Nuclear Test

Re “America Must Face Down India,” by Ahmad Kamal, Commentary, May 12: The self-serving column by Pakistan’s representative to the U.N. is so full of innuendoes that it hardly deserves a reply. However, we have to look at the logic behind India’s nuclear program. India’s refusal to limit nuclear weapons can be compared to the United States’ refusal to sign the global land mine ban treaty. The U.S. government has argued that it needs land mines to protect South Korea from an attack by North Korea.

India’s self-interest dictates that it protect itself against the nuclear threat of China. There is a long-standing hostility between the two countries, related to their 1,000-mile-long unmarked border.

If the nuclear nations can guarantee the security of India, then there would be no need of India’s nuclear program. In the absence of such a guarantee, the U.S. cannot condemn India.

STEVE GUPTA

Glendale