How The Deal Was Won | Insider View On 2008 India-US Nuclear Deal

"Why don’t we have a better relationship with India?” This was the simple question George W. Bush, then campaigning for his first term as US President, put to Condoleezza Rice. Rice explained that India’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and refusal to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) was the elephant in the room. Bush looked her in the eye and repeated his query. Years later, that blunt question would see Rice, as Bush’s National Security Advisor, play a key role in pushing through the landmark US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement in 2008. The deal would fundamentally alter the bilateral relationship: from estranged democracies to strategic partners.