World of opinion
On exporting nuclear technology: India, a nuclear-armed country, has not joined the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Regrettably, Japan, which has advocated for a nuclear weapons-free world ever since the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II, has started talks with India on a pact to allow India to import civilian nuclear technology and equipment from Japan.
India had been prevented from obtaining nuclear material and technology from 46 member countries of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
In 2008, at the prodding of the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush, the NSG dropped the ban on exports to India. As a result, the United States, France and Russia have signed civilian nuclear cooperation pacts with India.
U.S. and French firms hoping to enter India’s nuclear power generation market want to procure Japanese nuclear equipment. The export of nuclear power plants is an important part of the Kan administration’s growth strategy. Before agreeing to civilian nuclear cooperation, though, Japan should impose strict conditions on India so that Japan’s nuclear technology does not proliferate to other countries and thus the NPT regime is not undermined.
At the time of the NSG decision, India declared it would continue a moratorium on nuclear tests and involve itself in negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT), which will ban further production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. Japan should demand that India ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty and stop production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.
To get the NSG to decide in its favor, India had agreed to let the International Atomic Energy Agency inspect 14 of its 22 reactors. Japan should demand that India open the remaining reactors to IAEA inspection.
FMCT negotiations have stalled because of resistance by Pakistan, India’s nuclear-armed neighbor, which seeks a balance of nuclear forces. In a move that could undercut the NPT regime, Pakistan is seeking nuclear power plants from China. Japan should try to get both India and Pakistan to join the NPT, while the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France should push toward their own nuclear disarmament.
The Japan Times
On Israel’s prime minister in Washington:
As Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington, President Barack Obama faces a stark choice: Go along with the pretense that all’s well with the world and that America and Israel remain the chums that they have always been; or confront the Jewish state on the dangerous games it has been playing for decades endangering the Middle East and the world.
Having kept Netanyahu at arm’s length for his open defiance of his warnings on the construction of new settlements on Palestinian land, President Barack Obama is now under pressure to “reach out” to the visiting Israeli leader.
In view of the upcoming mid-term elections in the U.S., the governing Democrats who draw significant support from pro-Israeli forces in domestic politics are nervous that Obama’s cold war with Israel could cost them dearly.
This is why it is being suggested that the White House could roll out red carpet for the Israeli leader with all the regulation frills and photo ops and even a lunch after the talks thrown in for good measure. But this change of heart in Washington is far from justified. …
Although Israel has agreed to relax its stranglehold on Gaza slightly to allow in consumer goods and essential food items following international outrage over the recent attack on the aid flotilla, Palestinians still live in open or in the ruins of their homes. Israel still persists with its ban on construction material arguing it could be used by Hamas to build weapons to attack Israel! Can you get any more absurd? …
The belligerent, reckless regime will fall in line only if the U.S. really asserts itself. During the current visit, Netanyahu is almost certain to persuade Obama that Iran, and not Israeli occupation, is the real threat to the Middle East. This has been a consistent Israeli strategy over the past couple of years.
It’s time to call that bluff. Iran’s rhetoric and its recent muscle flexing in the Gulf are all a direct result of Israeli policies and actions. This is a reality that is not lost even on the Americans now. …
It remains to be seen if Obama can persuade Israel, and its powerful friends in the U.S., to see the writing on the wall.
For peace in the Middle East is in the U.S. – and that of Israel – national interest.
The Khaleej Times, Dubai