U.S.-India nuclear agreement left to interpretation

The Bush administration assured Congress in a classified briefing yesterday that its nuclear deal with India does not circumvent U.S. law, although the briefers conceded that some language is deliberately vague to help both sides save face.

Some congressional officials said they were satisfied by the administration’s assurances.

But they also noted that India’s aggressive “courting” of Iran could jeopardize congressional approval of the deal, despite the significant influence of Indian-American campaign contributors in Congress.

The most recent agreement between Washington and New Delhi, negotiated last week, was deliberately written in a way that can be interpreted differently by the two sides, said congressional officials who were briefed by State Department officials but did not see a copy of the text.

“The way the Indians are reading it is not correct from the administration’s point of view,” said one congressional official who attended.

The Indians protested from the beginning legal U.S. requirements to automatically suspend nuclear cooperation if India conducted another atomic test.

To help New Delhi save face domestically, the administration agreed to consult with the Indian government before taking any action in response to a test, officials said.

The Indians presented that language as a major U.S. concession, but U.S. officials said consultations do not mean much in practice.

“So we’ll consult with them — big deal,” one official said. “That doesn’t mean we’ll just sit and not do anything if they test. You can be sure that Congress will respond to an Indian nuclear test.”

On another major issue — securing India’s nuclear fuel supply in the event of a U.S. cutoff — the interpretations also differ.

The Indians say the United States agreed to help them find alternative sources from other countries.

But U.S. officials insist the language does not commit them to do anything specific. Rather, if there is an interruption of the Indian supply because of technical or logistical difficulties, they will try to do what is appropriate, they said.

“The idea that the Indians will test, and we’ll help others circumvent our laws to send them fuel is ridiculous,” said the Capitol Hill staffer who attended yesterday’s briefing.

The administration briefers acknowledged they had agreed to allow India to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, but only at a newly built facility with safeguards involving U.S. participation.

Critics of the deal argue that U.S. law prohibits reprocessing, especially by a country such as India, which has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

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