U.S.-Pakistan nuclear deal not possible: Rice

[DoYouEverWonder]

March 4, 2006

NEW DELHI (IRNA) -- The U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice said on Friday night that nuclear deal between Washington and Islamabad is not possible at this juncture as there were "concerns" over Pakistan's proliferation record.

"Everyone knows that there have been concerns in terms of proliferation with Pakistan. Pakistan itself is aware of it. We are working with Pakistan to improve on proliferation", Rice told in an interview to a private Indian news channel "Zee News".

Asked whether the U.S. could sign a nuclear deal with Pakistan as it did with India when President George W. Bush visits that country, she said "this is not a stage Pakistan is currently in. This is not the time for such an arrangement with Pakistan."

However, Washington considered Pakistan and President Pervez Musharraf as a "tremendous ally" in the war on terrorism, we must fight terror more robustly. We are working with Musharraf in areas which are largely ungoverned. Pakistani army and its frontier forces are fighting Al Qaeda more actively."

http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=3/4/2006&Cat=4&Num=1

I guess we can't give them any nukes because we don't want to have to start making them accountable for what they already have? Bush's policies regarding Nuclear Weapons are insane, so why should I expect them to make sense?

[fujiyama]

1. LOL

You may have a point.

As long as Pakistan is not proliferating US nukes and components, it's not the US that has to worry about it.

May as well turn a blind eye to them like the US has done for over twenty years.

Granted, I'm somewhat relieved as stupid as this administration is, they aren't as stupid as to offer a country as reckless and unstable as Pakistan (with a shitty record on proliferation) the same deal they gave India.

[niallmac]

2. Oh no this admin isn't stupid.

Two countries that brought us to within a gnats hair of nuclear war just yesterday and now we give carte blanche to India to go fission but not Pakistan.
I guess Pakistan will just concentrate on that big backgammon tourney coming up next year. Or, wait, maybe they will feel their Muslim nation state will
be at risk by their decades long Hindu adversary and do something desperate be it "Pre Emptive" or acquiring weapons from elsewhere.
I do not see how India or the U.S. see this as wise. Pakistan will not melt away. This is not just about a hedge against China which we finance fully
by giving all our industry jobs to them in exchange to be Wallmart greeters.
I want to be enlightened again as to the brilliance of this bone to India as my memory fails me.

[VegasWolf]

7. Yes, I agree. Wonder how much remaining nuclear technology Bush

is allowing American Corporations to sell off to India this time.

[cliss]

8. There's something really divisive about

this. Just look at the statment: "We can't consider Pak at this juncture".

In the meantime, Bush has just finished riling up India. He's even visited Pakistan. So he visits both countries. He gives nukes to one, but denies the other.

This just smacks of "divide and conquer" to me. I believe because the US is weak, it has to resort to cheap tactics like this. Our weakness is showing.

It's certainly not going to stop Pak.

[saigon68]

13. LETS DANCE shouts the chimpanzee

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. Or better yet

Let's do the Hokey Pokey.

[saigon68]

17. LOL

We do that at weddings here

[WhiteTara]

15. they are busy studying geography to find out

how they suddenly became Arabs.
IMPEACH BUSH AND SEND THEM ALL TO THE HAGUE

[leesa]

3. You can bet your ass a secret deal with Musharraf occurred though.

Can't give toys to one and not the other. After all, he's one of our bestest dictator allies.

[cantstandbush]

4. Still spewing the anti-Muslim crap throughout our foreign policy.

India told us to take a hike when it developed its nuclear weapons and carried on its programs. The deal just struck won't allow any oversight of its domestic nuclear plants until 2007. AND India refused to join the nuclear non-proliferation pack UNLIKE Iran. If you ask me, if the nations insist on taking Iran to the UN for lesser nuke infractions than India has already carried out, Iran should just opt out of the non-proliferation pack altogether. I really think the US, under this current administration, wants the non-proliferation pack to dissolve anyway so that the US can be freer to develop its mini-nukes without having to appear to be violating any international laws and agreements. The double standards and hypocrisy of this administration and US foreign policy in general just blows my mind.

[EuroObserver]

9. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

...also required all (at that time) current nuclear weapons holders/wielders to disarm, to destroy their nuclear arms.

So?

[Tempest]

5. Pakistan will just get it from North Korea

After all, Pakistan helped North Korea with its program.

[bvar22]

6. Why does our government and our Media refer to

Musharraf as "President",
and Chavez as "Dictator"?

[VegasWolf]

11. Easy! Control the language -> control the dialog -> control the masses.

:toast:

:)

[caledesi]

10. What, no mangos? nt

[Uncle Roy]

12. Osama bin Ladn...

This has felt all along like a carefully orchestrated effort to pressure Pakistan into doing something they don't want to do. Like capturing Osama bin Ladn, for instance.

The back-to-back visits of Rumsfeld and Cheney this past December were the start of this campaign. We'll see the results of it, if any, before our mid-term elections in November.

The Bushies are in serious political trouble here at home, and that is ALL they care about right now. If they can "capture" OBL in mid-October, the resulting 24/7 media hoopla might get them safely through the elections before people start to think again.

Of course the Pakistani generals would then have serious political problems of their own... They might calculate that it's safer to defy Bush than it is to further enrage their own people.

[Rex]

16. Those silly arab countries (according to Bush).

Rice has no business talking about nuclear proliferation. Hey Rice, how did IRAN get plans for building a nuclear bomb? Huh? Hypocritical POS Rice.

[louis-t]

18. Deal not possible?

Gee, that was kind of fast. Condi gives up after a couple of weeks of browbeating Musharraf? Tells me they don't really want a nuclear deal with Pakistan.