INDIA-IRAN ARMS DEAL `WITHHELD'.Byline: LISA The first personal computer to include integrated software and use a graphical interface. Modeled after the Xerox Star and introduced in 1983 by Apple, it was ahead of its time, but never caught on due to its $10,000 price and slow speed. FRIEDMAN Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- The State Department intentionally kept Congress in the dark about two Indian firms that sold missile parts to Iran before a major House vote approving a U.S.-India nuclear deal, two Southland lawmakers are charging. In a letter this week, Reps. Howard Berman Howard Lawrence "Howie" Berman (born April 15 1941) has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1983, representing the 28th District of California (map). , D-Van Nuys, and Dana Rohrabacher Dana Tyron Rohrabacher (born June 21, 1947, in Coronado, California) is an American politician, who has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1989, currently representing California's At-large congressional district. , R-Huntington Beach, accused a top State Department official of providing ``highly misleading if not intentionally deceptive'' testimony on the topic. Frank Record, acting assistant secretary of state for nonproliferation non·pro·lif·er·a·tion adj. Of, relating to, or calling for an end to the acquisition of nuclear weapons by additional nations: a nonproliferation treaty. , insisted at a June 20 hearing before the House International Relations international relations, study of the relations among states and other political and economic units in the international system. Particular areas of study within the field of international relations include diplomacy and diplomatic history, international law, Committee that he did not recall if a long-overdue biannual bi·an·nu·al adj. 1. Happening twice each year; semiannual. 2. Occurring every two years; biennial. bi·an report to Congress included information about India. The report was expected to detail entities that had supplied nuclear materials to Iran. But one day after a July 26 House vote approving U.S. plans to sell nuclear technology to New Delhi, the administration revealed it planned to sanction two Indian companies for dealing with Iran. ``We find it difficult to escape the conclusion that Department officials deliberately withheld this critical report until after the House considered the India nuclear legislation,'' Berman and Rohrabacher wrote. ``Sadly,'' they added, ``we also find it very hard to believe that the acting assistant secretary of the bureau responsible for writing the report was not aware only one week before its release, when a final draft must have been under review that it would name Indian entities.'' A State Department spokeswoman referred inquiries about the issue Tuesday to previous comments from agency officials denying any ulterior motives in the delay. lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com (202) 662-8731 |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion