Editorial: Difficult decisions await U.S.

Thursday, Jan. 3, 2002 | 8:41 a.m.

For anyone who has memories of the darkest moments of the Cold War -- the Cuban missile crisis quickly comes to mind -- it has been unnerving recently to see saber rattling between nuclear-armed powers India and Pakistan. For the moment, though, tensions have eased somewhat as Pakistan has taken steps to defuse the situation.

India was angered over a terrorist attack on Dec. 13 against its Parliament that killed nine of its citizens. India said that the attack was carried out by two militant groups based in Pakistan that have been seeking independence for the disputed region of Kashmir, land that both Pakistan and India claim. What brought this to the brink of war is that India said the government of Pakistan has been backing the Kashmir insurgency, a claim that Pakistan denies.

This crisis has presented extraordinary difficulties for the United States government, which has worked diplomatically to avoid war. India contends that, just as was the case with the United States in Afghanistan, it would be justified in going to war because it was the victim of a terrorist attack. The United States can't afford to be seen as being hypocritical, yet it hardly can undermine the government of Pakistan, which is providing assistance to the United States in its war against the Taliban regime and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network.

Further complicating matters is that India is a democratic nation, unlike Pakistan's military government. In addition, Pakistan does have a blemished record on terrorism -- it used to support the Taliban. But since Sept. 11 Pakistan has been a key ally aiding the United States. The United States did the right thing by nudging Pakistan along, helping persuade the government to arrest 50 members of groups in Pakistan accused of carrying out the attacks against India's Parliament. Pushing Pakistan to make a more sweeping crackdown could have undermined President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, with the worst case the overthrow of his government and his replacement being someone friendly to Islamic extremists.

So far neither Pakistan nor India has been willing to give an inch on their positions involving Kashmir, but it is a matter that the U.S. government must give a top priority to, helping create a detente even if a permanent resolution of the conflict seems impossible. Not only could both nations be important allies for the United States (especially in a region where they're in short supply), but now also is the time to lessen the hostilities between two countries that are capable of launching a nuclear war.