[risk]

I can't imagine such a future with India and Pakistan reunited. I can imagine a situation where neither country is threatening the other, where Pakistan is nuclear-free by external manipulation, and where the madrassas and terror cells have all been shutdown. I can see this because no modern military leader in Pakistan can hold power indefinitely while those things are allowed to exist. The terror organizations within Pakistan threaten the internal political stability while the nuclear weapons remain a continual threat to the entire planet, even if foul play is the most likely vector. Musharraf would eventually lose power if he didn't take steps to reduce the threat to himself, at least. If he doesn't, his successor will face the same conundrum. It'll be up to Israel and the US to figure out how to neutralize their atomic weapons. That can't happen until we are sure that India would not seize the opportunity of Pakistan's disarmament to attack.

Of course human nature is to wait until the worst possible thing has happened before taking drastic action that is required. We may have to learn of a rogue Pakistani nuke by direct methods before we realize that the Islamic bomb should never have existed let alone be tolerated.

Whatever the case, I hope that India and the United States continues to recognize increasing common ground. The democratic future of the planet depends on our two nations cooperating against terrorism, communism, and the emerging Chinese fascism. The latter is the real threat beyond terrorism. With a weakened west, recovering from sporadic WMD blows to its population centers and economy, China would be able to encroach much further with its Pacific rim and South American influence.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Ever wondered why Israel became India's second largest arms supplier in under 6 years???Why they supply everything from long range UAVS to cruise missile systems to long range early warning radars for missile defence???They see Pakistan as a latent threat,which can blow up any day & the only way they can keep Pakistan on it's toes is to tie up with India.Any "solution" to the Paki problem has to entail India,any other way just won't work in the long term-the Israelis have recognised it more than you think.Any instability in Pakistan is the last thing India needs-we have lost over 60,000 lives to those bastards & seen Hindu extremism rise up in response(making life not exactly comfortable for a Christian like me).

There are a few things that keep Pakistan together-the army ,the mullahs ,Arab money & Chinese weaponry & the occassional American aid grant.the Army & mullahs are kept together by hatred for India(being an Indian,i can vouch for that,try reading some of their websites).Zia Ul Haq ,started the process of radicalisation in Pakistan in 80s at the time of the Afghan -Soviet war.He 'islamised' the army(stopped sending officers to train in Britain,stopped playing Polo etc) & gave big incentives to Islamic groups ,which have mutated into the terror groups.The Mullahs & the generals feed off each other-the Mullahs have kept the generals in power,by not instigating the people & the Generals have obliged by giving the Mullahs & their ideology free reign over Kashmir & Afghanistani terror.Hate to be cynical,but Musharraf's steps to counter the Mullahs have been feeble(though u cannot blame him for that)-if he takes on the Mullahs,he risks a civil war,if he takes on the army & ISI.......

You have to factor China into the Pakistani equation to get even a semi-solid clue of the complexity of the mess here.China has been Pakistan's pre eminent ally for nearly 50 years-more than 60% of all Paki weapons & their nukes & missiles are of Chinese origin.Pakistan has bled India & enabled China to remain unchallenged on it's soft underbelly,Tibet(they do the same to Japan with North Korea).Do you honestly think that Beijing will allow Washington or anyone to defang Islamabad??If Pakistan loses it's current status-India would increase in clout & more importantly Islamic radicals in Zinjiang province & elsewhere will cut loose(Pakistan has helped China in crushing Islamic rebels).For solid evidence of the trust that China still has in Islamabad,look at the port that they are building on Pakistan's Makran coast (near Iran)-it will give Pakistan a buffer against the threat of an Indian attack on Karachi & grant Chinese shipping,naval or commercial a launching pad into the middle east.