According to the Economist, "Indian officials are hailing a breakthrough in relations with America following a meeting in Washington, DC between India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and George Bush. America has come close to accepting India, which has not signed international non-proliferation treaties, as a full nuclear power." This, the articles says, is important for India for strategic, economic, and symbolic reasons.

The Christian Science Monitor explains that "The crux of this announcement is what it tells us about the US grand strategy, and that behind whatever else is going on here the US is preparing for a grand conflict with China and constructing an anti-China coalition.... In that scenario, India is even more valuable as a nuclear power, rather than as a nonnuclear country."

While the Economist says America has agreed to affirmatively help India win nuclear support from Congress and the international community, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is not pleased with the Indo-US joint statement. He is of the opinion that the US has essentially agreed to do nothing, while India has made specific promises that are not in the nation's best interests.

More to come....