" I think that the War on Terror is so important and such a big factor, that, if we had to choose, we would be forced to choose Pakistan. "
Well you have cited a (very much) possible alternative course that the US may be willing to follow which brings me two my point..... and that is (as things stand currently) India cannot fully count on the US for support be it in a conflict with Pakistan or China. Although India must pursue the possibility of an alliance with the US to distance Pakistan from the US, we still must not completely shut the door to another possible alternative of BRIC alliance (Brazil-Russia-India-China) should the US throw its weight behind Pakistan.
It would be highly unlikely that both China and US would support a quasi-file-state like Pakistan leaving India in the lurch. Should the US be compelled to support Pakistan for the cause of WOT, China might see for itself a window of oppurtunity to form a bigger and better alliance with India and would be only too happy to let go of a smaller/weaker Pakistan in favour of a mighter India-China alliance and needless to say Russia would be only to happy to lead such an allince and also act as a mediator-facilitator between India and China.
"Should the US be compelled to support Pakistan for the cause of WOT, China might see for itself a window of oppurtunity to form a bigger and better alliance with India and would be only too happy to let go of a smaller/weaker Pakistan in favour of a mighter India-China alliance and needless to say Russia would be only to happy to lead such an allince and also act as a mediator-facilitator between India and China."
I think you just hit the nail on the head and is what Jeff was warning about. I think we are all agreed that the US needs to concentrate on improving relations with India and make every effort to moderate any friction between India and Pakistan. As I said before, I think we should monitor this situation closely.