An Analysis Into U.S. Nuclear Policy Adjustments On India After9/11

After the Cold War, especially after the9/11attacks, the nuclear issue has come tothe core of world attention, as nuclear weapons pose great threats to world peace andstability. India, the world’s largest democratic country, had been attaching muchweight to building its nuclear capabilities ever since1944. It successfully conducted5underground nuclear tests in1998, and this has caused different reactions around theworld. Among them, the U.S. policy towards India’s nuclear developments has beenchanging, most prominently after the9/11attacks. The George H. W. Bush and theClinton government both practiced non-proliferation policy and gave India muchpressure for its nuclear bombs. However, the George W. Bush administration adjustedU.S.’ stance on this issue, and began cooperation with India on civil nuclear power bysigning Indo-US Nuclear Deal in2006. President Obama further lifted a series ofcontrols imposed on India after its1998nuclear tests, and began to implementIndo-U.S. Nuclear Deal. The author thinks the reasons and influences of such policyadjustments well worth considering.This paper mainly gives an analysis of U.S. policy adjustments after the9/11attacks, including reasons for these and their influences. In the first part, the authorattempts to present the cause of India’s nuclear issue and gives a brief introduction ofU.S.’ nuclear policy on India during the Cold War. The second part concerns nuclearpolicy towards India by the George W. Bush and the Obama administration. The thirdpart covers the analysis into the reasons of such policy shifts. In the fourth part, theauthor tries to analyze possible impacts of American policy adjustments.