• Research
  • Diwan
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Middle East logoCarnegie lettermark logo
PalestineSyria
REQUIRED IMAGE

REQUIRED IMAGE

Paper

A New Equation: U.S. Policy toward India and Pakistan after September 11

Link Copied
By Mr. Lee Feinstein, James Clad, Lewis Dunn, David Albright
Published on May 31, 2002

Additional Links

Full Text (PDF)

Source: Carnegie

Summary
For much of the past half century, U.S. relations with India and Pakistan were perceived in the region and by Washington as part of the same equation. Improvements in U.S. relations with one were generally perceived (and sometimes intended) to come at the expense of the other. Since last September’s attacks, however, the United States has found itself in the unaccustomed position of having good relations with India and Pakistan at the same time. The Afghan crisis is testing whether Delhi and Islamabad can adjust to this new reality. It is also a test for Washington and whether it can leverage its new position to address core concerns, including the dispute over Kashmir, Pakistan’s crisis of governance, and the evolving nuclear and missile rivalry in the region.

These essays focus on the interconnected challenges for U.S. policy in and around the subcontinent in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Yet they address longstanding concerns which, in light of the current crisis, may now get the attention they require.

Click on the link above for full text of this Carnegie Paper.

About the Authors
Lee Feinstein, a former visiting scholar at the Carnege Endowment's Non-Proliferation Project, is a Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund. James Clad holds the Henry R. Luce Foundation Research Professorship of Southeast Asian Studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Lewis A. Dunn is senior vice president at Science Applications International Corporation. David Albright is president and founder of the Institute for Science and International Security.

About the Authors

Mr. Lee Feinstein

Former Visiting Scholar

James Clad

Lewis Dunn

David Albright

Authors

Mr. Lee Feinstein
Former Visiting Scholar
James Clad
Lewis Dunn
David Albright
AfghanistanPakistanSecurityForeign Policy

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Iran and the New Geopolitical Moment

    A coalition of states is seeking to avert a U.S. attack, and Israel is in the forefront of their mind.

      Michael Young

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Baku Proceeds With Caution as Ethnic Azeris Join Protests in Neighboring Iran

    Baku may allow radical nationalists to publicly discuss “reunification” with Azeri Iranians, but the president and key officials prefer not to comment publicly on the protests in Iran.

      Bashir Kitachaev

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Iran’s Woes Aren’t Only Domestic

    The country’s leadership is increasingly uneasy about multiple challenges from the Levant to the South Caucasus.

      Armenak Tokmajyan

  • A municipal employee raises the US flag among those of other nations in Sharm el-Sheikh, as the Egyptian Red Sea resort town gets ready to receive international leaders, following a Gaza ceasefire agreement, on October 11, 2025.
    Article
    The Tragedy of Middle Eastern Politics

    The countries of the region have engaged in sustained competition that has tested their capacities and limitations, while resisting domination by rivals. Can a more stable order emerge from this maelstrom, and what would it require?

      • Mohamed Ali Adraoui

      Hamza Meddeb, Mohamed Ali Adraoui

  • Paper
    The United States and the Emerging Security Order in Eastern Syria

    As Washington reduces its presence in the country, the success of its withdrawal and continued containment of the Islamic State will hinge on adopting an approach of flexible oversight built around three priorities, as well as balancing Turkish and Israeli red lines.

      Kheder Khaddour, Issam Kayssi

Get more news and analysis from
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
Carnegie Middle East logo, white
  • Research
  • Diwan
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.