[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 91 (Thursday, June 24, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S7679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           INDIA AND PAKISTAN

  Mr. KERREY. Mr. President, I come to the floor to call my colleagues' 
attention to the current conflict between India and Pakistan over the 
line of control of Kashmir. I have a great deal of respect for the 
problem of watching situations that are not only a long way away from 
us but are so remote that it is hard to get a camera crew there. I fear 
that is what is going on. A lot of cameras and journalists are in 
Kosovo watching the return of refugees and watching the United States 
troops come back into that region, as well they should.
  There is a real danger in not watching and paying attention to what 
is going on between India and Pakistan, and there is a danger that our 
lack of attention to this particular problem could produce a 
confrontation that not only would be deadly but would draw in the rest 
of the world as well.
  One of my principal concerns about the Kosovo operation, though I 
supported the bombing and I am pleased it is over and pleased that we 
have had some measure of success, was that it drew our attention away 
from non-NATO missions. The United States of America, unlike many of 
our NATO allies--indeed, unlike most of our NATO allies--has very 
important missions that we are performing throughout the world.
  India and Pakistan is one of those missions. We were all surprised 
last year--and nobody should be surprised this time around--after India 
and Pakistan detonated nuclear weapons--surprised our State Department, 
surprised our CIA. We had a hearing trying to figure out why we were 
not able to predict this, even though the Prime Minister who won the 
race for the Parliament had, as part of his party platform, a promise 
to detonate and become a nuclear power. I do not think we should have 
been surprised. We were surprised.
  We should not be surprised in this situation if this deteriorates 
into an additional war. India and Pakistan have had not only three wars 
since independence in the last 50 years, but there have been many 
serious and deadly skirmishes that have taken place over the line of 
control in Kashmir.
  This could not only deteriorate again, and there is a bloody battle 
going on as we speak, but in addition to that, unlike the United States 
and the Soviet Union that over the last 50 years developed protocols to 
deal with nuclear weapons--and we have fairly substantial impressive 
margins for error--there have been no such discussions between India 
and Pakistan. Both of them are nuclear powers. Both of them could 
detonate nuclear weapons and use nuclear weapons in a confrontation of 
this kind.
  I have come before the Senate only to say to my colleagues I hope we 
pay an increasing amount of attention to what is clearly an issue that 
is vital to the security of the United States of America. This is not 
one where there is any doubt. It is a good example of the kind of non-
NATO mission to which the United States of America, our diplomats, and 
our warfighters have to pay attention. This is a region of the world 
that is extremely unstable at the minute, and that instability could 
produce a confrontation with deadly consequences to us and deadly 
consequences to our interests in the region as well.
  Just because it does not appear on this evening's news or in the 
newspapers, or it does not appear we are getting lengthy stories and 
coverage of the problems going on between India and Pakistan in Kashmir 
right now, no one should be surprised if, through our own failure to 
intervene with both significant diplomacy and other efforts, this 
confrontation gets larger and, as a consequence, we find ourselves 
suffering an awful lot more than the suffering we are currently seeing 
in Kosovo.
  Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity to speak. I yield the 
floor.

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