A New U.S. Policy Toward India and Pakistan
About this book
The time has come to rethink the U.S. approach to the Indo-Pakistani nuclear rivalry, says a Council-sponsored independent Task Force. Instead of continuing the current policy of trying to roll back India's and Pakistan's de facto nuclear capabilities, the United States should work with both countries to pursue more limited but potentially achievable objectives, such as to discourage nuclear testing, nuclear weapons deployment, and the export of nuclear weapon or missile-related material and technology.According to the report, U.S. relations with the regional powers of South Asia have been hamstrung by differences between congressional and executive opinion, and action on a broad range of U.S. interests - from economics to security - has been held hostage to the unrealistic expectations of the current policy.The report further recommends that the United States expand its economic, political, and military relations with India and Pakistan simultaneously, seeking positive improvements in relations with both countries, as opposed to the either/or approach that marked past U.S. efforts to deal with the rivalry. It also urges a closer strategic relationship with India and the resumption of limited conventional arms sales to Pakistan.On the issue of Kashmir, the report calls for incremental steps to ease tensions and advises against ambitious diplomacy designed to solve this long-standing problem.Among the report's other key the United States should strongly support Indian and Pakistani economic reforms, work to promote robust democratic institutions in the region, and restructure its own bureaucracy to better deal with South Asia.The Task Force - chaired by Richard N. Haass, director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, and directed by Council Fellow Gideon Rose - includes U.S. experts and former senior policy makers. This report, which includes important documentation as well as the additional and dissenting views of several Task Force members, provides a comprehensive and creative examination of U.S. policy toward India and Pakistan.