ARTICLE: "India's list of demands may scuttle nuclear deal: U.S. had hoped to rein in nation's atomic program," by Barbara Slavin, USA Today, 12 April 2007, p. 11A. ARTICLE: "Inspectors may return to N. Korea: Richardson: Pyongyang wants its frozen funds," from wire reports, USA Today, 11 April 2007, p. 11A.

India's now demanding to be allowed to continue testing nuclear weapons and the Americans (those gun control nuts--on the international level, that is) say that threatens the Bush administration's deal to recognize the reality that India's a nuclear power (33 years after the fact--whoo hoo!) and allow India to buy American civilian nuclear technology (boy, that's gotta worry the Russians ...). Sokolski from MIT, one of the dying breed of old Cold War types who still believes in global gun control, says India's being "greedy." Bullshit. India's being Indian. What else do you expect? Three decades after the fact, they don't care for Washington telling them what they can and cannot do with their nuclear force. I mean, we tell everyone to screw off every time they ask for us to stick to ABM or cut a deal on space and basically anything else we want to do with our nukes and missiles, so why do we expect anybody else to do differently? Good God man! That's the whole point of getting nukes in the first place! Since promising this much derided deal a while back (derided by the true believers, not anyone truly in touch with reality), India's displayed the temerity of actually taking steps to improve its nuclear force (we never do that, rest assured) and getting friendlier with Iran (with India's energy reqirements doubling in a generation, whattaya think that's all about?). I told the State 2025 people yesterday that if State is still working nuclear proliferation then, it'll only confirm my sense that State remains a perfect bureaucratic entity to conduct US foreign policy in the 20th century. Meanwhile, North Korea's delaying already on the first, most meaningless goal of the freeze deal. Big surprise. Pyongyang wants its bribe up front, says Richardson. Wow, we really needed his diplomatic savoir faire on that one. America's monomaniacal focus on means over motivations continues apace. So exciting to have the realists back running things!