PRAGOTI

Gary Ackerman, Chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on the Middle East and South Asia, made it very clear in his statements yesterday that the Indo-US Nuclear Deal is part of a much larger strategy to make India's foreign policy further subservient to US imperialist designs specifically in Iran and generally in West Asia as a whole.

Two news items 'America set to seek its pound of flesh' (Courtesy: The Telegraph) and 'Ackerman hopes India will complete internal processes' (Courtesy: The Hindu) reveal quite candidly, that contrary to the assurance from proponents of the Indo-US Nuclear Deal, the deal will come with several strings attached to India's foreign policy.

Former Senior Defense Analyst with the US government, Subrata Ghoshroy contextualizes the deal and the opposition to it in India and in the US. He argues for increased collaboration on the issue of disarmament and non-proliferation.

On June 18, 2008, the Telegraph reported that opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal in the USA would be strengthened due to the judgment against a Singaporean of Indian origin to 35 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to illegally export electronic components to Indian government entities engaged in the development of ballistic missiles, space launch vehicles and fighter jets.

On March 14 2008, the Washington Post had reported that an employee with the Indian Embassy in Washington and Indian government agencies conspired with an international electronics executive to obtain secret weapons technology from U.S. companies, according to a guilty plea the businessman made yesterday in federal court.