A good day to bury bad news

India built its bombs outside The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which allows civil nuclear trade in exchange for a pledge from nations not to pursue nuclear weapons has not been signed by many nations - notably Israel and India. India admits building nuclear bombs which were first tested in 1974. For details of Israeli nuclear bomb testing see - Monday, June 19, 2006 When Israel exploded an atomic weapon - the Vela story

Iran has signed the The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and accepts visits by UN staff to examine their utilities and resources.

The US Senate today voted by 86 -13 to end a 30 year ban on trdae in nuclear materials and technology between the US and India. This adds legislative action to the deal agreed by Bush when he visited india in 2005. The decision is based purely on the desire for US trade with India.

This vote now allows India access to US civilian nuclear technology and fuel in return for inspections of its civilian, but not military, nuclear facilities.

The US House of Representatives passed the agreement on Saturday, and the Senate's vote now means President Bush can (and will) sign it into law.

India's 14 nuclear reactors supply some 3% of current elctricity supplies which they plan to boost to 25% by 2050.

India has limited coal and uranium reserves but has massive supplies of throium which they plan to use to fuel their systems in future.


India maintains the right to conduct nuclear tests, but that will negate the deal just signed into law.

Earlier this month, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) lifted a ban that had denied India access to the international nuclear market (NSG waiver enables member states to provide India full civil nuclear cooperation) . The NSG first met in November 1975 (as a direct result of the Indian bomb tests) in London, and is popularly referred to as the “London Club” (“Club de Londres”).

The NSG Guidelines which the 45 member nations must observe are consistent with, and complement, the various international, legally binding instruments in the field of nuclear non-proliferation. These include the NPT, and the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (Treaty of Tlatelolco), the South Pacific Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga), the African Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Pelindaba) and the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone (Treaty of Bangkok).

On Tuesday, India and France signed a major co-operation pact which paves the way for the sale of French (Areava) nuclear reactors to Delhi.

On September 5th the External Affairs Minister of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee made Statement on the Civil Nuclear Initiative To reiterate India’s stand on disarmament and nonproliferation (text) ...."We remain committed to a voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. We do not subscribe to any arms race, including a nuclear arms race. We have always tempered the exercise of our strategic autonomy with a sense of global responsibility. We affirm our policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons. "

The US Government, and both Houses have acknowledged India’s no-first-use pledge and, by default, the reality if not the legitimacy of its possession of nuclear weapons.

It would be nice if someone - Condi Rice maybe, could ask Israel to make such a statement.