Whatever happens to old headlines? Acting on the supposition that what was recently news still has some importance, I decided to see what's going on in issues that made press last month, but dropped out of sight at the first sign of resolution.
So, India and the United States made a deal to forgive India's refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and engage in a bit of nuclear power technology trade. Except it was more of an agreement to make the deal. The deal itself is still being worked on. It has three parts: First, the US must alter a few of its own laws to allow for the proposed trading. Then the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an international consortium, needs to give the go ahead. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also must give its blessing, not to mention sending in some UN agents to Indian power plants.
Just yesterday, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice tried to win the support of the Foreign and International Committees for the necessary changes in legislation. Lawmakers were reluctant to start rewriting US law, however, until they get some proof of India's good will (via UN inspection, of course). Rice suggested a 'compromise' in which the changes would be written into the law but not go into effect until the president's approval. However, as one senator staff member pointed out, "This is a president with a very low stockpile of trust left." Evidently the senators don't think much of letting the president control what is a decision for congress.
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