Former deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Pierre Goldschmidt lambasted the "catastrophic" nuclear cooperation accord between the US and India.
| Pierre's bio is here. You'll not be surprised one moment that he's now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is willing to call Iran on its activities, but of course force must never be used, and suspending Iran's program is a 'goal', not a requirement. So you can rather imagine his world view. |
Speaking at a round-table discussion on Iran's nuclear row in Berlin on Tuesday evening, Goldschmidt said, "The US-India deal is an absolute catastrophe. It is negating and jeopardizing NPT." "It will have terrible consequences if it gets through. What's so special about India?," he added.
| It's not one-stop shopping, which purists (who never have to be responsible for their decisions) demand. But it does get India into the IAEA better, and it provides strong incentives for India to cooperate. Let's be clear: India has a powerful enemy to the north and a crazy enemy to the west. It is simply not, not going to join NPT. |
Goldschmidt who was the deputy IAEA head from 1999 to 2005, pointed out that the US-Indian atomic cooperation was "going beyond" what other non-nuclear weapons states were receiving.
Under the terms of the nuclear pact, India would get access to US civil nuclear technology and fuel, in return for opening its civilian nuclear facilities to inspection. But its atomic weapons sites would still remain off-limits.
The deal has yet to be approved by the IAEA and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, which regulates global civilian atomic trade.
The civilian nuclear energy deal between the two countries has been delayed as a result of stiff opposition from India's communist parties.
| And, as we're beginning to see, from inside the IAEA as well. |
The parties provide key support to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's minority government. They fear that the US would misuse the nuclear deal as a pretext to exert undue pressure over India's foreign and nuclear policy. |