, despite tough hurdles.
The Heritage Foundation -- the leading conservative think tank in Washington, DC, with close links to the Republican leadership in Congress -- has warned lawmakers against torpedoing the US-India civilian nuclear agreement.
Congressman Frank Pallone, the founder and former co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, believes the Bush Administration and Congress blundered by selling the US-India civilian nuclear agreement as a nuclear and not as an energy deal. Pallone also argues that the deal was projected as a sign of the burgeoning strategic partnership between India and the US, which raised the hackles of the Leftists in the government.
The lawmakers lacked imagination, he said.
US think tank Lisa Curtis talks about the Pakistan polls and its aftermath.
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns -- the chief interlocutor of the US-India civilian nuclear deal -- who will resign in March, has said he is elated that India has asked its Ambassador to Washington Ronen Sen to stay on for another year, describing it as "good karma".
Kerry said Obama has called the relationship with India 'a defining relationship of this century'.
Senator Lugar's statement on N-deal bill
The Barack Obama administration has asserted its commitment towards implementing the India-United States civilian nuclear agreement, a landmark foreign policy achievement by the previous George W Bush government. The US Department of Energy on Thursday issued a statement, following the conclusion of a three-day meeting of the 'US-India Civil Nuclear Energy Working Group'.
Citing some media reports, the letter described the development as "troubling matters" in the context of 123 agreement with India
'India's specific concerns about whether Russia will be a reliable defense supplier and diplomatic partner in the event of heightened hostilities with China has undoubtedly accelerated the process of US-India defense and intelligence cooperation intended to support Indian military positions along the Line of Actual Control.'
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hails Indian Americans and the nuclear deal.
'President Obama will make a historic visit to India in January, becoming the first US head of State to attend India's Republic Day and the only sitting US president to visit India twice.' 'There's little doubt the relationship has been re-energised, with renewed enthusiasm to take our partnership to the next level.'
Nicholas Burns noted that the Administration had been informed the Senate and House would meet in the early part of December to reconcile both bills.
'Reviving the nuclear deal was crucial before the Obama visit... It was time for the BJP to admit that it was wrong, and redo the civil nuclear liability laws.'
Making nuclear exemptions for India, says Senator Edward Markey, 'only infuriates Pakistan and leads them to further increase their own nuclear capacities.'
Both sides, however, refused to provide a timeline.
Significantly, China, which stonewalled India's entry into the 48-nation NSG at the just--concluded Seoul plenary, is not a member of 34-nation MTCR.
However, all of these moves have been thwarted by the opponents of the deal who have prevailed on the Manmohan Singh government to put a hold on operationalising the deal until their concerns are alleviated.
'With Pakistan's 'first use doctrine' threatening the use of nuclear weapons early in a war with India, the S-400 will shield vulnerable targets like Delhi and Mumbai, complicating Pakistan's targeting calculations.'
She said that 'the legislation that emerged from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was a significant improvement over the implementing legislation put forward by the Administration in March.'
Senator Joseph R Biden, Jr, the chairman of the powerful US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who will be the key player in moving the US-India civilian nuclear agreement forward in Congress if India succeeds in getting in back on the Congressional court expeditiously, says it may be possible to get the deal consummated this year, but that it's going to be in terms of a best-case scenario a photo-finish.
Stating that the deal had good bipartisan support, Rice said: "I do not believe this initiative is Republican or Democratic."
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