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Here's the second in Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair's series as they describe Hillary Clinton's years in Little Rock and her narrow escape from federal charges that would have destroyed her political career for ever. PLUS KEVIN ALEXANDER GRAY on how Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards are failing Black America even as they hunt for votes in So uth Carolina's "Black Primary." Get your copy today by subscribing online or calling 1-800-840-3683 Remember contributions to CounterPunch are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now
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Today's Stories August 27, 2007 Jorge
Mariscal August 25 / 26, 2007 Alexander
Cockburn James
Petras Jeffrey
Buchanan / Marjorie
Cohn Rev.
William E. Alberts Robert
Fantina Brian
Concannon Ralph
Nader Laura
Carlsen Fred
Gardner David
Michael Green Stephen
Soldz Mike
Ferner Paul
Krassner Ben
Tripp Missy
Beattie Website
of the Weekend
August 24, 2007 Paul
Craig Roberts Greg
Moses William Schroder Alan
Farago Jackie
Corr Jeff
Ballinger Bill
Quigley Dave
Zirin Richard
Rhames Ryan
Haygood Website
of the Day
August 23, 2007 Kathy
Kelly P.
Sainath Ron
Jacobs Christopher
Brauchli D.K.
Wilson Joshua
Frank Dan
Bacher Brenda
Norrell John
Wright David
Vest Website
of the Day
August 22, 2007 Norman
Finkelstein Marc
Levy Lawrence
R. Velvel Ray
McGovern Norman
Solomon John
Walsh Michael
Dickinson William
S. Lind Bill
Hatch Kenneth
E. Foster and John Joe Amador David
Vest Website
of the Day
Saul
Landau Alan
Farago John
Stauber Phillip
Rizk Debbie
Nathan Binoy
Kampmark Martha
Rosenberg Sunsara
Taylor Website
of the Day
August 20, 2007 Paul
Craig Roberts Uri
Avnery Rannie
Amiri John
Ross Harvey
Wasserman Robert
Billyard Dave
Lindorff James
Rothenberg David
"DC" Larson Website
of the Day August 18 / 19, 2007 Alexander
Cockburn Saul
Landau Ralph
Nader Patrick
Cockburn Robert
Fantina Robert
S. Eshelman P.
Sainath Dave
Lindorff Anthony
DiMaggio Fred
Gardner Ron
Jacobs Tom
Turnipseed Paul
Krassner Ben
Tripp Andrew
Wimmer Nancy
Oden N.D.
Jayaprakash Rick
Smith Missy
Beattie Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
Joanne
Mariner Paul
Craig Roberts Shepherd
Bliss Dave
Lindorff John
Muthyala Patrick
Cockburn Sherwood
Ross Phil
Doe David
Michael Green Website
of the Day
Jonathan
Cook Christopher
Brauchli Norman
Solomon Lee
Sustar / George
Bisharat Binoy
Kampmark Evelyn
Pringle Hugo
Blanco Website
of the Day
August 15, 2007 Paul
Craig Roberts Michael
Neumann Jordan
Flaherty Sonja
Karkar Felice
Pace Joshua
Frank Dave
Lindorff Carla
Blank David
Vest Harvey
Wasserman Peter
Rost, M.D. Russell
Mokhiber Website
of the Day
August 14, 2007 Paul
de Rooij Winslow
T. Wheeler David
Rosen Gary
Leupp Clifton
Ross Muhammad
Idress Ahmad Jacquelyn
Godin Uri
Avnery Ramzy
Baroud James
McEnteer Website
of the Day
August 13, 2007 Jeremy
Scahill F.
William Engdahl Alexander
Cockburn Kathy
Kelly Chris
Floyd Paul
Craig Roberts William
Blum Kenneth
Couesbouc Rannie
Amiri Brenda
Norrell Fran
Shor Ron
Jacobs Website
of the Day
August 11 / 12, 2007 Alexander
Cockburn Stan
Goff Ralph
Nader Vijay
Prashad Greg
Moses Alan
Farago Patrick
Cockburn Ben
Tripp Robert
Fantina John
Ross Seth
Sandronsky Paul
Krassner Website
of the Weekend
August 10, 2007 Paul
Craig Roberts Stan
Goff Marjorie
Cohn Saul
Landau Chris
Floyd Daniel
Ellsberg Anthony
Papa Farzana
Versey Sgt.
Kevin Benderman Nuri
Nuri Website
of the Day
August 9, 2007 Stan
Goff Paul
Craig Roberts Alan
Farago William
S. Lind Doug
Giebel Harvey
Wasserman Jacob
Hill Raul
Zibechi Dave
Zirin Website
of the Day
August 8, 2007 Andy
Worthington Jeff
Halper Greg
Moses Nurit
Peled-Elhanan Sukant
Chandan Robert
Fisk George
H. Strauss D.K.
Wilson Bill
Day Tim
Campbell Website
of the Day
August 7, 2007 Patrick
Cockburn Andy
Worthington Kathy
Kelly Stan
Cox Sonja
Karkar Sen.
Russ Feingold Alan
Farago Norman
Solomon Binoy
Kampmark Dave
Lindorff John
Stauber Website
of the Day August 6, 2007 Bill
Quigley Kathy
Rentenbach Uri
Avnery Col.
Dan Smith Ralph
Nader James
Neshewat D.K.
Wilson Greg
Moses Fidel
Castro Mike
Whitney
August 4 / 5, 2007 Alexander
Cockburn Peter
Linebaugh Saul
Landau Alan
Farago Dave
Zirin Barucha
Calamity Peller Anthony
DiMaggio Dave
Lindorff Fred
Gardner Nicola
Nasser Benjamin
Dangl Rannie
Amiri Daniel
Gross Sherwood
Ross Manuel
Garcia, Jr Missy
Beattie Ron
Jacobs Website
of the Weekend
August 3, 2007 Gabriel
Matthew Schivone Jonathan
Cook Patrick
Cockburn Little
Steven Van Zandt Christopher
Brauchli D.
K. Wilson Linda
Ford and Ira Glunts Kelly
Overton Monica
Benderman Manuel
Garcia, Jr. Website
of the Day
August 2, 2007 Paul
Craig Roberts Stanley Heller Eric
Ruder Robert
Fantina Alan
Farago Chris
Floyd Franklin
Lamb Sen.
Russ Feingold Anthony
Papa Norman
Solomon Website
of the Day
August 1, 2007 Debbie Nathan Fred
Gardner Gary
Leupp David
Rosen Winston
Warfield Daniel
McBride Glen
Ford Thomas
P. Healy John
V. Whitbeck David
Krieger Website
of the Day
July 31, 2007 Kathy
Kelly Clancy Sigal Paul Krassner Joe
DeRaymond Diane
Christian Chris
Floyd Ramzy
Baroud Alan
Farago Fidel
Castro Dan
Bacher
July 30, 2007 Marjorie Cohn: Independent Counsel Time Patrick Cockburn Peter Quinn Uri Avnery John Ross Ron
Jacobs David
Vest Jeffrey
St. Clair Website
of the Day
July 28 / 29, 2007 Alexander
Cockburn Ralph
Nader Robert
Fantina Fred
Gardner
July 27, 2007 John
Ross Arthur
Neslen Dave
Lindorff Julene
Blair Christopher
Brauchli Jesse
Hagopian Charles
Modiano Bill
Day Walter
Brasch M.D.
Mitchell Website
of the Day
July 26, 2007 Kathleen
Christison Andy
Worthington Clancy
Chassay Marjorie
Cohn Susie
Day David
Price Marie
Trigona Norman
Solomon William
S. Lind Natsu
Saito John
Stauber Website
of the Day
July 25, 2007 Andy
Worthington Gary
Leupp Ray
McGovern Dr.
Susan Block Joshua
Frank Tina
Richards Ben
Terrall Farzana
Versey Mohammad
Ali Salih Laura
Carlsen Ron
Jacobs Sunsara
Taylor Website
of the Day
Saul
Landau Kathy
Kelly Russell
Mokhiber M.
Shahid Alam Patrick
Cockburn and Anne Penketh Dave
Lindorff Binoy
Kampmark Richard
Neville Cindy
Sheehan Evelyn
Pringle Norman
Solomon CP
Newswire Website
of the Day
July 23, 2007 Andy
Worthington Uri
Avnery Patrick
Cockburn Sousan
Hammad John
Walsh Harvey
Wasserman Martha
Rosenberg Collin Baber
Reza
Fiyouzat Stephen
Lendman Website
of the Day
July 21 / 22, 2007 Alexander
Cockburn Werther Ralph
Nader David
Keen Fred
Gardner Gary
Leupp Robert
Fantina Saker Rannie
Amiri Mike
Whitney Dr.
Susan Rosenthal, MD Monica
Benderman Dan
Bacher Michael
Baney Missy
Beattie Ron
Jacobs Adam
Engel Thomas
Naylor Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
July 20, 2007 Eliza
Szabo Pam
Martens Alan
Farago Harvey
Wasserman Marjorie
Cohn Dave
Zirin Anthony
DiMaggio Scott
Liebertz Linn
Washington, Jr. Bill
Piper / Anthony Papa Ramzy
Baroud Website
of the Day
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August 27 2007 123 or 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... 0?India and the New Nuclear EraBy BRUCE A. ROTH India's Prime Minister Singh has cut the sweetest deal for his country since it became an independent nation 60 years ago. The Hyde Act, along with the 123 Agreement, will open the U.S. nuclear trade to India and create up to 27,000 jobs and $100 billion in foreign direct investment. But Singh can't celebrate yet; his coalition is about to disintegrate because opponents to the deal claim that it will compromise India's sovereignty. Ironically, it is the U.S. President who should worry about the effect the deal will have on his party, U.S. Congress which should be showing stronger opposition to the deal, and U.S citizens who should be outraged. Being one of only four nations that have steadfastly refused to abide by the hallmark Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), India's nuclear program has long been controversial. India broke the terms of two nuclear contracts, one with Canada and the other with the U.S., by misusing civilian nuclear facilities to secretly build and test a nuclear weapon in 1974, resulting in a U.S. ban on nuclear exports to India. And, India continues to secretly shift materials from these deals to its weapons program. India's second test in 1998 incited its arch rival, Pakistan, to follow suit in a show of force. These tests violated a global norm against testing and they precipitated recrimination and additional punitive sanctions from several nations. Only eight years later, North
Korea, another non-NPT nation, tested a nuclear weapon. Iran
has been busy developing a nuclear program that can easily be
used to make nuclear weapons, Russia is improving its nuclear
arsenal, and China is flexing its economic and military biceps.
Conveniently, India happens to be strategically situated in that
neighborhood, making it vital to U.S. interests. The U.S. is
hoping that India will be a counterweight to China and promote
U.S. interests on critical issues such as North Korea and Iran,
but that may just be delusional Although India remains intransigent in its nuclear weapons posture and trading relations with Iran, the Bush administration and Congress have decided to provide India with nuclear assistance. While India might appear to be a trustworthy and stable democracy when viewed in the present regional context, more factors should be considered in this grave decision. Proponents of 123 often claim that India has an impeccable history of nonproliferation. However, India has unwittingly disclosed sensitive information about uranium enrichment while soliciting bids. It has an illicit program for procuring its own nuclear supplies, two Indian companies transferred missile and chemical weapons technology to Iran in 2005, and two nuclear scientists employed by India's state-run nuclear facility secretly aided Iran's nuclear program. India may not be determined to proliferate to other countries, as Pakistan or North Korea have, but India isn't determined to prevent it either. Even if these events had not occurred, the simple reality is that building more nuclear weapons for India's own arsenal is proliferation nonetheless. There are several additional factors worthy of consideration. India shares a disputed border and an inflammatory relationship with two contentious nuclear states, Pakistan and China. Pakistan is potentially at risk of being overrun by al Qaeda, which would put its nuclear weapons in the hands of the world's number one terrorist. India's current administration could be voted out by the strongly nationalistic Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responsible for the 1998 test. And, although India is a democracy, a lack of conditions that contribute to long term domestic stability, such as education, economic opportunity, and social justice may explain why India has seen widespread communal rioting and religious violence for many years. For example, much of its teeming population suffers from widespread poverty and illiteracy, faces a diminishing supply of unsafe drinking water, is plagued by drug resistant malaria born by pesticide resistant mosquitoes, lives in squalid conditions with inadequate sanitation, and is trapped in an anachronistic caste system. In sum, India's track record of breaking nuclear contracts along with these additional factors do not paint a clear picture of a nation that we should be enabling to produce more of the world's most terrible weapons. As a result of India's amazing metamorphosis from an untrustworthy nation deserving sanctions to a trustworthy and stable nonproliferator, the Bush administration became India's champion, and in 2006 the U.S. Congress approved the Hyde Act which removed the nuclear trade barriers with India. This deal will have many beneficiaries. India will be able to use its own limited uranium supply to build seven times as many nuclear weapons rather than create economic opportunity for its poor, grow food for its hungry, or build infrastructure. The deal will also benefit America by possibly allowing the U.S. to expand its influence in the region through the medium of India, major U.S. corporations can begin to stake their claim in the multibillion dollar India Uranium Rush, and Americans will benefit from opening U.S. markets to Indian mangoes, which have been closed for 17 years because of pests and diseases. However, before the food can enter the U.S., it will have to be irradiated, which won't be hard for India to do anymore. U.S. citizens and the rest of the world should rightly feel "sold out"-and not just because the U.S. subsidized India's mango crop in 2004 to the tune of $900,000! In its subsequent negotiations over nuclear trade, the Bush administration then over-stepped Congressional limits by capitulating to almost all of India's demands in the 123 agreement. This agreement is in contravention of both the letter and spirit of the Hyde Act. The U.S. has given unprecedented preferential treatment to India, offering it terms not found in any other U.S. peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement-not even those it has made with 180 or so other nations, all of which have assumed the full obligations and responsibilities of the NPT. In 2004 the U.N. General Assembly voted to ratify the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FissBan), which would ban the production of highly enriched uranium and plutonium for weapons. However, U.S. negotiators caved in to India's refusal to halt its production of weapons grade fissile material and granted India advance long term consent to do so-in spite of provisions in the Hyde Act to the contrary. India did agree to allow partial safeguards on eight additional civilian nuclear reactors by 2014 (India gets to decide which reactors are civilian), but its military reactor installations won't have to fret about pesky IAEA inspectors or full scope safeguards. India will be able to test another nuclear weapon with some impunity because 123 does not give the U.S. a clear and unambiguous right to require the return of its fuel and equipment or to cancel the agreement for that reason. The agreement does not even mention nuclear testing in its "termination and cessation" clause. In fact, if India's supply of uranium does get shut off because of a nuclear test or safeguards violation, the Bush administration has committed the U.S. to help find other nations that will restore India's supply. The U.S. is setting a terrible example, the Hyde Act sets a dangerous precedent, and if approved, 123 will formalize both. This deal will permit India to remain outside the nonproliferation mainstream. Consider these potential consequences: North Korea will regard U.N Security Council Resolutions and sanctions with the same deference that Iran does, Pakistan and China will participate in the new arms race, Pakistan is seeking a similar nuclear deal from China and France, some nations will question their membership in the NPT, and Russia might even seek to justify a comparable deal with Iran. Not surprisingly, the governments of the U.K., Australia, Canada, Russia, and undoubtedly other nations that place their own short term parochial interests over the long term interests of the world are lining up behind the U.S. to sell uranium and nuclear technology to India. Have we not learned from past mistakes that expediency is often very costly in the long run or from a wider perspective? Overall, the deal is great for India, U.S. political interests, and the corporations that will get a slice of the action, but it's bad for everyone else on the planet. But there is a silver lining in this dark cloud-before long, we could have a nuclear winter to offset global warming. World leaders should insist that New Delhi meet the nonproliferation standards of the NPT before lifting restrictions on civilian nuclear trade. Such being the case, there would be no rational argument for India remaining a non-NPT state. I am not at all opposed to India benefiting from the peaceful use of nuclear energy, which it can by merely signing the NPT; however, I am fully opposed to doing so at the expense of nonproliferation, disarmament, and the NPT, which has served its member States well for thirty-seven years. The NPT's structural integrity was weakened at the 2005 NPT Review Conference, and it languishes in a compromised state. Once the U.S. opens Pandora's Nuclear Box, there may be no hope for the elimination of these weaponsor for mankind. After all, one can have too much of a good thing-even mangoes. Bruce A. Roth is the author of No
Time To Kill, a layman's guide to WMDs, terrorism,and genocide.
He lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He can be reached at: bruce@daisyalliance.org
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CounterPunch Books of the Crossroads: HOW THE IRISH INVENTED SLANG By Daniel Cassidy  Click Here to Buy! Click Here for Dates & Venues How the Press Failed The Gang's All Here: Judy Miller, Bob Woodward, Rupert Murdoch, Bill O'Reilly...End Times Leaves No Reputation Unstained!  Buy End Times Now! CounterPunch Books! Saul Landau's Bush and Botox World with a Foreword by Gore Vidal  Click Here to Order!  Michael Neumann's Devastating Rebuttal of Alan Dershowitz Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair           The Occupation by Patrick Cockburn   Humanitarian Imperialism By Jean Bricmont               CITY BEAUTIFUL By Tennessee Reed        Bruce Springsteen On Tour By Dave Marsh                   |
