By Peter Baker
New York Times
August 29, 2008
The imminent collapse of the nuclear
deal, once a top Bush priority, represents the most tangible casualty so far of
the deteriorating relations with
Unlike more symbolic actions being
discussed in
The agreement would have reversed
decades of bipartisan policy and allowed extensive commercial nuclear trade,
technology transfers and joint research between
The pact already faced deep
skepticism in Congress because of
“The administration is just about at
the point of making a decision to pull it,” said a senior administration
official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. “We’re
getting pretty close to that.” The official added that an announcement by the
president “could happen any time soon.”
Other officials cautioned that Mr.
Bush had made no final decision and might wait to see what came out of a
meeting of European Union heads of state on Monday. The White House press
secretary, Dana M. Perino, said there would be
consequences for
But some experts on
While Mr. Bush ponders his options,
Senator Barack Obama of
“He wanted to show solidarity and
show that he’s engaged on this very important foreign policy issue,” said
Michael McFaul, an Obama adviser.
Meanwhile, Cindy McCain, the wife of
Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, visited
At the White House, the nuclear pact
and the economic package are at the top of a menu of options being debated by
senior officials. Officials said they were still finalizing the aid package,
which they estimated would be in the $1 billion range. Other ideas include
rebuilding the shattered Georgian military and aggressively investigating
Russian business transactions in the West in search of corrupt practices,
officials said.
John P. Hannah, the vice president’s
national security adviser, would not discuss administration plans, but told
reporters on Thursday that in Georgia Mr. Cheney would deliver “a clear and
simple message that the
The nuclear deal was broached by Mr.
Bush during a July 2006 visit to
The pact does not require
Congressional approval but must be reviewed on Capitol Hill for 90 legislative
days before it can go into effect. Congress could block the deal with majority
votes in both houses or it could proactively approve it without waiting for the
clock to expire.
Senator Biden, chairman of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had introduced a bipartisan measure to
approve the deal, and his House counterpart, Representative Howard L. Berman of
California, had pushed through committee a measure approving it with
conditions. But now neither predicts it will pass. “Even before
The issue prompted an intense debate
within the administration, with some advocates of the
agreement arguing for just leaving it alone because the 90-day period would
probably not be completed this year, anyway, requiring the clock to restart
next year.
“At the moment, people are worried
that the current crisis in
Critics of the agreement, though,
said the president should not only withdraw it but also vow not to resubmit it
next year. “Without taking these actions, the administration’s tough talk
should be viewed as white noise,” said Henry D. Sokolski,
executive director of the