More Optimism from Ambinder
December 2nd, 2008 by Nick SaintNot a cheery day around here, sorry:
India seems to have plenty of circumstantial evidence pointing to some state sponsorship of last week’s attack, although the relationship between Lakshar group and Pakistan’s intelligence agency is murky, as is the ISI’s relationship to the Pakistani governing apparatus. The Secretary of State and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are on their way to the region; the first nuclear flashpoint of the 21st century is as likely to be an exchange of destructive weapons among nation-states instigated by state-less actors than it is to be an irradiated American city.
So now a U.S. city being nuked is the benchmark for likely nuclear disasters? Terrific.
It does seem, though, that there is a real opportunity to be had from this tragedy. Pakistani President Kardarshi has pretty much admitted that he has no control over the situation. Sympathy for India stacks the deck against the Pakistanis in international opinion. Average Pakistanis have to be pretty upset with the militants for putting them in this position. So it seems like a terrific time to sell Kardashi on a deal where we give them a whole lot of aid in exchange for giving our military a freer hand in crossing their border with Afghanistan. More importantly, this would be a good time for Kardashi to sell it to his people.
Obama has been up front about wanting to conduct military operations in Afghanistan, and we’ve heard a lot in the past few days about a new emphasis on soft power, with a lot more money to be spent on foreign aid. It’s too bad he’s not president yet. But for Bush, it’s never too late to start conducting foreign policy responsibly.
