US-India
nuclear deal will result in pressure on Israel |
By Khalid Hasan
The US-India deal if successful in its passage through Congress
could lead to an increase in pressure on Israel, an undeclared
nuclear power, to bring its programme under the same kind
of international scrutiny that India has agreed to.
Marc Perelman writes in the New York-based weekly Forward
that critics in and outside Congress argue that making such
exceptions for nuclear violators at a time of major concern
over Iran’s nuclear ambitions could prove to be a double-edged
sword from Israel’s point of view. By granting legitimacy
to India’s nuclear arsenal, critics say that the deal
will raise complaints of double standards and spark new calls
for international scrutiny. Any such debate is likely to bring
an unwelcome spotlight onto Israel and to re-energise long-standing
calls by Muslim countries for a Middle East free of nuclear
weapons, Perelman wrote.
Early indications already have surfaced that Israel, which
never has acknowledged its nuclear status, could face renewed
pressure as new efforts emerge to forge a new and improved
nuclear non-proliferation regime.
Earlier this month, as a step toward a nuclear-free Middle
East, a United Nations commission on weapons of mass destruction
recommended that Israel refrain from manufacturing more nuclear
weapons.
The author believes that another possible source of pressure
is a draft treaty aimed at banning the production of fissile
material, introduced by the United States last month at a
UN conference on disarmament in Geneva. The 65-member conference
has been deadlocked for years on the proposed ‘Fissile
Material Cut-off Treaty’ because of disagreement over
whether it should cover existing stocks and include a verification
regime.
Israel opposes an intrusive mechanism but developing countries
have consistently called for the treaty to include total nuclear
disarmament. The American draft would leave existing stockpiles
untouched and does not envision inspections, irking Third
World countries. However, among actual or presumed nuclear
countries outside the non-proliferation regime, such as India,
Pakistan, Israel and North Korea, the draft is raising concerns
about increased international monitoring.
Perelman is of the view that the America-India nuclear deal
grants India a special one-time exemption from the global
nuclear non-proliferation regime, acknowledging India as a
“responsible” nuclear weapons state. In exchange
for accepting international inspections of its civilian programme,
New Delhi will be able to obtain foreign nuclear technology,
including that from the US. Such sales had been banned to
both India and Pakistan ever since their 1998 nuclear tests.
The March deal effectively recognises India’s status
as a nuclear power. No such move is expected with Pakistan,
which remains under a cloud because of the Dr AQ Khan. As
part of the discussions with India, Washington has asked that
New Delhi enact a legal ban on further nuclear testing and
pledge adherence to the fissile materials cut-off treaty.
The analyst notes that for the deal to come into effect,
Congress must amend the Atomic Energy Act. The administration
had hoped to push the changes through this summer, but it
got only lukewarm support from senior Congressional Republican
leaders. Discussion of the deal is now expected to take place
only after the November midterm elections. While the Israeli
government has not taken a strong position on the India deal,
some of Israel’s supporters in America, including the
American Jewish Committee, have urged Congress to ratify it.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency,
Mohamed ElBaradei, has also endorsed the agreement, calling
it a “win-win situation”. Perelman said that some
observers believed the agreement weakens the West’s
position vis-à-vis Iran.
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