WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 /-USNewswire/ -- Twenty-one experts on India and its region -- including several former senior government officials -- have written an open letter to Congress urging the speedy passage of legislation to enable the U.S.-India civil nuclear agreement. Please find the full text of their letter attached. The letter reflects the personal views of the signatories, and not the views of the institutions with which they are affiliated.
The legislation enabling the U.S.-India nuclear agreement would culminate over three years of negotiations on the deal's details, and would follow the agreement's approval by the relevant international bodies. The letter's signatories argue that Congressional approval of the agreement this year is of vital importance for the emerging U.S.-India strategic relationship, for American non-proliferation objectives and for energy security and the environment. They also urge Congress to act quickly and to refrain from altering the substance of the agreement.
The open letter has been sent to the Democratic and Republican leadership in both the Senate and the House, and to the Chairmen and Ranking Minority Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee.
September 12, 2008
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
Senate of the United States
Washington, D.C.
Dear Senator Reid:
We are writing to urge you to pass, as quickly as possible, the Congressional resolution of approval that will permit final implementation of the U.S.-India agreement on civil nuclear cooperation ("123 Agreement") that President Bush will shortly send to Congress. All the signatories of this letter are long-time South Asia specialists; many of them have held senior positions in the U.S. government in the past.
No issue is more vital to the future of the U.S.-India partnership than this legislation. The Henry J. Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006, passed both houses of Congress with large bipartisan majorities and was signed into law by President Bush on December 18, 2006. In 2007, we negotiated the bilateral cooperation agreement. In July 2008, the Indian government put its existence on the line and obtained parliamentary support for the agreement. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Suppliers' Group have taken the steps needed to implement the agreement, fulfilling the conditions stipulated in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and the Hyde Act.
India, like us, faces national elections soon -- no later than May 2009. Now that the hard work of negotiating has been done, both bilaterally and internationally, it is essential to seize the moment and pass the implementing legislation. A failure by Congress to take the final action implementing this agreement would be a severe setback to the strategic gains both the United States and India hope to gain from their partnership. It would also put U.S. industry at a deep disadvantage, now that other states can freely participate in civil nuclear cooperation with India.
Common strategic interests: In proposing the agreement, the Bush administration stressed three factors: the geostrategic significance of our emerging relationship with India; India's excellent record in safeguarding nuclear technology; and India's massive future energy needs. All three arguments are as powerful as ever.
With its growing economy and powerful military position, India has become a global partner for the United States and is shaping the future of Asia. There is a striking convergence of interests between India and the United States on issues vital to us. India has taken a strong stand against international terrorism. It is one of the largest economic contributors to reconstruction in Afghanistan. It is the primary resident naval force in the Indian Ocean, and works with us to maintain the security of the sea lanes through which most of the world's oil trade travels. These common interests provide a solid foundation for a long-term partnership based on both democratic values and geopolitical interests. A strong relationship with India is critical to U.S. security and economic interests in Asia.
India's nonproliferation record: When the Congress passed the Hyde Act, it recognized India's steadfast refusal to transfer nuclear technology to others. These unique circumstances make this change in U.S. nonproliferation policy possible. We are now poised to reap the nonproliferation benefits of ending India's nuclear isolation. Eligibility for civilian nuclear cooperation is an essential first step toward bringing India fully into the global effort to prevent onward transmission of nuclear weapons knowhow. India's formal statement to the NSG on September 5 reiterates India's commitment to a voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. It pledges to strengthen the international nonproliferation regime, and undertakes to work toward a multilateral Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty. Implementing this agreement will give new energy to these critical nonproliferation efforts.
Energy and the environment: India's energy demand is expected to grow 4.6 percent per year for the next two decades. The whole world has an interest helping India deal with this relentless expansion. Nuclear energy currently makes up only about 3 percent of India's overall power supply. But with an economy growing at 7-9 percent per year, every potential source of power is crucial. India has ambitious plans to expand civil nuclear power. Every nuclear power plant it introduces will take some pressure off the financial and environmental costs of conventional generation. We need this agreement, for our sake and for the sake of the planet.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh bet his government on this agreement, and won a vote of confidence on July 22. The government's communist allies opposed the implied strategic relationship with the United States. Their view lost, and when they tried to bring down the government, they failed. On India's political spectrum, everyone except the leftist parties, which represent about 12 percent of the seats in parliament, supports a strong relationship with the United States. This does not mean that partnership with India will always work seamlessly. Like any two large countries with diverse interests, we have our disagreements, and India has a strong commitment to maintaining independence -- and the appearance of independence -- in its foreign policy. But India's basic hopes for the future are in line with ours. It is this convergence of interests that will strengthen our future partnership.
Now that the IAEA and the NSG have acted, we urge you to move ahead. The negotiations that produced the agreement were long and complex, and both sides have accepted provisions they might have preferred to write differently. In light of the long and difficult negotiations, we would respectfully ask that no further attempts be made to change the substance of the agreement. The benefit of forging a real strategic partnership with India is huge, and if we move ahead now, we should be able to strengthen global cooperation against onward proliferation of nuclear weapons. This is the time to move forward, decisively and fast. This agreement is too important to be defeated by letting the clock run out.
This letter reflects the personal views of the undersigned, and does not represent the views of the institutions with which they are affiliated.
Sincerely yours,
WALTER ANDERSEN
Associate Director, South Asia Studies
School of Advanced International Studies
Johns Hopkins University
Former Director for South Asia, Bureau of
Intelligence and Research, Department of State,
and former Special Assistant to U.S.
Ambassador to India William Clark
MARSHALL BOUTON
President, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
HONORABLE RICHARD CELESTE
Former U.S. Ambassador to India
Former Governor of Ohio
STEPHEN P. COHEN
Senior Fellow
The Brookings Institution
Former Member, Policy Planning Council
Department of State
AINSLEE EMBREE
Professor Emeritus of History and former
Director of the Southern Asian Institute
Columbia University
Former Special Consultant to U.S. Ambassador to India Frank Wisner
HAROLD GOULD
Visiting Scholar
Center for South Asian Studies
University of Virginia
SELIG HARRISON
Director, Asia Program
Center for International Policy
ROBERT M. HATHAWAY
Director, Asia Program
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Former South Asia specialist, Foreign Affairs Committee,
U.S. House of Representatives
HONORABLE KARL F. INDERFURTH
Director, International Affairs Program
Elliott School of International Affairs
George Washington University
Former Assistant Secretary of State for South
Asian Affairs
ROBERT KAGAN
Senior Associate
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Former Member of the Policy Planning Staff,
Department of State and principal speech writer to Secretary of State George P. Shultz
HONORABLE DENNIS KUX
Senior Policy Scholar
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Former U.S. Ambassador to the Ivory Coast
DANIEL MARKEY
Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Former Member of the Policy Planning Staff, Department of State
THOMAS R. PICKERING
Vice Chairman Hills & Co.
Former Senior Vice President for International Relations
The Boeing Company
Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Former U.S. Ambassador to India
HONORABLE JOHN B. RITCH
Director General
World Nuclear Association
Former U.S. Ambassador to the International
Atomic Energy Agency and former Staff
Adviser on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Arms
Control, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
LLOYD RUDOLPH
Professor of Political Science Emeritus
University of Chicago
SUSAN RUDOLPH
Professor of Political Science Emeritus
University of Chicago
HONORABLE HOWARD SCHAFFER
Deputy Director
Institute for the Study of Diplomacy
Georgetown University
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs
Former U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh
HONORABLE TERESITA C. SCHAFFER
Director, South Asia Program
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
Near East and South Asian Affairs, and former
U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka
ASHLEY J. TELLIS
Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Former Senior Adviser to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
HONORABLE RAY VICKERY
Stonebridge International
Former Assistant Secretary, Department of Commerce
HONORABLE FRANK WISNER
Vice Chairman, External Affairs
American International Group, Inc.
Former U.S. Ambassador to India
Former Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs
Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
CONTACT: Dr. Stephen Cohen, 202-797-6015, scohen@brookings.edu or Amb. Teresita Schaffer, 202-775-3171
