Reply #26: It does, but the U.S. apparently objects to this. [View All]

[marmar]

Bush: No Nuclear Pact for Pakistan
President rejects giving Musharraf the same technology-sharing deal he gave India, but he praises joint efforts in the war on terrorism.
By Peter Wallsten,
Los AngelesTimes
March 5, 2006

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — President Bush praised Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday as a "strong friend and ally" but said in no uncertain terms that his host's government would not receive the kind of landmark nuclear cooperation deal the U.S. struck last week with India, Pakistan's longtime rival.

Bush's comments, coming in a joint appearance designed to showcase U.S.-Pakistani cooperation in the fight against Al Qaeda, illustrated the international ripple effect of the U.S. decision to reverse decades of policy and permit sales of nuclear technology and fuels to India even though it has not signed the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Critics have charged that the agreement with New Delhi would prompt nations such as Pakistan to seek similar treatment and escalate their own weapons production. And, in fact, Musharraf raised the issue in private talks with Bush during the U.S. president's first visit to Pakistan, which was undertaken amid intense security measures.

With Musharraf at his side later, Bush said, "Pakistan and India are different countries, with different needs and different histories," presumably referring to Abdul Qadeer Khan, the former head of Pakistan's nuclear program who ran a black-market operation selling secrets and technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

The U.S. president's arm's-length courting of Musharraf, who came to power in a coup, and his deal with India exposed some of the uneasy compromises the Bush administration has made, analysts say. They contend that his actions appear to contradict the stated foreign policy agenda of spreading democracy, defeating "evil" and suppressing weapons of mass destruction. Although Bush describes his foreign policy as fueled by idealism, experts say, his trip to South Asia was a reality tour.

"President Bush should be commended for laying out a clear vision, but it's a tough and bumpy road between theory and practice," said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "The hardest trade-off here is this: Do we support nondemocratic governments that are helpful on counter-terrorism, or do we support democratic processes that enable our foes to flourish?"

That question was the backdrop for Bush's 24-hour stay in Pakistan, where he sought a balance between hailing Islamabad's cooperation with fighting the U.S.-declared "war on terror" and lecturing Musharraf on democracy and his nation's tolerance of Islamic extremism.

http://www.genocidewatch.org/PakistanBushNoNuclearPactfor%20PakistanMar06.htm