The International Herald Tribune reports that the emerging links between the Mumbai terrorists and Pakistan are complicating U.S. diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between India and Pakistan and assist the investigation into the attacks:
The new links to Pakistan added fresh complications to American diplomatic efforts to secure cooperation between India and Pakistan, which has questioned some of the evidence that Pakistanis were involved. On Thursday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met in Islamabad with Pakistani leaders, a day after meeting with Indian leaders, to urge that the two countries work together to find the attackers and bring them to justice.
“What I heard was a commitment that this is the course that will be taken,” Rice told reporters at Chaklala Air Base after meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
Rice's brief visit to Pakistan completed a delicate diplomatic minuet with visits to the region by the secretary of state and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, who was in Pakistan on Wednesday and flew to India on Thursday for meetings.
In this interview, Daniel Markey, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, at the Council on Foreign Relations, notes that tensions between India and Pakistan will indeed be difficult for U.S. policymakers to defuse. He suggests that the proper U.S. role will be to help find solutions that serve the interests of both states rather than seeking to impose a solution. It will be a true test of diplomacy for Secretary Rice and incoming Secretary Clinton.
