PrintDecember 19, 2006
The India - US strategic partnership
The civilian nuclear power deal with India was signed into law yesterday by the President with Indian Ambassador Raminder Jassal looking on. The strategic significance of this alliance goes largely unnoticed, or ignored, even by the author of the Washington Times article who covered the event. Stephen Dinan of the Washington Times criticizes the President by saying,
As the president's push to establish democracies sputters in the Middle East, the India agreement gives him a major international diplomatic accomplishment in another part of the world.
It is a major accomplishment, and it is in another part of the world, but it is also part of a well-thought out and executed plan to put the squeeze on the mullahs of Iran. It is therefore an integral part of the Global War on Terror and is a major coup in forestalling Iran's nuclear program and frustrating the mullah's major sponsor to the north.
This isn't about nuclear proliferation nor is this an "historical mistake" as Rep. Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts Democrat calls it. It's about energy and financing the mullahs' nuclear ambitions. Without an Indian market for its oil and huge natural gas reserves, Iran's ability to pay for materials and expertise for its "peaceful" nuclear program has just suffered a huge body blow. The US and India are also scheduled to cooperate militarily, with the US looking to sell India fighter aircraft, anti-missile defense systems, and command and control gear.
Despite its faults, the administration has shown that it will not depend on the UN and its phony nuclear regulatory body to actually do anything about the mullahs' nuclear weapons program. Slowly but surely, the money is being taken away from the powers that be in Persia.
There's a bigger strategic picture here. Too bad there aren't enough smart people in the media to put together the pieces. Of course, laying out that story would also mean giving some credit to the Bush Administration, so perhaps lack of intelligence is not always the issue.
