Reply #1: One needs to look at this from another angle i.e. China.

[cosmicone]

While the China factor did come up in the hearings, incidentally, are we Americans going to learn the hard way what the Chinese are up to? And by then, would it not be too late in the day to get back on track with India?

Should not the Senators (and the House Representatives) pay more attention to the study titled "Mapping the Global Future" of the National Intelligence Council (NIC), the think-tank of the Director of Central Intelligence which was published early this year?

Over the next 10 or 20 years, perhaps, India may be the bigger loser if the nuclear deal does not go through. But over a longer period extending to most of this century, will not the US lose heavily and certainly more than India?

Why?

Because the nuclear deal is the single most powerful tool to establish an unbreakable bond between the planet’s two largest democracies.

It’s clear American "dominance" will become history as the 21st century moves ahead, probably even by 2020 or 2030, certainly by 2050 or 2060.

Therefore, there is no question of the US continuing to be the world’s SOLE superpower for very long. Yet no American wants China to displace the US as the SOLE superpower. Nor do we want China to become so powerful that America has to play second fiddle to her.

In a world that is moving toward a scenario wherein there will be more than one power center, Americans would naturally want the US to be primus inter pares. However, in all likelihood, China will become the dominant superpower of this century. Is that a situation the US would welcome?

With the China factor weighing heavily with many among the knowlegeable in the US -- and this constituency will grow even faster as the century moves forward -- America will need India more than India will need America. India will continue to grow - and grow perhaps pretty fast even if the US-India relationship continues in its present comparatively slower mode without getting engaged the way it should. However, the US will definitely lose her primacy as the number one world power if she does not join hands with India when there is still time. This is a matter of survival for the US, not for India. It does not matter to India in the same degree, though a strong tie up with the US will doubtess enhance India’s growth.

The point is America has no other option but to team up with the world’s largest democracy, if she does not want to play second fiddle to China in the geo-strategic context as the 21st century advances.

If the Senate and the House pay adequate attention to the longer term future of the United States, the deal will go through exactly as envisaged in the George Bush-Manmohan Singh Agreement of July 18, 2005. If they do not seize with both hands this once-for-all historic opportunity presented to us, the next generation of Americans will never forgive the lawmakers of today.