US War on Terrorism Inflames India-Pakistan Situation

The current tense situation between India and Pakistan is composed of two important components: long-standing issues between the two countries and the US’s war on terrorism, says political scientist Dr. Radhika Desai. “Since September 11, India has piggy-backed a ‘war on terrorism’ of its own on to the US conflict, much as Israel has done in the Middle East. It’s an attempt to ‘cut Pakistan down to size’ and the outcome, some experts speculate, may well be the obliteration of the state of Pakistan.” In South Asia, Desai adds, the US’s own war, its imperatives in Afghanistan and the unstable balance between America’s need for Pakistan—particularly its military support in Afghanistan—and its overall preference for India as a regional ally, are contributing to the dangerous instability in the region which includes the possibility of nuclear war.

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