Isn't This Interesting...

...and scary:

India will get Canadian uranium — again

"Canadian uranium will once again be used to power Indian nuclear reactors, leaders of the two countries announced here Tuesday.

Canada had banned sales of uranium and nuclear technology to India after India used Canadian nuclear know-how to build its atomic bomb in 1974.

The revelation that Canadian technology helped give India the bomb prompted Canada to suspend all nuclear programs with India, including a ban on uranium sales. India's nuclear betrayal also chilled broader Canada-India relations for decades.

But for Canada, all is now forgiven."

[---]

"A key sticking point for Canada was ensuring that it would be able to keep track of any uranium shipped to India. Canada does not want its uranium or technology ending up, for example, in the hands of Iran via India.

Canada will rely on audits by the International Atomic Energy Agency to be certain India is using Canadian materials and technology safely."

Especially in the light of this:

Is Pakistan's Paranoia Pushing it Into a Nuclear War with India?

"The possibility of a nuclear war between Pakistan and India grows every day. If the Pakistanis do not bring under control the terrorist groups in the country and resolve the conflicts with India, it is not a matter of if it will happen, but when.

There have been few achievements to celebrate in the sixty-five year history of Pakistan and that has made the success of the nuclear program central to the national identity. This is especially true for the military that receives a quarter of the budget and is the only strong national institution.

Development of the weapons started in January of 1972 by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, when he was the Minister for Fuel, Power and Natural Resources. The decision to go nuclear came after a disastrous military defeat in 1971 by India. Bangladesh with Indian assistance separated from Pakistan.

Without its eastern territory, Pakistan was facing an enemy six times larger. The only way to deal with such a threat was to acquire an equalizer."

[---]

"India joined the nuclear club in 1974. Pakistan followed in 1998 and became the only Moslem nuclear power with what became known as the “Islamic Bomb;” and that made it a leader in the Islamic world community.

The Pakistan high command believed that the U.S. does not want a Moslem country to possess nuclear weapons and will at some time in the future attempt to seize or destroy its arsenal. Since September of 2001, much of the American military action has been directed towards Moslem states. As the sole nuclear Islamic country, that convinces the Pakistanis that they too will be targeted.

Washington worries that Pakistan with a number of terrorist organizations supported by the Inter-Service Intelligence is the one place where terrorists would be the most likely to acquire a nuclear weapon or nuclear materials."

[---]

"Should there be another deadly attack by a Pakistan based terrorist organization, especially if it involves a stolen nuclear warhead, the Indians will not hesitate to retaliate. This time, the Indian army will encounter nuclear weapons in the field. Then, Delhi that has no tactical nuclear weapons will have to decide if a strategic response is to be used. The survival of South Asia and far beyond will be depending on that decision."

(Long, but highly worth reading.)

Harper has been focusing a lot of his government's attention on sub-continental Asian countries, and although the issue of oil sales to these emerging tigers has been front and centre, I've also thought there may be one of Harper's famous "hidden" agendas at play, too - namely, shuffling the diplomatic deck so as to isolate Iran, and I suppose, Pakistan, too.

Then there's this.