India And Nukes

I wonder how loud the collective gasp was from our other four allies in the upcoming 6-party talks concerning North Korea's nuclear program. Yesterday, president Bush agreed to share civilian nuclear technology with India. This will certainly bolster their nuclear weapons program. While I think this is a good idea long term, this is poor timing on the part of the Bush administration. Having a more powerful India is a good regional check to China's military buildup.

But, how can we expect China to be a full faith negotiator in the North Korean talks when we are helping their close by enemy improve their nuclear capabilities? Most of India's nuclear missiles are aimed at China, not Pakistan. I think China would now be foolish not to try to sabotage the Korean talks to keep the US tied up with this mess. After all, North Korea's nukes aren't pointed at China, but our allies Japan and South Korea.

The deal also allows India to buy the Arrow Missile System which is a high altitude anti-ballistic missile defense system developed by Israel. Think of a shorter range version of our Interceptor anti-missile defense program, only this thing actually works.