Amidst the haggling over the 123 Agreement, a top former US official has warned that if the deal is "renegotiated" the Congress may not clear it which will be a setback for the Indo-US defence ties.
"It is my personal view that if there are any significant changes that would have to be renegotiated then this agreement would not go forward. That is simply the political reality of where we are today," former defence secretary in the Clinton administration William Cohen said.
"President Bush had to expend considerable political capital and that capital is going to be in continuous decline as we approach 2008, as it is only to be expected. We don't really have a strong level of support to come back for a vote," Cohen said addressing a meeting organised by the US India Business Council.
"This USIBC really worked hard. We were able to get the support of Capitol Hill," Cohen said adding, that he hoped the civilian nuclear deal initiative would not have to go for any renegotiations.
"Now we have American aerospace defence companies that are eager to invest in India and to have joint ventures. So, I think that will be setback. It is not irreversible, but it will be a setback somewhat for sometime," Cohen said.
"If the agreement doesn't go through would it terminate our defence relations? No. Whether it would set it back a year or two or more? I think the answer is yes," he said.
"We have a shift in the political dynamics of this country from Republicans to Democrats. It may change in 2008. It is hard to predict how it will play out in international globalised relations," Cohen said.
The function was organised to mark USIBC's ties with CII and to welcome its new president Sunil Bharti Mittal.
