'India nuke deal may die if Republicans lose'

The Indo-US civil nuclear deal must be brought to fruition during the Bush administration, a noted expert on South Asia has said claiming that the window of opportunity might close if the Democrats, dominated by the ‘Ayatollahs’ of non-proliferation, come into power.

"Its best chances lie within the compass of what is left in the Bush administration because they have put their prestige on the line as this is one of the few positive things they can claim," Harold Gould, Visiting Scholar, Center for South Asian Studies at the University of Virginia said.

With Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns slated to step down in March, Gould said the Bush administration will have to find someone as effective as him or there would be questions on whether the administration can carry it off.

Gould's recent book "Sikhs, Swamis, Students and Spies: The India Lobby in the United States,1900-1946" was a highly acclaimed scholarly piece of work that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had mentioned as one of his favorite reads in 2007.

"There is very much less chance of the civilian nuclear deal happening if the Democrats come in," Gould said and added "there is a danger of time running out for the civilian nuclear deal".

Courtesy:expressindia.com
Complete artical HERE