[Marxism] India/US: 123 deal for nuclear energy approved

[David Walters <davidw@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Don't know all the details but it appears that the 1-2-3 deal for India 
to receive goods and services from the US dominated "Nuclear Suppliers 
Group" has gone through, per the 'late breaking news' on the BBC web stie:

"A breakthrough comes in Vienna after three days of tough negotiations"

"The BBC reports the group of nations which regulates the global nuclear 
trade has approved a US proposal to lift restrictions on selling nuclear 
technology to India. The controversial deal now needs to be ratified by 
the US Congress."

"The approval came after India pledged to keep its nuclear 
non-proliferation commitments and to uphold a voluntary moratorium on 
testing atomic weapons."

The NYTimes notes:

"India plans to import at least eight 1,000 megawatt nuclear reactors by 
2012, according to the US State Department. Even if the United States 
wins bids for just two of these reactors, the deals would create 3,000 
to 5,000 direct jobs and 10,000 to 15,000 indirect jobs in the United 
States, the State Department has said."


Just thinking out loud: my view of the NSG is not unlike that of the 
WTO: I want to seem them both destroyed as they are both tools of 
imperialism to develop this new, globalized capitalism. On the other 
hand most nations see advantages to joining or having relations with 
both groups. Remember Battle of Seattle in 1999? That was the GATT 
evolving over to the WTO. The NSG is far more restrictive and is 
designed to assure restrictions in the development of nuclear energy, to 
keep in the hands and control of US Imperialism.

Clearly integrating India into the context of the NSG allows not only 
control immediately over India's struggling nuclear program but prevents 
it, also, from developing it's own indigenous, and safer, form of 
nuclear energy based on it's massive thorium reserves (used in place of 
uranium fuel). Money will now flow into the hands of the NSG for it's 
reactors instead of the R&D needed to develop India's thorium reserves. 
I find this very unfortunate.

On the other hand, the all the worlds current fleet of new generation 
III reactors are now available for India to purchase (which from the 
quote from the NY Times above indicates they are going to immediately 
start planning for 8 new reactors of this type) *along* with the 
required fuel which India desperately needs for it's own operational 
uranium fuel reactors.

David

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