Joe, I think you do a disservice by not explicitly mentioning India's consistent stance on no first use of nuclear weapons. Not only does this mean that India will not initiate nuclear war, it also means that Pakistan will not feel pressure to strike first out of fear of nuclear preemption. This is a stablizing influence that the other nuclear armed states should emulate. Indeed, China has had a no-first-use policy since day one: 16 October, 1964.
Also, If India sticks to its limited incrusion strategy and Pakistan sticks to the red line of "most of the country" being overrun. It should be possible to avoid escalation from conventional to nuclear warfare. Of course, no warfare is the best option. The terrorist atrocity is already a form of warfare; Pakistan needs proactively suppress such action. Aaron
Joe, I think you do a disservice by not explicitly mentioning India's consistent stance on no first use of nuclear weapons. Not only does this mean that India will not initiate nuclear war, it also means that Pakistan will not feel pressure to strike first out of fear of nuclear preemption. This is a stablizing influence that the other nuclear armed states should emulate. Indeed, China has had a no-first-use policy since day one: 16 October, 1964.
Also, If India sticks to its limited incrusion strategy and Pakistan sticks to the red line of "most of the country" being overrun. It should be possible to avoid escalation from conventional to nuclear warfare. Of course, no warfare is the best option. The terrorist atrocity is already a form of warfare; Pakistan needs proactively suppress such action. Aaron