Nuclear Blackmail

This is from the joint statement by Manmohan Singh-Bush in the US recently:

President Bush conveyed his appreciation to the Prime Minister over India's strong commitment to preventing WMD proliferation and stated that as a responsible state with advanced nuclear technology, India should acquire the same benefits and advantages as other such states. The President told the Prime Minister that he will work to achieve full civil nuclear energy cooperation with India as it realizes its goals of promoting nuclear power and achieving energy security.

Now this:

Gary Ackerman (Democrat-New York), chastised New Delhi for not unequivocally supporting the US position demanding that the UN Security Council handle the issue of Iran's nuclear programme that Washington alleges is aimed at weapons production.

"...we'd like India to rapidly review its relationship with Iran: Earlier this month... representative Tom Lantos (Democrat-California) used strong language to criticise New Delhi for seemingly equivocating on supporting the US bid and taking the stand that efforts by the European Union to negotiate with Iran must be exhausted before the Security Council was approached."

"The Prime Minister has previously indicated, I believe, that he would not favour referring this to the Security Council. That's not a good decision in the minds of most Americans, and in the minds of most members of the India Caucus. I don't speak for everybody I'm sure, but the overwhelming majority certainly." Asked if this would influence legislation regarding civilian nuclear cooperation, Ackerman gave an unqualified "Yes".

Italics mine. So, all that stuff about India being a responsible state was just bunkum. Till we decide to support the Iran issue going to the Security Council - that is, till we toe the US line - we will not get a whiff of nuclear cooperation. Of course taking the issue to the Security Council will allow some future US president to wage a war against another energy rich country - only incidentally having the second largest natural gas reserves in the world - on the pretext that it is violating a Security Council resolution.

Everything else aside, one aspect of this is so ironical that no one even comments on it. The US is the only country to have used nuclear weapons to date. They have used it as recently as the current Iraq war. And they are going around proclaiming which country should have use nuclear technology and which should not.