Anybody up on our Nuclear deal with India?

[mburbank]

I don't yet fully understand our new Nuclear deal with India, and I find it pretty confusing. I get that it recognizes the reality on the ground, but doesn't it reward avoiding the Nuclear non-proliferation pact and give some incentive to acquring nukes and not being a signator? What do we get out of it? I'm asking seriously, if anyone here has ben following this story closely.

And then there's this:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Congress Wednesday to approve an unprecedented U.S. plan to share nuclear technology with India, saying the deal will not trigger an arms race in Asia.


Why wouldn't the US approval of India's military and civillian nuke programs cause an arms race? Doesn't a US green light make it easier for India to increase it's arsenal? And wouldn't that make Pakistan, which also has Nukes, but not the US's approval, nervous and eager to balance the scales?