WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The UPI Think Tank Wrap-Up is a daily digest covering brief opinion pieces, reactions to recent news events, and position statements released by various think tanks.
Center for Strategic and International Studies
WASHINGTON -- India-Pakistan Standoff: Tension Between Nuclear Powers Illustrates Complexity of Terrorism War
CSIS analysts made the following statements regarding the standoff between India and Pakistan:
* Anthony Cordesman, CSIS Burke Chair in Strategy. Cordesman's latest reports on weapons of mass destruction and conventional military balance between in India and Pakistan can be accessed at www.csis.org. The report covers chemical, biological and nuclear weapons capabilities of each country.
"The current tensions between India and Pakistan are a grim warning that the U.S. war on terrorism will often force us into the middle of regional quarrels and conflicts where one nation's terrorist is another nation's proxy. As we have seen in the Israeli-Palestinian turmoil, combating terrorism cannot be separated from a broader conflict and may result in major further escalation--this time between two nuclear powers. At the same time, this crisis threatens Pakistan's ability to secure its border and our ability to hunt down Osama bin Laden and other members of al Qaida. It has been easy to talk about "victory" in Afghanistan, but it is becoming all too clear that real victory in a global war on terrorism will be far more difficult, far more complex, and take years of additional effort--if not decades."
* Teresita Schaffer, director, CSIS South Asia Program.
"The Dec. 26 addition of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed to the U.S. terrorism list makes clear that the United States believes their activities are undermining its campaign against terrorism. Unless the Pakistan government can effectively curb the activities of these two organizations, the likelihood of confrontation with India is uncomfortably high. If Pakistan does take decisive action, however, a serious India-Pakistan peace process could follow. The United States has rightly urged India to allow some time for diplomacy rather than rushing for a military response."
* Shireen Hunter, director, CSIS Islam Program.
"All possible efforts must be undertaken by the United States, Russia, China, Europe and the United Nations to defuse the tension between India and Pakistan. The world cannot afford to test the validity of the proposition that nuclear deterrence can work in this crisis as it did during the Cold War."
CSIS notes that these are the views of the individuals cited, not of CSIS, which does not take policy positions.
