U.s.-india Nuclear Cooperation A Strategy for Moving Forward

This Council Speical Report concludes that if Congress does not approve the U.S.-India nuclear deal, " it would have a real and negative effect on the bilateral relationship." Congress should adopt a two-stage approach, formally endorsing the deal's basic framework, while delaying final approval until it is assured that critical nonproliferation needs are met. " Patience and a few simple fixes would address major proliferation concerns while ultimately strengthening the strategic partnership, " says the report. The authors, Michael A. Levi and Charles D. Ferguson, both Council fellows for science and technology, argue that " the Bush administration has stirred deep passions and put Congress in the seemingly impossible bind of choosing between approving the deal and damaging nuclear nonproliferation or rejecting the deal and thus setting back an important strategic relationship." But this is a false choice, they argue. Levi and Ferguson advise Congress to " reserve the bulk of its political capital for a handful of top-tier objectives. It should focus on preventing Indian nuclear testing, and fundamental changes in Indian nuclear strategy, rather than on blocking simple growth in the Indian nuclear stockpile. It should prioritize obtaining cooperationnot only from Indiain controlling the spread of sensitive nuclear technologies, over measures that would shape the development on nuclear technology in India itself."Levi, Michael A. is the author of 'U.s.-india Nuclear Cooperation A Strategy for Moving Forward', published 2006 under ISBN 9780876093634 and ISBN 0876093632.