It always amuses me to see young Pakistanis exulting at their so-called thumbing of the nuclear nose at India posts the tests.
We are now in a totally new century, and the dynamics of war as well as peace have changed post 9/11.
Even super-powers have learned that it is impossible to put boots on foreign soil, no matter how weak, and keep those boots there.
In the absence of boots on the ground all you can really do to a country is devastate it. But where is the true profit in that? And that is one of the changes of this century.
All wars are fought for profit. And fighting a war is expensive business. Especially when you are fighting off your own dollar ..... or rupee.
Every war from now on that pakistan fights with India, regardless of the military result, further pushes Pakistan closes to the brink of economic anarchy. Pakistan knows this. So does India.
If India sees no profit in pakistan, if India has no interest in putting Indian boots on pakistan, and keeping them there, why would India ever go to war with pakistan? What does India need or want or covet, that Pakistan has, and which India is willing to go to war for? Realistically?
India today is making rapid strides globally as a growing power. That is a heady drug for the masses, who once they get a whiff of prosperity, will never ever monger for war. The masses elect their leaders, the masses keep them in power. The eders hence realise that war does not pay.
The story is very different in pakistan.
For India, all it really needs from pakistan, is for pakistan not to finger India in India. And India has only two ways of ensuring that.
Protecting itself and continue growing militarily and economically.
Keeping pakistan busy elsewhere, progressively pushing them into a corner economically.
Gridlock.
Cheers, Doc