Why Are You Reading This Junk?

In the wake of last month's attacks in Mumbai, U.S. Senator John Kerry's trip to India and Pakistan to help broker cooperation between the two nations is what I hope U.S. foreign policy will look like from now on.  It's an excellent start for his new position as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Yesterday at a press conference, he said (and I paraphrase) that "the Mumbai attacks were a turning point" and "signaled a new era of cooperation."  I hope the fruit born from this proclamation includes cooperation between governments and the strengthening of intelligence agencies and other law enforcement in the fight against terrorism.  The United Nations could also have a significant role to play.

May we see continued restraint from India and no unilateral military action which will only serve to kill civilians and fan the flames of hatred.

Pakistani leaders seem to realize the urgency of cracking down on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the group accused of the Mumbai attacks.  According to a recent Reuters article, Pakistan's biggest challenge will be with their own intelligence agency:

India has accused LeT, formed in 1990 by Pakistani intelligence to fuel a separatist insurgency in Indian Kashmir, of involvement in the November attacks in India's financial hub.

Speaking in India, Kerry said the Pakistan military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, which analysts in India say has ties with LeT, must be tightly controlled and not allowed to act independently.

I wish the Pakistani government luck in reigning in the ISI.  Just another step to prevent war breaking out in an unstable, nuclear-armed region of the world.