One senior State Department official confided off the record this week that after recent reports from New Delhi and Pakistan, "Iraq and North Korea might turn out to be this year's second level crises." Even with the winter snows closing many of the passes through which Pakistani-backed guerrillas/terrorists have traditionally made their way into Kashmir, infiltration levels are rising ominously, the official added. And it was getting tougher to talk the Indian government out of taking the kind of pre-emptive action that the United States advocates in its own new national security doctrine. "We can't talk to the Indians about whether or not they would be right to strike, only about whether it would be smart," the official said.
Swell, just what we need. |