TELL CONGRESS TO JUST SAY NO TO FULL NUCLEAR COOPERATION WITH INDIA

George W. Bush wants Congress to approve a deal which would give India access to U.S. nuclear technology, in spite of the fact that India has nuclear weapons. Tomorrow, Bush will travel to India to try to finalize the deal. Council for a Livable World opposes this deal because it undermines cooperative global efforts to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

http://www.clw.org/2006/02/tell_congress_t.html
February 23, 2006

TELL CONGRESS TO JUST SAY NO TO FULL NUCLEAR COOPERATION WITH INDIA
In cooperation with the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and other peace groups around the country, Council for a Livable World asks that you write a letter to your Representative urging them to co-sponsor H. Con. Res. 318, a bi-partisan resolution to preserve the nonproliferation regime.

On July 18, 2005, US President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a new deal to allow the resumption of full civilian nuclear cooperation between the two countries for the first time since India improperly used US nuclear material for its 1974 bomb test. The US should strengthen ties with India through expanded cooperation in trade, scientific and medical research, energy technology, education, and humanitarian relief, but the US should not expand nuclear cooperation with any state if it comes at the expense of efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons.

If the deal is approved in its current form by Congress and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, it could severely damage the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and US and international efforts. India has refused to sign the NPT, has detonated nuclear bombs, and refuses to accept full-scope International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards over all of its nuclear facilities. As a result, India does not qualify for full civil nuclear cooperation under existing US laws and global nuclear export regulations. India also refuses to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and stop the production of fissile material for its expanding nuclear arsenal.

Even if India agrees to meaningful safeguards on its “civilian” facilities, US nuclear aid would free up India’s existing capacity to produce highly enriched uranium and plutonium for weapons. According to Indian nuclear hawk K. Subrahmanhyan, in order to expand India’s nuclear arsenal, it should “categorize as many reactors as possible as civilian” to facilitate foreign refueling and conserve India’s scarce “native uranium fuel for weapons-grade plutonium production.”

On December 15, 2005 Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI) introduced H. Con. Res. 318 in the House of Representatives. H. Con. Res. 318 expresses concern regarding nuclear proliferation with respect to proposed full civilian nuclear cooperation with India.

more and action letter at:
http://www.clw.org/2006/02/tell_congress_t.html

Seriously, what's the big deal with this?