India, Israel and Nuclear Weapons

The very notion that Israel - 7 million - can be admired by op-ed writers in India - 1 billion - is quite inspiring.

This op-ed discusses the nuclear policies of the two countries vis a vis the US from the Hindustan Times via the Daily Mirror.

It’s all very kosher
By Pramit Pal Chaudhuri

It’s tough to negotiate with the nuclear numero uno, even when you’re a nice nuclear rogue. India’s tortuous talks with the United States to end 30 years of atomic exile are not exceptional. Few holds are barred when the points earned or lost are radioactive. A perfect example is the story of how the US stopped worrying and came to love the Israeli nuclear bomb....

... nuclear policy is such a tangled web of technology and nationalism that it is pointless to expect a national consensus. Israel’s ruling circles barely ran into several dozens but still they fought like cats and dogs over every turn in its nuclear policy. And few people were as brilliant, cantankerous and wedded to unreality as the scientists — not unlike their Indian counterparts.

People like Ben-Gurion recognised this was when the mantle of leadership had to be worn. He chose his path, walked its length and ignored the baying of the critics. Or, to use one of the sayings of Israel’s strategy of nuclear opacity, “What they don’t know about doesn’t exist, and there’s no need to discuss something that doesn’t exist.”

(Courtesy Hindustan Times)(repost from 3/13/07)
... more kosher