Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

SOUTH ASIA

PAKISTAN: "South Asia After Nuclear Blasts"

The center-right Nation had this op-ed by Rashid Ahmad Khan (6/3): "The experience of the U.S. and the former Soviet Union has shown that the nuclear arms race is unwinnable and self defeating.... It is, therefore, better for both of them that they direct their attention toward the tasks of economic development and social uplift, instead of indulging in a costly nuclear arms race."

"Thank You Vajpayee; Well Done Nawaz Sharif!"

Inayatullah held in the center-right national Nation (6/3): "Because of India's sudden and reckless initiative and subsequent threats, Pakistan today stands taller than ever as the seventh nuclear power in the world.... Unwittingly, India has done what it feared most--escalation of the attention of the international community on India and Pakistan and an urgent need for bringing the two countries together to settle the outstanding issues and lower tensions.... Kashmir has bounced back, much to India's dismay.... It takes guts to say no to the repeated calls of the head of the sole superpower. Having stood his ground, Nawaz Sharif has now to prove his leadership at this most crucial juncture of our existence."

"U.S. Response To Tests"

The centrist News ran this commentary (6/3) by Adil Najam, assistant professor of international relations at Boston University: "Oddly, a number of Pakistanis living in the United States consider (Pakistan's nuclear tests) to be a cause for celebration. As one Pakistani put it: 'Finally, they are taking us seriously and treating us with respect; the bomb was worth it, if only for this!'... The fact of the matter is that Pakistan's nuclear tests have, in fact, upped the ante on the arms race in South Asia. This is no longer about rogue and irresponsible behavior from a country. It is now about the very real possibility of the world's single most populous and volatile region going up in flames--in nuclear flames at that."

"Burden Of Responsibility"

According to the center-right Nation (6/2): "Nuclear weapons can reach their targets here within a few minutes and can kill lakhs of people before they have the time to take shelter.... We should do well to urgently proceed to build a sophisticated system of command and control that it took the big powers a number of years to do."

"Beyond Nuclear Euphoria"

According to the centrist News' editorial (6/1): "The second series of tests has drawn an expected round of international condemnation and opprobrium, and another statement of censure from the UN Security Council. However, as foreign secretary Shamshad Ahmed so forcefully explained at Saturday's press conference, living in the shadow of an expansionist neighbor that...initiated the nuclear race in the subcontinent, Pakistan had learnt that the answer to its security lay in 'credible deterrence.'"

"The Nuclear Dimension'"

In the view of the center-right Nation (6/1): "The international community was not bothered about any stalemate or failure of Pakistan-India talks. Now the world has acquired a vested interest in a positive outcome of such talks. The reason being that their failure could endanger world peace. So, in a way, we have to thank Vajpayee for having created this crisis, because without it the issue of Kashmir would have remained as frozen as ever."

"The Ultimate Virility Test?"

Najma Sadeque remarked in the centrist News (5/31): "Now that muscle and more has been flexed for muscle, hopefully the government will settle down to focus on work it's meant for--the development of the masses...so that there is something to defend. There will be far more to be proud of if the government brings all its people into the economic and political mainstream than in exercises of one-upmanship."

"Can We Survive The Fallout?"

Mahbub ul Haq argued in an op-ed piece in the centrist News (5/31): "If similar economic sanctions are applied to Pakistan, as have already been imposed on India, they are not likely to hurt very much. The economic impact will be marginal. Some pain will be there but it will be entirely manageable."

"State Of Emergency?"

Karachi's independent Dawn pointed out (5/31): "(The people of Pakistan) are one with the government in responding fittingly to the Indian bellicosity.... However, the government's action in clamping a state of emergency and in suspending fundamental rights betrays lack of trust in them. This was uncalled for."

"Avoiding A Nuclear Showdown"

An editorial in Peshawar's independent Frontier Post judged (5/30): "Pakistan's security compulsions have finally outweighed the moral and economic imperatives trotted out by local and foreign advocates of restraint.... In the post-Chagai scenario, U.S. President Bill Clinton is believed to be reviewing his scheduled visit to the region as a mark of displeasure. The region may be left to stew in its own juice for some time to come."

"Challenge And Response"

An editorial in Karachi's independent Dawn concluded (5/30): "Exercising the nuclear option has not been an easy decision for Pakistan to make but...India, by carrying out its nuclear explosions in the teeth of international disapproval, had left Pakistan with no other choice. The security threat that Pakistan faces from India is no figment of any heated imagination."

"Pakistan's Nuclear Tests"

According to the center-right Nation's editorial (5/29): "Pakistan is now a nuclear weapons state for the whole world to see...(and with) the resultant implications.... We had once announced the resolve to be ready to eat grass in order to fulfill our defense needs. That time has come."

INDIA: "Full Steam Ahead, Damn The Torpedoes"

Under the above headline, the centrist Pioneer ran this analysis (6/3) by former Indian diplomat M.N. Buch: "India has nothing to fear from Europe or Japan, both of which have a non-aggressive policy in the matter of defense.... Russia was, and is, our friend. The United States, however, is another kettle of fish.... At one time it almost appeared as if the United States might find an excuse for intervention in Kashmir. The United States is not hostile to India, but time and again it has proved that it is uncomfortable with the idea of a strong India.... China has defied world opinion on nuclear weapons, missiles, Tibet and human rights.... The United States not only condones all these acts but has gone out of its way to treat China as a strategic ally and a major trading partner. Obviously, the United States respects power....

"If...President Bill Clinton tries to force us into isolation we are quite capable of engineering a technological and industrial revolution."

"After The Bomb: Let's Learn The Power Of Silence"

The centrist Times of India featured this analysis (6/3) by columnist Rajendra Puri: "The prime minister allowed half a dozen clowns to wax eloquent before world TV channels speaking gibberish about why we went nuclear. It was pathetic.... There was no need for defense minister George Fernandes to demand that the Big Five nuclear powers recognize India as an equal partner. We should not endeavor to join the Big Five. We should speak for the rest of the world. We should continue to pursue total nuclear disarmament and a just world order."

"Keep Your Differences Aside"

The left-of-center Free Press Journal emphasized (6/3): "It is the duty of every Indian to support the situation even if he may not agree with it. Duty is separate from opinion."

"India, China And The Bomb"

The nationalist Hindustan Times offered this piece (6/3) by senior BJP leader K.R. Malkani, who asserted: "If the A-bomb is good for China, why is it not good for India? Or does Beijing think that the five old nuclear powers...must continue to lord over the world? As for 'hegemony', India is by far the biggest and strongest country in South Asia. It is the predominant power in the entire Indian Ocean rim. That being so, why does it have to 'seek' any 'hegemony?'"

"Tread Softly On My Designs"

The centrist Telegraph's Washington correspondent Seema Sirohi maintained (6/3): "An attempt should have been made to engage Washington, Beijing and Islamabad soon after the tests instead of the 'let the world come to us' approach.... A concerted attempt must be made to win back good will."

"U.S. Nips Pak Hopes For Intervention"

Washington correspondent Seema Sirohi filed for the centrist Telegraph (6/2): "If India (now) continues to bring down the temperature and not respond in kind even if Pakistan conducts the Ghauri test...it will come out the saner of the two parties. Simultaneously, Delhi can launch a diplomatic offensive showing its reasonable, negotiating face to retrieve lost ground."

"The West's Real Fears"

The centrist Pioneer had this view by columnist Sidharth Bhatia (6/2): "The West's worst nightmare has been a bomb in the hands of uncivilized blacks, mad mullahs, sundry Middle East dictators and hordes of unwashed South Asians all of whom may show signs of irrationality, or worse, madness, unlike the highly civilized societies of the West.... The possibility that India has a vibrant public opinion and strongly entrenched institutions, which will disallow adventurism, has not been aired by any world leader."

"Two Steps Backward"

Calcutta's independent Ananda Bazar Patrika featured this view by Calcutta University History professor Suranjan Das (6/2): "The nuclear explosions may be a momentary panacea for an unstable government to cling to power, but in history it will go down as an example of going two steps backward.... This was what the 1974 explosion taught us, and it will be the same in 1998."

"Defusing Tensions"

The nationalist Hindustan Times told its readers (6/1): "The time has come for a conscious effort to defuse tension. India has to take the initiative by not allowing any more partisan noises about security threats and start a diplomatic offensive to reduce tensions in the area."

"Sino-U.S. Tilt Toward Pakistan"

Strategic affairs editor C. Raja Mohan penned this analysis for the centrist Hindu (6/1): "India is confronted with the United States and Chinese tilt towards Pakistan and signs of increasing cooperation between Washington and Beijing to 'manage' the nuclear affairs of the subcontinent.... The convergence of Chinese and American positions on the nuclear issue in South Asia could complicate India's efforts to cope with the new great power diplomacy on the nuclearization of the subcontinent. India will have to reach out to the European powers--Russia and France--to limit the impact of Sino-U.S. cooperation in shaping the collective global nuclear initiative on South Asia."

"Danger Of Nuclear Arms Race"

Independent, Urdu-language Awam emphasized (6/1): "India and Pakistan (must) refrain from activities which are economically ruinous; they must instead pursue a policy of disarmament."

"White House Hubris"

Under the above headline, Bombay's left-of-center Free Press Journal asserted (6/1): "Consider the words of Clinton's aide, Madeleine Albright: 'If we have to use force it is because we are America. We are the indispensable nation. We stand tall and we see into the future.' What hubris! Tell that to your stooges in Islamabad."

"Our Bomb, Their Bomb"

Calcutta's Bengali-language, left-of-center Sambad Pratidin had this editorial by former editor Shankar Ghosh (5/31): "Pakistan has established itself as the leader of the Islamic world...by conducting the nuclear blasts.... (Now) despite all the sanctions of the United States, Pakistan may be flooded with petro-dollars.... Pakistan (also) has China's full support of its aspirations of becoming a nuclear state."

"Pakistan's Eye-Openers"

Pro-BJP, Urdu-language Hind Samachar made these points (5/30): "Pakistan's nuclear tests have vindicated India's position that its own nuclear tests were necessitated by challenges from the outside, namely form China and Pakistan."

"Need For Restraint"

Senior editor Shubha Singh declared in the centrist Pioneer (5/30): "The Pakistani test clearly shows the Pakistan-China axis on the nuclear front.... The United States had been banking on China's leverage over Pakistan in ensuring that Nawaz Sharif's government would not go ahead with nuclear tests. But China obviously did not use adequate pressure."

"In Place Of An Arms Race"

Calcutta's independent, centrist Ananda Bazar Patrika's editorial stated (5/30): "(The) new arms race...on this subcontinent...is uncalled for and unhealthy."

"A Bigger Nuclear Shadow"

The pro-economic reforms Business Standard said (5/29): "The guns-or-butter debate will be decided more in favor of guns, because the Pakistani tests now make it mandatory that a full-scale weaponization program is launched...(based on) money that the government doesn't have.... So what if the country doesn't have electricity, it has atom bombs."

"Dangerous Escalation"

The centrist Hindu opined (5/29): "The sum total of the BJP government's forays into the arenas of national security and diplomacy has been a disastrous unravelling of what have been substantial gains for Indian diplomacy in recent years (in relations with Pakistan and with China.)"

BANGLADESH: "India-Pakistan Power Rivalry"

Pro-Awami League Janakantha opined (5/31), "The Pakistani prime minister has said that, if needed, his people will eat one meal a day as a result of the sanctions imposed by the Western powers.... He knew that if Pakistan tested a nuclear bomb, sanctions would be tougher than those imposed on India. Moreover, Western countries, especially the Europeans, have been dissatisfied with Pakistan following the application of blasphemy laws on Christians, the suicide of a bishop, and communal provocation. Israel, an ally of the United States and Europe, also did not want Pakistan to be a nuclear power. Even China was deeply disturbed and expressed concern over Pakistan's act."

NEPAL: "Days Of Imperialism Are Over"

Independent Kathmandu Post commented (6/1): "The United States, which is a self-appointed policeman of the world, has made observations like 'duplicity' and 'deliberate falsehood.' These smack of unbridled power.... The CTBT is discriminatory...(in allowing) club members to retain the bomb and nuclear weapons. The Third World is not any country's vassal. America has not yet realized that the days of imperialism are over."

"Poverty-Stricken Region"

Centrist Kantipur (6/1) commented: "South Asia is a poverty-stricken region.... Nuclear tests are definitely not a priority for this area."

EUROPE

BRITAIN: "Next Step For Nuclear Five"

In the editorial view of the liberal Guardian (6/3): "The nuclear summit tomorrow in Geneva will reflect a sense of utter hopelessness over the new arms race in South Asia. In advance of the foreign ministers' meeting of the Nuclear Five, diplomats have already been seeking to lower expectations.... Is there any alternative to pessimism--not to say cynicism--at a state of affairs which always existed on paper but has now been translated by the Indo-Pakistan escalation into reality? That is, that nuclear weapons are here to stay and with them the ineluctable expansion of the nuclear club.... A new, serious, sustained effort has to be made to begin to move towards abolition, and the Nuclear Five have to make it. That is what they should start talking about in Geneva."

"Pakistan's Folly"

The conservative Daily Telegraph's lead editorial stressed (5/29): "The main task of the Clinton administration and its allies must now be to persuade India and Pakistan that, having achieved nuclear status, they should sign the CTBT and join the talks on halting the production of weapons-grade fissile material. Something might yet be salvaged from a dismal month, but we are not betting on it."

FRANCE: "Israel Fears A Domino Effect"

Philippe Gelie pointed out in right-of-center Le Figaro (6/3): "The strategic ties that bind India and Israel have fed Pakistan's fears, with allegations that two of the five bombs tested by New Delhi were supplied by Israel.... Meanwhile, Tehran has congratulated Pakistan for its tests and saluted the 'Islamic bomb that reassures the Muslim world.'... Netanyahu immediately recalled the need to keep Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, because Israel is concerned that the isolation brought on by U.S. sanctions might 'throw Islamabad into the arms of its neighbor.'... The fact is that the game of dominoes which started on the Indian subcontinent is slowly progressing toward the Middle East."

"Face-Off Between Muslim And Hindu Extremists"

Right-of-center Les Echos commented in its editorial (6/2): "Pakistan has just shown it gives as little importance to international opinion as it does to pressure from other nuclear powers, such as the United States.... Unfortunately, it is not certain whether the economic sanctions decided by Washington and Tokyo will have any more results than the European Union's verbal condemnation."

"A Nightmare For The Super Powers"

Pierre Haski stressed in left-of-center Liberation (5/29): "American sanctions against India and Pakistan look very much like a slap on the hand of unruly children who will continue to do as they please.... The task at hand in the region is to try and make China and Russia play a stabilizing role.... Unfortunately it may look like the challenge is too great for either the United States or the UN. Yet the alternative can easily be imagined."

RUSSIA: "Moral Obligations Failed"

Official government Rossiyskaya Gazeta (6/2) stated in a comment by Nikolai Paklin: "Nuclear blasts on both sides of the Indian-Pakistani border have shown the true worth of the oft-repeated assurances by New Delhi and Islamabad that their nuclear programs are strictly peaceful. Not being parties to the NPT and CTBT, India and Pakistan have certainly not violated those treaties. But they have moral obligations to the international community which has resolved to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. Acting in the spirit of good will, the world must make a deal with 'the nuclear trouble-makers.' They may need security guarantees, including from nuclear powers."

"America Loses Influence"

Centrist Nezavisimaya Gazeta (5/30) front-paged this comment by Dmitry Kosyrev and Aleksandr Reutov: "Pakistan's action is evidence of the United States losing influence in South Asia. By contrast, China is gaining more leverage. The Pakistanis consider it a friend, their only one in today's world."

GERMANY: "Bombs To Wage A War"

Kurt Kister has this to say in an editorial in centrist Sueddeutsche Zeitung of Munich (6/3): "The idea of containing the rekindled nuclear fire (following the nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan) with the help of instruments of arms control sounds attractive at first inspection.... Why shouldn't it work between India and Pakistan? The answer is simple: Both states are about to produce their own stockpile of nuclear weapons--not to reduce them but to possess them They are not so much interested in the ideology of deterrence but in the status of being a nuclear power.... Arms control between Moscow and Washington worked after decades of arms modernization because both sides reduced their excessive nuclear arsenals without giving up their capability for a second strike. But Pakistan, for instance, also wants the bomb to balance the conventional superiority of the Indians. This is a thinking NATO cultivated in the '50s: Nuclear shells against the masses of red tanks. This was why that was an era of confrontation and not of arms control."

"U.S. Helplessness"

Werner Adam held in a front-page editorial in right-of-center Frankfurter Allgemeine (6/1): "India and Pakistan...are now demanding access to the club of five established nuclear powers. This is a painful experience for the U.S. superpower and is demonstrated not only by the apparently helpless appeals to Delhi and Islamabad to present evidence of their peaceful intentions as quickly as possible. Washington's limited possibilities to influence events are also expressed by U.S. efforts to win Moscow's support for increased pressure on India and to get Beijing's support to do the same on its close ally in Pakistan. And if even the United States does not really know what to do, we can expect even less from the United Nations. We must now call upon India and Pakistan...to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaties."

"True Power Is Not Embedded In Nuclear Missiles"

Centrist Sueddeutsche Zeitung of Munich (5/30) noted: "Pakistan and India will quickly realize that they can buy little with nuclear weapons--as much as you can buy with a thousand dollar bill in a bakery.... This arms race on the Indian subcontinent will continue to weaken India and Pakistan even more--as will the sanctions that both countries deserve."

ITALY: "After the Crisis And The Bomb"

A front-page editorial in provocative, classical liberal daily Il Foglio held (6/2): "In three weeks, Clinton will have to face the security issue with Chinese delegates.... Notwithstanding initial firm measures against India and Pakistan, the United States seems substantially interested in involving New Delhi and Islamabad in the nuclear club...that tends to go side by side with the UN Security Council. In Washington, the conviction that the UN is gone from an operational point of view and that it is doomed to become a costly and inefficient bureaucracy is prevailing. All these elements appear destabilizing for Asia, but they also represent a push to reconsider security on the continent as one problem. And it would not be surprising if Clinton and Zhu Rongii will talk about it already in June."

"U.S.' Inability To Influence Events"

Andrea di Robilant wrote from Washington in centrist, influential La Stampa (5/29): "The events of the last two weeks have revealed the United States' inability to influence events in an explosive area of the world. Clinton intended to visit India and Pakistan next fall to improve relations with those two nations. Now those relations appear seriously damaged."

SPAIN: "New Nuclear Risk"

Luis Foix wrote in Barcelona's centrist La Vanguardia (6/2): "The most dangerous fallacy into which we can now fall is to think that the conduct of India and Pakistan or other recently nuclear-armed nations will mirror that of the opposing blocks during the Cold War.... There is (no) guarantee that in a crisis situation (the Pakistani) government would not resort to the use of atomic weapons."

AUSTRIA: "Islamic Bomb"

Gudrun Harrer wrote in independent Der Standard (5/29): "Only the United States decided to impose sanctions against India, the other nuclear powers made a weak sign of refusal. It remains to be seen if Pakistan's nuclear bomb will be rated as more dangerous by the world, since it is an Islamic one. The smaller and economically weaker Pakistan will be affected more severely by possible sanctions than India, but on the other hand, it can count on its friend, China, and on a security guarantee from the United States--as well as on the dubious advantage of having been goaded by India into launching the new arms race.... The cards have been laid on the table: The world has two more declared nuclear powers--which are living in constant tension."

AZERBAIJAN: "Balance Of Power Shifts--In Pakistan's Favor "

Tofiqa Qasimova wrote in independent Ayna/Zerkalo (5/30): "Obviously, Pakistan...has the right to security.... The long-time bloody conflict in Kashmir...(creates) a specific background for this.... So they not only carried out 'adequate' nuclear tests, but also are equipping the ballistic 'Ghauri' missiles with nuclear warheads--India does not have anything of the kind. Once again, the balance of forces in the region tilted. This time, to Pakistan's benefit. Besides, public support there may turn out to be much more impressive."

BELGIUM: "An Indigestible Appetizer"

From Luxembourg, Pierre Lefevre reports in independent Le Soir (5/29): "India's nuclear tests had shaken the G-8 summit in Birmingham. Those of Pakistan shook the North Atlantic Council in Luxembourg. Ministers did not appreciate it. They were sitting down to eat, at noon, when the news of the tests broke. It was an indigestible appetizer.... One observed the split that was already obvious two weeks ago about India: Washington (was) calling for sanctions; Paris advocating a 'genuine dialogue' to prompt both countries to sign the treaties; Moscow ruling out sanctions from the radical measures it demanded."

CANADA: "Failure Of Nuclear Deterrence In South Asia"

The leading Globe and Mail had this commentary (6/1): "What is transpiring in South Asia is unprecedented. For the first time a Hindu chauvinistic party is in power in New Delhi while an Islamic party is governing Pakistan. The volatility in that region bears no resemblance to the deterrent situation that characterized the U.S.-Soviet conflict.... India and Pakistan have stepped up fighting in the disputed state of Kashmir.... The specter of two of the world's poorest counties embarking on a costly arms race is disturbing."

"Asia's New Balance Of Nuclear Terror"

The left-of-center Vancouver Sun's editorial asserted (5/29): "Now that this pair of scorpions [India and Pakistan] has assured each other's destruction in the event of an out-of-control escalation of hostilities, Pakistan and India should delay no further in signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Curbing the size of the nuclear club is the sane thing to do."

CZECH REPUBLIC: "Who's Next After Pakistan?"

A commentary in right-of-center Mlada fronta DNES asserted (5/29): "After the hotheads cool down after the Pakistani tests, a much more serious question will emerge: Who will come next? The prospect is more than bad--Iran, or even North Korea. But there are many more candidates. Each and every nation has the right to manufacture an atomic bomb.... And yet...atomic weapons should not be in everybody's hands. Certainly not in the hands of the regimes that threaten others and are not able to control their arsenals."

DENMARK: "Pakistan's Nuclear Testing Causes Global Dilemma"

Conservative Jyllands-Posten's editorial held (5/29): "A nuclear race in Asia now seems inevitable.... No reaction will be interpreted as a stamp of approval by countries, who wish to own nuclear weapons themselves. (But) a firm reaction from the old nuclear powers will immediately lead to accusations of hypocrisy. Why was the United States ready to start a new war against Iraq last winter because of the country's chemical and biological weapons, whereas the nuclear race in Asia is merely met by words? That is the nuclear dilemma."

HUNGARY: "First Islamic Nuclear Bomb"

Conservative Napi Magyarorszag ran this opion piece (6/1) by junior foreign affairs columnist Gabor Zord: "The nuclear arm of Islamabad is...the very first weapon of mass destruction in the Islamic world. A religious and ruling group, or 'unit' that is considered to be the most extreme and most unpredictable threat to Western world both in mentality and practice, has now laid hold of a very effective tool. The 'big nuclear bang' could have a very strange effect on the number-one enemy of the Islamic world, Israel.... The fact that the area of Israel is small and its population density high, means that even one nuclear weapon, reaching its land from any direction, can cause radical changes on the map of the Middle East. Even if Israel possesses the same type of technology, the size of the Muslim world does not allow a comparable kind of response."

POLAND: "Atoms Or Peace?"

Right-of-center Zycie queried (6/2): "Why such an unbridled need to teach the Hindus and Pakistanis lessons of moral behavior and to threaten them with sanctions? What the two nations do is actually no different from what the Americans and Russians have been doing for the last five decades--building a nuclear security zone."

SLOVENIA: "Pakistan Has Cured Its Wounded Pride"

Left-of-center independent Vecer (6/1) commented: "A country that cannot even provide enough drinking water for its people permitted...nuclear tests.... The Third World has no right to imitate the nuclear history of the developed world...not only because of its survival and security, but also because of its share of global responsibility."

SWEDEN: "This Far But No Further"

Independent, liberal Dagens Nyheter stressed (5/29): "Pakistan [claims] that it had no choice after India's nuclear tests. However, this is ultimately a move to strengthen the national authority of the political leadership...and the cost of this symbolic act for the people of India and Pakistan might be tremendously high.... Today no country will be met with understanding for starting a new nuclear arms race. The clear-cut message to India and Pakistan from the international community must be: 'this far but no further.' China's lukewarm support for the nuclear test ban treaty must not be additionally strained."

THE NETHERLANDS: "Cheering On The Way To Armageddon"

Influential, liberal-left De Volkskrant opined (5/29): "In spite of the still vivid memory of A-bombs falling on Japan, the world already has been preciously close to the edge of nuclear war several times. Most frightening is the great joy in India and Pakistan over these shows of national power because this clearly demonstrates that the people clearly do not understand the gravity of the danger.... This is cheering on the way to Armageddon."

TURKEY: "The Nuclear Race In Asia"

Ergun Balci wrote in intellectual Cumhuriyet (6/1): "The nuclear race between Pakistan and India is one of the most dangerous developments in the post-Cold War era. This nuclear armament race is a both tragedy and comedy, because at least half of both India's and Pakistan's populations are in poverty. The economic sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe are going to make these countries suffer more. However, the real sufferers will be the people who are in poverty.... The responsibility for this dangerous race belongs to India. And it seems that the current situation will likely create more serious developments in Asia."

EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC

CHINA: "Will Tests Trigger 'Domino Effect?'"

The official Legal Daily (Fazhi Ribao) and Science and Technology Daily (Keji Ribao) (5/30) both devoted an entire page to South Asian nuclear tests, saying in part: "The Pandora's Box of a nuclear arms race has been opened in South Asia, with Pakistan and India respectively conducting nuclear tests.... Will they trigger a 'domino effect' if the international community fails to impose stern sanctions on them?"

"India's Acts Have Forced Pakistan Onto Dangerous Road"

Chong Yang wrote in the official Central Legal and Political Commission Legal Daily (Fazhi Ribao) (5/30): "India's acts have forced Pakistan onto a dangerous road of nuclear tests.... It is nearly impossible for the two nations either to resume negotiations in the near future or to resolve their disputes through peaceful means.... The future of the India-Pakistan relationship is not optimistic."

HONG KONG: "Nuclear Neighbors Acting Like Spoiled Children"

The independent Hong Kong Standard remarked (6/1): "Both (India and Pakistan) have talked and worked themselves out of the world's mainstream; their mutual annihilation will not be a loss to anyone outside the subcontinent.... Much more than...sanctions are called for if we are to prevent a nuclear holocaust in Asia."

"Sino-U.S. Cooperation Can Stabilize South Asia"

Independent Ming Pao Daily News noted (5/31): "China was the sole nuclear power in Asia before India and Pakistan launched their nuclear tests. It is also a signatory to the CTBT and has a close relationship with Pakistan. In the present situation, the United States...will hope for China to play a stabilizing role in Asia."

JAPAN: "India, Pakistan Must Learn Nuclear Arms Race Will Not Pay"

Conservative Sankei had this editorial view (6/3): "Nuclear tests by India and Pakistan, like Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, can be interpreted as challenges to the international order....

"The international community must teach India and Pakistan that a nuclear race does not pay. To do so, sanctions and other retaliatory measures must be taken to 'contain' the two countries.... As a first step, all countries which can exert a strong influence on India and Pakistan must do whatever they can to prevent hostilities. The two nations have tested missile launchings. Should they go to war, there would be no guarantee that they would not use nuclear arms."

"CTBT Should Be Ratified Immediately"

Liberal Mainichi's editorial held (6/2): "It appears that the U.S. strategy of limiting the number of countries with nuclear weapons has lost its effectiveness. Developing countries can now develop nuclear arms with their own economic and technological capabilities.... Although Japan joined the United States in imposing sanctions against India and Pakistan following their nuclear tests, none of the other nuclear powers--Britain, France, China or Russia--followed their lead. The UN also stood by powerlessly.... Japan...has submitted to the UN Security Council a resolution calling for the suspension of nuclear tests.... Japan should...(also) urge the United States, China and Russia to ratify the CTBT immediately and close down their nuclear testing facilities. India, Pakistan and all other nuclear-capable nations should also ratify the CTBT quickly."

"International Community Must Act Fast"

Top-circulation, moderate Yomiuri held (5/31): "The political and military situation in South Asia is sliding into an extremely dangerous state."

AUSTRALIA: "Road To Nowhere"

The liberal Canberra Times insisted (6/1): "It is vital that every effort is made to retain the close involvement of (India and Pakistan) in the international community. To treat them as pariah states and isolate them from normal concourse would be to add to the hysteria--perhaps even paranoia--that actuates the fanatics within their leadership."

"The Balance Of Power"

The national business-oriented Australian Financial Review held (6/1): "It makes...strategic sense for the five permanent members of the UN Security Council...to accept India and Pakistan as members of their exclusive nuclear club. This week's meeting of these powers' foreign ministers convened by the U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, could be a good starting point. The international community could help engage a serious dialogue between Islamabad and New Delhi on the ways in which they can prevent misunderstandings with cataclysmic consequences. "

INDONESIA: "Counting The Costs Of Nuclear Weaponry"

Leading independent Kompas suggested (6/2): "Developing countries--regardless of whether or not their argument for owning nuclear arms is valid--should count the costs of developing such weaponry.... Such is a healthy view for, given the current economic difficulties, prestige programa should give way to programs which could strengthen people's economy and welfare."

MALAYSIA: "New Threats With India, Pakistan In N-Club"

The government-influenced Star judged (6/2): "The world faces a greater nuclear threat now that India and Pakistan have joined this exclusive club.... It is difficult to explain away the need to possess such weapons of mass destruction.

"This is the sort of madness which must stop, though it is unlikely that much can be done if a government should decide to experiment with such nuclear devices.... Having the capacity to manufacture a nuclear bomb may boost the ego of the politicians and some sections of the population. But the money is better spent on food, education, health and other social amenities which will improve the livelihood of the people. The other governments must put a stop to this issue before it gets out of hand."

PHILIPPINES: "South Asia's Flash Point"

Publisher Gil Santos opined in the government-owned Philippine Journal (6/1): "Intensification of this flash point is more frightful because the two populous countries (their combined populations are almost a billion) have the Kashmir territorial dispute and a common border. For now, it appears that India is more conciliatory of the two; and New Delhi is just as interested as Pakistan in going to the diplomatic table in the UN and Washington."

"A Hopeless Race"

Dan Mariano wrote in liberal Today (5/30): "Neither counry can ever hope to win the South Asian nuclear arms race, which will force India and Pakistan to channel what scarce resources they have into building nuclear arsenals. National pride can't feed the subcontinent's poor--who make up one-sixth of all humankind."

SINGAPORE: "Nuclear Madness"

In the view of the pro-government Straits Times (5/30): "The nuclear arms race has been reignited in the Asian sub-continent with nationalistic fervor, and there will be no winners from this one. Not only is there greater danger of a nuclear holocaust now, India and Pakistan, two of the world's poorest countries, will be denied billions of dollars in aid and grants as a result of the economic sanctions by the United States and Japan.... The only thing left to be done, if good sense can prevail, is for both countries to forgo more tests, stop the escalation of terror and sign the CTBT.... (But) other nuclear threshold states, such as Israel and North Korea, would go the same way, if the pain of sanctions is not felt. India and Pakistan have set a bad precedent. No thanks to them, the world is now a more dangerous place."

SOUTH KOREA: "Nuclear Domino Feared"

Conservative Segye Ilbo opined (6/3): "Now that China is saying it might carry out nuclear tests, a genuine nuclear threat is growing and spreading. If the confrontation between India and Pakistan heats up, China says it may have to leave the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and conduct nuclear tests. China's main point is that it cannot continue to fully comply with the Treaty when testing is going in other countries.... Whether China will carry out its threat will have to be seen. Doing so, however, will mean the complete collapse of the world nuclear order."

"Nuclear Confrontation: No Solution?"

Conservative Segye Ilbo (6/2) commented: "The top priority for the United States seems to be how to calm down the heated confrontational mood in the region.... While Washington badly wants the UNSC to come up with substantive sanctions against these two nations, the prospect is not very likely.... The whole episode may prove to be an opportunity for the United States to push for adoption of the CTBT. The United States' dilemma is that it is not sure how to go about it."

"U.S. Dilemma"

Conservative Segye Ilbo commented (6/1): "The recent nuclear tests by India and Pakistan have revealed the limits of (the United States') leadership.... It looks like Washington will have to rely on China to curb Pakistan."

THAILAND: "Nuclear Equilibrium In The Middle East"

Charnnarish Boonpharod commented in elite Naew Na (6/3): "It is getting interesting now that the India-Pakistan tit-for-tat nuclear tests have been linked to situation in the Middle East, as some regional Muslim states--despite their reluctant support of Pakistan's detonations--pointed out that if Pakistan shares its nuclear technological know-how with them, a nuclear equilibrium between Israel and Arab states could be reached.... Another spinoff from the India-Pakistan faceoff...is renewed criticisms against Israel's secret nuclear development program...and the long connivance of the West, and in particular the United States.... That said, any attempt by Arab states to use nuclear weaponry as a counterweight may easily prove a failure as past records show that Israel is rather unbending in dealing with its Arab neighbors."

"Pakistan's Missed Chance For Statesmanship"

The top-circulation, moderately conservative, English-language Bangkok Post held (5/29): "It is depressing to consider that Pakistan considers that its best option is to take part in a new cold war.... Pakistan should have taken the moral high road and shown it was superior to India in ideals that truly matter."

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

ISRAEL: "Linking The Unlinked"

Analyst Amos Camel wrote in mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot (6/3): "Israel's most generous West Bank pullback will not make Iran change its ominous nuclear urge one bit. But the linkage some Israelis are trying to make between the two is as dangerous as it is potentially self-fulfilling.... There can be no better way to indicate to the Palestinians and Syrians that it would be worth their while to pursue an intransigent line."

"Nuclear Bombs And Pullback Percentage Points"

Anti-Netanyahu analyst Yoel Marcus observed in liberal, anti-government Haaretz (6/2): "In the wake of the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests...Iraq and Iran might, in the very near future, join the nuclear club. Our stubborn squabble over the security value of a tiny percentage point of West Bank land...is more than just ridiculous; it is, in effect, playing Russian roulette with this country's fate."

"In The Shadow Of The Bomb"

Defense analyst Meir Stiglitz commented in mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot (6/2): "Thanks to Premier Netanyahu's 'peace and security' policy, even the most moderate of Muslims now link Israel's position on the second redeployment with the Pakistani bomb.... Worse still, Israel under Netanyahu has lost all overt and secret venues for discussing with our neighbors regional nuclear and missile nonproliferation.... Some Israelis put their trust in the Arrow missile killer system to stop the bomb; others look to the Bible. Both methods would prove equally ineffective should the Muslim Mushroom be allowed to go berserk."

"The Ultimate Argument"

Mass-appeal, pluralist Maariv's editorial stated (6/1): "Pakistan's ties with Iran make us doubly worried about this 'first Islamic Bomb.' Of all the arguments in favor of speeding up the peace process, this is the most compelling one."

"An American Test"

Anti-Netanyahu Haaretz wrote in its lead editorial (6/1): "The road from South Asia to the Middle East is short. Putting a stop to the nuclearization of Iran and Iraq will be harder now that India and Pakistan have taken their bombs out of the basement. This is the test of American leadership.... Khamenei, Saddam and Netanyahu can be counted upon to have taken note of Vajpayee's and Sharif's success in defying Clinton. President Clinton, defending himself politically and legally at home, now has to prove that he is still 'the policeman of the world.'"

EGYPT: "Sincere Calls From Cairo On Reviewing The NPT"

Ibrahim Nafie, editor-in-chief of pro-government Al Ahram, commented (6/3): "We have repeatedly warned against the American statements threatening to withdraw from the peace process. Now James Rubin said that the American president and officials could not stop the nuclear tests race. This is true, but the United States could have avoided this failure if it listened to the sincere calls from Cairo and other capitals on reviewing the NPT.... The statement reveals clearly the American wish to relinquish its responsibility toward the Israeli nuclear weapon."

"Israel Created This Horrible Phantom"

Dr. Hassan Ragab contributed this comment to pro-government Al Akhbar (6/2): "Israel created this horrible phantom of an Islamic threat.... But the United States' anger emerges from the fact that the Indian tests motivated Pakistan's Islamic bomb.... I hope more Islamic countries possess nuclear bombs."

"West Instigating Israel Against Pakistan"

Opposition Al Wafd opined (6/2): "The West tried to bribe Pakistan not to conduct its tests. When Pakistan refused the bargain, the West started a vicious campaign to distort its images and twist facts. Now the West is instigating Israel against Pakistan, claiming that the Pakistani bomb threatens Israel's security. American foolishness should stop, because this could lead to a third World War."

"Joy In The Islamic Street"

Ahmed Bahgat, columnist for pro-government Al Ahram, held (6/1): "Pakistan's nuclear tests brought joy to the Islamic street.... Arabs ask, why does the new world order not dare to blame Israel for its nuclear arsenal? This is an unacceptable injustice."

"Strategic Balance"

Pro-government Al Ahram ran this unsigned editorial (6/1): "Pakistan retained the necessary strategic balance in the Indian region. International powers should encourage India and Pakistan to realize that continuing the nuclear race is not in their, or anybody's, interest. Indian and Pakistani extremists could take the nuclear balance to the level of real danger, which is exactly what should be immediately avoided."

BAHRAIN: "Of Bombs And Religions"

Leading, semi-independent Al-ayam, in comment by Sawsan Al-Shaer, remarked (6/1): "It is surprising how weapons get attributed to religions.... Such as calling the Pakistani bomb "the Islamic bomb,' produced to counter the 'Hindu bomb,' which was made in collaboration with the 'Jewish bomb' owned by Israel, which was made thanks to the 'Christian bomb' owned by America... Only our people (the Arabs) associate weapons with the respective religions of the countries who possess them, even though the man behind the Indian nuclear program is an Indian Muslim, loyal to his country, who does not associate his religion with his work. But we, as usual, whenever we speak to our (Arab) nations, do not hesitate to try and garner support by associating ideas with religion."

"Yes! The Islamic Bomb Has Become Reality!"

According to leading, semi-official Akhbar al-Khalij's Abdulmalik Salman (5/29): "Yes! The Islamic bomb has become a reality.... The Pakistani Islamic bomb will have its effect, directly or indirectly, on the balance of power between the Arabs and Israel."

JORDAN: "The Islamic Bomb"

Columnist Fahed Fanek commented in pro-government, influential Al-Rai (6/1): "India and Pakistan's) recent nuclear explosions have effectively annulled the NPT, and they have made the sanctions imposed on Iraq ridiculous, since this country is in a region that is replete with nuclear weapons. Ironically, India and Pakistan refused to sign the treaty because each country suspected the other of working to develop a nuclear weapon. However, the Arabs have signed the treaty, although they knew that Israel has such a weapon.... Arab regimes are specialists in...sacrificing their national security, and committing themselves to unilateral international law, thereby surrendering their strategic options free of charge."

KUWAIT: "Hindu-French-Zionist-U.S. Connection"

Independent Al-Watan, featured this commentary by Khaled al-Adwa, who opined (5/30): "America has supported India and its nuclear program since the 1960s, and the mission was assigned to France to provide India with 'heavy water' until 1995, under Zionist supervision. The Zionists have assisted in building India's nuclear capability. All these countries have worked [together]à to humiliate, threaten and blackmail the Islamic nationà since Bhutto's declaration in the 1970s of Pakistan's determination to possess nuclear power, the West, America, India and Israel have been placed on alert."

"Three Cheers For Pakistan"

Independent Al-Anba judged (6/1): "It is the right of Muslims to [applaud] the success of Pakistan's nuclear tests as it is a challenge to India, whose Hindus violated the sanctities of sacred mosques."

MOROCCO: "Double Standard Has Encouraged Nuclear Arms Race"

Government-owned RTM Radio commented (6/2): "The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has pointed out that Israel has possessed nuclear weapons for years without facing any punishment from the rest of the world. The double standard policy which excludes Israel from nuclear inspection has encouraged the nuclear arms race.'"

QATAR: "Arab And Islamic Public Support For Pakistan"

Nasser Al-Othman, editor in chief of semi-independent Al-Rayah commented (5/29): "If the United States and Europe are keen on halting the nuclear race...they should exert pressure and impose sanctions on Israel and India first. They should flex their muscles at the countries that started the race, not at those who try to protect themselves and their existence. And because we know that the United States and the West will not do that, but instead will respond in a crazy way towards Pakistan, we urge, insist on, and demand Arab and Islamic public support for Pakistan."

SAUDI ARABIA: "Double Standard Nuclear Policies"

Moderate Al-Jazira opined (6/1): "The major nuclear states are unfair in its dealings with the rest of the world and double standard nuclear policies are the main reason behind the lack of respect for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty among states of the world."

"Sanctions Will Create Other Problems"

Conservative Al-Riyadh commented (5/30): "Sanctions against both nuclear states (i.e., India and Pakistan)...will create other problems, such as, for instance, the transfer of nuclear technology out of economic necessity, a threat that equals providing this weapon to non-nuclear states."

SYRIA: "India And Pakistan's Nuclear Test"

Mohamed Khair Al-Wadi intoned in government-owned Tishreen (6/2): "The big fuss made over the danger of Pakistani/Indian nuclear tests is not convincing because there is an ultimate silence on the Israeli nuclear arsenal.... The United States' double standard has torpedoed America's political credibility and dignity. Law should apply to everybody without exceptions."

TUNISIA: "Why The Anger Over Pakistan's Tests?"

Editor-in-chief Abdelhamid Riahi wrote in independent Ash-Shourouq (5/30): "The Pakistani nuclear test provoked a strong reaction in the West...as if the nuclear club is only open to certain countries and not to others.... We welcome a world without weapons of mass destruction, a world where everybody will be treated equally.... If the world applies this standard to everyone, Arab and Third World countries will be the first to applaud this decision of nuclear abolishment...but for now we do not see what crime Pakistan has committed.... We won't accuse any Arab country that joins the nuclear club because we have the right to create a balance with Israel for our national security."

AFRICA

NIGERIA: "A Dangerous Trend"

The Lagos-based, partly government-owned Daily Times (6/3) said: "Tests by a number of other 'threshold' states are likely to trigger off a dangerous and uncontrolled proliferation of nuclear weapons.... It is our hope that the London talks scheduled for next week will lead to a re-think on the current maneuvers that may bring the world to a precipice."

SOUTH AFRICA: "Limitations Of U.S. Influence"

Independent, centrist Sunday Times commented (5/31): "The crisis has highlighted the limitations of the United States' influence as the world's superpower....

"The inability of the United States and world opinion to temper the situation could add fuel to the nationalistic fires of other states like Iraq, Iran and North Korea. They, too, could consider the time ripe to flex their suspected nuclear muscles. But...the fact that nuclear powers like the United Sates, Russia and China have not ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which India and Pakistan are being asked to sign, is often forgotten.... South Africa could use its moral authority...and press for a new debate on global atomic disarmament."

"Gandhi Was Never More Needed Than Now"

Conservative Citizen (5/29) commented: "We do not pretend to understand the jingoistic clarion calls emanating from (India and Pakistan.)... Coupled with the deliberate use of nuclear devices this posturing language makes an unedifying, frightening spectacle. The pacifist, non-violent, reasoned spirit of Mahatma Gandhi was never more needed than now."

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

ARGENTINA: "U.S. Major Political Victim"

Marcelo Cantelmi, leading Clarin's international editor, opined (5/31): "If with a relatively friendly democracy like India, with solid relations with the Western world, Washington is unable to forecast the nuclear move, what can one expect from countries which we consider our declared enemies?... Pakistan, another Western ally, has just shown the United States its limitations to control a back yard which has grown enormously since the end of the Cold War."

"Alarming Rebirth Of Nationalist Passions"

Daily-of-record La Nacion's editorial pointed out (5/30): "Neither the perspective of economic sanctions, nor world condemnation, nor Clinton's burdensome efforts have had any dissuasive effects.... Today...we must fear the challenge of fanaticism, which, through the extorsive use of terrible weapons of mass destruction, could trigger unstoppable catastrophes.... The big powers and the entire world community must assume clear and firm positions to stop this regressive and terrifying phenomenon from moving forward."

BRAZIL: "Shattered Order"

Center-right, pro-government Correio Braziliense carried an opinion piece by columnist Helio Doyle (6/1): "[The new nuclear threat represented by India and Pakistan] is a clear sign that there is resistance against the attempt to impose a world order overriding national sovereignties. The United States' traditional threats and tempting bribes were of no avail in stopping Pakistan from testing.... The Islamic and Hindu bombs may provoke Israel into showing its hand. Other countries capable of building the bomb may also feel inclined to do so. The world will then miss the good old days of the Cold War."

CHILE: "Nuclear Tests In Asia"

Popular, conservative La Segunda had this editorial (6/1): "The UNSC as well as the superpowers have deplored what has happened but, in fact, lack the effective means to stop (India and Pakistan) from continuing the tests. Economic sanctions affect the smaller countries and can seriously hurt the most needy part of the population, but will hardly make the governments change their policy.... Countries such as France and China have acted in the nuclear arena with total disregard for world opinion and without the UN trying to stop them or even imposing effective sanctions. The experience is a disappointment for those nations that in good faith have signed the NPT."

BARBADOS: "Next Nuclear Bomb Explosion: Africa?"

The populist Barbados Advocate warned (5/29) that we ignore at our peril the possibility of nuclear devices being used in African internecine strife: "The world's bifocal view of Africa permits no such overt abhorrence of the ceaseless black-on-black slaughter there.... Until, perhaps, if one of that continent's governments ever explodes a nuclear device and, like India and Pakistan, triggers international alarm. That day is (not far off.)... There are any number of avaricious mercenary scientists abroad willing to carry on where the Internet leaves off."

GUATEMALA: "Atomic Phantom Roams Again"

Opposition El Grafico observed in its main editorial (5/29): "It is incredible that India and Pakistan, countries with such great poverty levels, could invest millions of dollars in constructing deadly weapons.... Worst of all, India and Pakistan's nuclear tests break the fragile harmony in Asia.... It would seem people are determined to live at war, to destroy our world and accelerate the end of life on our planet. It doesn't seem enough to endure changes in weather, air or sea pollution."

HONDURAS: "Hypocrisy Of Industrialized Nations"

Sensationalist, liberal El Periodico opined (6/2): "The crisis brought on by India's five nuclear tests and the responding six from Pakistan, once again brought to light the hypocrisy of some industrialized nations, namely the United States, which tries to force other countries not to produce arms of massive destruction without doing so itself."

JAMAICA: "A Moral Dilemma"

The business-oriented, centrist Daily Observer opined (6/2): "India and Pakistan will argue that those who castigate them most...may not themselves be fit to be moral arbiters. America...preaches against the dangers of nuclear weapons and argues for non-proliferation, but does not itself intend to dismantle its bombs. While we recognize such moral inconsistencies, we would suggest that in the old cultures of the subcontinent, there are deeper moral and ethical consistencies which rise above the sheer might of weapons."

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6/3/98

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