Rice defends nuclear deal with India

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appears to have won support from crucial politicians on a landmark US plan to share civilian nuclear technology with India.

But some still worry that the deal undermines efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

Rice spent much of yesterday at back-to-back congressional hearings, working to convince often-sceptical politicians that the pact would help the massive energy needs of a country, India, that she said has always managed its nuclear technologies responsibly.

Rice’s marathon performance attests to the importance the Bush administration places on a deal it promotes as the cornerstone of a new strategic relationship emerging after decades of occasional hostility between India and the US.

Rice, a member of President George Bush’s Republican Party, won praise from members of both parties for her testimony.

For the deal to become a reality, congress must exempt India from US laws that restrict trade with countries that have not submitted to full nuclear inspections.

New Delhi has refused to sign the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and critics fear Bush’s plan would give outlaw countries an excuse to build nuclear weapons programmes using imported civilian nuclear technology.

Considered a major US policy shift, the plan calls for the US to share nuclear technology and fuel with India to help power its rapidly growing economy. India, for its part, agreed to allow UN inspections of its civilian nuclear reactors. India’s nuclear weapons facilities would be off limits.

Critics say the plan could weaken decades of non-proliferation efforts.

Rice rejected that. “Nothing we or any other potential international suppliers provide to India under this initiative will enhance its military capacity or add to its military stockpile,” she said.