Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Whatever the flowery declarations between India and Pakistan, unless Pakistan’s internal structure changes, there’ll never be lasting peace.
India's foreign minister visited Washington last week and met with President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss a range of mutual interests, from countering China's strategic clout to promoting economic growth and resolving India-Pakistan tensions. Unfortunately, the Bush administration's obsession with Iran threatens to block a major initiative that could advance those goals.
An examination of the anti-Soviet Jihad in Afghanistan and the emergence of jihadi groups in Pakistan and Kashmir used by Pakistan to bolster is national identity against India.
US representatives have given the Iranian government little reason to give up its weapons program. At the same time, administration rhetoric seems to be boxing the US into a position where Washington may feel that it has no choice but to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites itself, or allow Israel to do so. This could easily lead to a spiral or retaliation leading eventually to full-scale conflict.
Ashley J. Tellis explains how the United States can push Pakistan in the direction of democratic reform while maintaining cooperation in the war on terrorism.
If General Pervez Musharraf means what he says in calling for a national debate on ways to resolve Pakistan’s dispute with India over Kashmir, he might be taking the most far reaching initiative of his military and political career. According to AFP, the General told a reception of government officials, diplomats and media in Islamabad that Pakistanis must discuss a ‘‘change of status’’ for Kashmir.
A new book provides broad trend analyses of the major Asian sub-regions, as well as an array of transnational topical studies. It also evaluates current threats to regional peace and stability, considering how the strategic environment in Asia could change.
Senior Associate Ashley J. Tellis explains why the diplomatic interactions between the United States and India are simply too complicated to be transformed simply by successes in military-to-military relations.