The Nuclear Edge

The New Yorker/ Q&A

The Nuclear Edge
Issue of 2006-02-13 and 20
Posted 2006-02-06

This week in the magazine, Steve Coll examines the moment, in 2002, when India and Pakistan almost went to war—with the potential for the first use of nuclear weapons in a conflict since Nagasaki. Here, with Amy Davidson, he discusses the tensions on the subcontinent, the role of jihadis, and the nuclear black market.

AMY DAVIDSON: You call the stand-off between India and Pakistan in 2002 “the first nuclear crisis of the twenty-first century.” How close to war did they come?

STEVE COLL: They came very close to a conventional war, perhaps as close as they’ve been since 1971. The Indian leaders from that time told me that the decision was a very close thing. What they had in mind was an invasion of Pakistan. The danger was that, once the conventional war began, it would spin out of control. While the Indian leadership felt that the war wouldn’t go nuclear, the Americans watching the crisis thought there was a significant risk that it would.

More:http://www.newyorker.com/online/content/?060213on_onlineonly01