Expressing its concerns over a conventional war between India and Pakistan escalating into a nuclear conflagration, the United States has said that the chance of war between the two neighbours was "higher than at any point since 1971." ''Though the two countries are publicly downplaying the risks of nuclear conflict in the continuing military standoff on their borders, the chance of war between these two nuclear-armed states is higher than at any point since 1971,'' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director George Tenet told the Senate arms services committee in Washington on Tuesday. He said that if India were to conduct large-scale offensive operations into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Pakistan might retaliate with strikes of its own in the belief that its nuclear deterrent would limit the scope of an Indian counter attack. On the nuclear programs of the two South Asian countries, Tenet said that both India and Pakistan were working on the doctrine and tactics for more advanced nuclear weapons, producing fissile material, and increasing their nuclear stockpiles. ''We have continuing concerns that both sides may not be done with nuclear testing,'' he added. The CIA director said that the US could neither rule out the possibility that either country could deploy their most advanced nuclear weapons without additional testing, ''Both countries also continue development of long-range nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and plan to field cruise missiles with a land-attack capability,'' he said testifying before the committee on 'converging dangers in a post 9/11 world.'
The threat to the US from al-Qaeda remains despite the progress in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan, Tenet cautioned lawmakers. ''I must repeat that al-Qaeda has not been destroyed. We must be prepared for a long war, and we must not falter,''
''We assess that al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups will continue to plan to attack this country and its interests abroad. Their modus operandi is to have multiple attack plans in the works simultaneously and to have al-qaeda cells in place to conduct them,'' he said.
Bureau Report