And the geopolitical repercussions of the US's unilateral
actions in Iraq starts. I've predicted this in my earlier posts in
this thread before, now any country can see the US action in Iraq
w/o UNSC approval as carte
blanche to do as and when they please. Only this time its
between 2 certified nuclear powers who have
not signed the NPT and have not
made a "no first use" of their nuclear arsenal.
Not a good sign of things to come,
---------------------------------------------------------------
India warns it may strike first as Pakistan is like
Iraq
Islamabad's nuclear arms and support for Kashmiri guerillas make it
a better case for intervention than Baghdad, says Delhi
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,182731,00.html?
NEW DELHI - Asserting the same right of pre-emptive war that the
United States used to justify its invasion of Iraq, Indian
officials have accused Washington of failing to end Pakistan's
support for guerillas in Indian-controlled areas of Kashmir.
They also warned that India may be forced to take limited military
action against its nuclear-armed neighbour.
In a series of recent public statements, Indian officials have
stepped up accusations that, contrary to assurances he gave the US
last spring, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has been giving
free rein to militants fighting to end Indian rule in the disputed
Himalayan region.
While India has made such charges before, it has lately begun to
draw parallels to the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha told Parliament on Wednesday that
Pakistan's nuclear capability and alleged support for the Kashmir
groups make it a 'fitter case' for intervention than Iraq.
Indian officials said that following a brief crackdown on militant
groups last summer, Pakistan is now permitting the operation of up
to 120 training camps for the fighters and is once again helping
them cross the ceasefire line - called the Line of Control - that
separates Pakistani and Indian forces in Kashmir.
Moreover, they said, intercepted messages provide strong
circumstantial evidence that two of Pakistan's largest militant
organisations - Lashkar-i-Taiba and Hizb ul-Mujahidden -
collaborated in the March 23 massacre of 24 Hindus in the Kashmiri
village of Nadimarg.
A senior official in India's Home Ministry, which handles internal
security, said in an interview this week that at least 3,000
'trained Pakistani cadre' are currently operating in Indian-held
Kashmir.
India regards these people as terrorists. Pakistan said its
assistance to those it describes as 'freedom fighters' is limited
to diplomatic, political and moral support.
It has condemned the Nadimarg massacre and called for an
independent third-party inquiry into it.
'This is creating the impression that the United States is unable
to put sufficient pressure on Pakistan,' Indian Foreign Secretary
Kanwal Sibal said in an interview.
'If these terrorist attacks on a large scale continue, then at some
stage in terms of our public opinion, the government will find it
very difficult to continue to absorb this.'
Mr Sibal said that comparisons between Pakistan and Iraq were
rhetorical in nature and were not intended as 'advance indication
for any kind of imminent action' against Pakistan.
Nevertheless, Western diplomats both here and in Islamabad are
worried about the potential for military conflict later this
spring, when mountain snows recede and militant infiltration
typically increase.
They fear that India, which nearly launched a war on Pakistan last
year following terrorist attacks against the Indian Parliament and
other targets, may feel it has no option but to take action if
there is another incident on the scale of the Nadimarg
massacre.
While such a response would likely be limited to air strikes on
training camps or army posts on Pakistan's side of the Line of
Control, diplomats worry that the situation could escalate out of
control.
Both countries have small nuclear arsenals.
Western diplomats assert that the case against Pakistan is not as
clear-cut as Indian officials claim, but they have been dismayed by
what they regard as Mr Musharraf's failure to fulfil the promise he
made last spring to permanently end militant incursions into
Kashmir.
They said they generally concur with the Indian assessment that
after dropping sharply in June and July, infiltrations increased -
by how much is unclear - in the latter half of last year before
trailing off in February due to heavy snowfalls. -- The Washington
Post[/b]
