Ever wonder what would happen in an alternate universe where, instead of haunting Fox News studios, John Bolton had been born in India? Well, he’d probably be named Bharat Verma, and he’d probably be the Editor of the Indian Defense Review. And not only would he be glad about the instability threatening Pakistan’s existence, he’d be actively encouraging it and lauding the benefits resulting from the “cessation of Pakistan as a state”:
The chances of Central Asia getting infected with the Jihadi fervourwill recede. Afghanistan will gain fair amount of stability. India’saccess to Central Asian energy routes will open up. With disintegrationof ISI’s inimical activities of infiltration and pushing of fakecurrency into India, from Nepal and Bangladesh will cease. Within theUnion social harmony will improve enormously. Export of Islamicfundamentalism, with its 360-degree sweep from Islamabad, will vanish.Even a country like Thailand will heave a sigh of relief!
Of course, that’s just boilerplate stuff compared to Verma’s recipe for dealing with China:
For a change, let us do to them what they do to us!
Fortunately, Verma seems bent out of shape with how the Indian government is actually handling things. But it’s important to remember that this sort of thinking exists just about everywhere, and frightening to imagine what things might have looked like if it had gotten the upper hand not only in Washington circa 2001-2004, but elsewhere as well.
Update: Then again, the Verma might be pleased to learn that India just deployed six nuclear-capable fighter jets to Kashmir. The move follows a visit to the Line of Control Monday by Pakistani Chief of Staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani to underline the “Pakistani consensus” on Kashmir, and is another sign of rising tensions between the two countries.