Thaindian News

By Arun Kumar
Washington, April 21 (IANS) Once a critic of the India-US civil nuclear deal as a Democrat legislator, Ellen Tauscher now as an Obama administration official is fully committed to consummate the deal and work towards its full implementation.

Tauscher, who as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security is tasked with implementing the deal, said Tuesday: “Congresswoman Tauscher and Under Secretary Tauscher act by the same body but not in the same time.”

“And what I did in Congress was one thing, and I will remind you that the resolution that I opposed passed,” she told foreign media when asked about the contradiction in her opposition to the deal then and her new role.

“And, I get quite used to accepting when things pass and letting them go on,” added Tauscher, who had introduced several killer amendments in the US House of Representatives setting stringent pre-conditions for provision of US nuclear technology to India.

“As under secretary, I obviously have some responsibility to implement the agreement between our two countries,” she said.

“And, I am very honoured to have been in India late last year, met with my counterpart, Foreign Secretary (Nirupama) Rao. And, you know, we have a very vibrant and very significant relationship with India.”

Asked if the landmark START (Strategic Arms Reductions Talks) treaty with Russia for significant reduction in their nuclear arsenals, led the administration to believe it’s time for India and Pakistan also to cut down their nuclear arsenal or freeze their development of additional nuclear weapons, Tauscher was circumspect.

“I will quote the President on nuclear weapons,” she said. “President Obama has an ambition for the world, that it will be a world free of nuclear weapons. We in the United States are taking our part.”

Tauscher said: “We have this historic agreement with Russia, and we have obviously a Nuclear Posture Review where the president has diminished the role of nuclear weapons in our force posture.”

“We also have a nuclear negative security assurance that makes clear that countries that are non-nuclear weapons states, that are in compliance with their Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty obligations, will not be threatened or targeted with nuclear strikes by the United States.”

“So, I think that we here in the administration are very clear what our positions are. And, what I did in the Congress is something in the past,” Tauscher said.