WASHINGTON — A proposed nuclear deal with India that the White House considers one of the most important pillars of President Bush's foreign policy legacy is in jeopardy because of growing objections in Congress and abroad.
Administration officials say quick congressional action is needed for survival of the complicated deal, which would permit civilian nuclear cooperation as a way to forge a historic alliance between the United States and a rising power in Asia. But lawmakers fear the accord would unravel international agreements designed to halt the spread of nuclear weapons, and encourage the nuclear ambitions of countries such as Iran.
Despite pressure from senior administration officials and personal lobbying by Bush, key Republicans remain on the fence. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee has been largely silent on the proposed legislation, and Rep. Henry J. Hyde of Illinois, chairman of the House International Relations Committee, is uncommitted.
The White House faces months of delay, if not outright defeat.
The Senate is unlikely to consider pending legislation crucial to the deal until after November's midterm elections, aides said. In the House, where opposition is stronger, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Burlingame), ranking minority member on Hyde's committee, supports the accord, but he recently warned that the administration's bill did "not have the wide and bipartisan backing it needs to pass."
Opposition has also grown among some Indians, who fear the deal would compromise their nation's independence, and among the 45 members of an organization of countries that control the global nuclear trade. The White House wants the group to bless the deal before it proceeds.
Last week, Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran acknowledged after talks with U.S. officials in London that the two countries might have to consider a future without the deal. Though the accord's failure would be "a setback in the strategic relationship," he asserted that U.S.-Indian ties would grow anyway because of other shared interests.
The accord would overhaul U.S. nuclear policy on India, which for three decades has been aimed at punishing the country for developing its own nuclear arsenal in defiance of international norms. The legislation before Congress would provide an exception for India in a law that bars the United States from providing atomic technology to countries that have not signed on to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
