Terrorism Among Friends

Simplistic analysis of the war on terror is undermined almost daily by events on the evening news. The suicide bombing that killed 38 people in a legislative building in the Indian state of Kashmir this week was an act of terrorism as surely as the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A Pakistan-based group said it was responsible for the slaughter but later backed away from that claim. There’s no question, however, that terrorist groups operate against Kashmir from Pakistan. The United States and its allies should make it clear that Islamabad must stop giving even moral support, let alone training and weapons, to these groups.

The United States needs Pakistan in its search for Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network. Bin Laden is based in Afghanistan and sheltered there by the Taliban regime, which Pakistan has long supported. The situation is complicated because the Pakistani generals who seized power in a 1999 coup have to contend with Islamic fundamentalists of their own. These militants want the attacks on India to continue until New Delhi gives up control over its part of Kashmir.

India too has militants, who urge that Pakistan be attacked. India is predominantly Hindu, Pakistan is Muslim, and this is fodder for extremists on both sides.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir in the last half-century. The latest outbreak of fighting has lasted a dozen years and killed tens of thousands of soldiers, police and civilians. The stakes are higher now because both countries have nuclear weapons.

Monday’s attack on the legislative assembly building in the summer capital of Kashmir came as India’s foreign minister was in Washington to remind President Bush and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell that India was among the first to offer the use of land and air space in the attack on terrorism. In the initial stages, India stayed quiet about the Washington-Islamabad coziness, recognizing that the coalition needs Pakistan’s help. But after the Kashmir deaths, India’s prime minister warned that “there is a limit” to India’s patience. The U.S. too must express its impatience, and Islamabad should rein in the groups using its territory to attack Kashmir.

It is in Pakistan’s self-interest not to give India more grounds to chase guerrillas across the border. It is in Washington’s interest to keep both nations in the fold. Reiterating a blanket condemnation of terrorism will add clarity to the mission and help keep the coalition intact.