‘Good governance key to happy J-K’

He digressed and said September 11’s implications have been exaggerated. There are three major policy implications of September 11 for the US, he said.

First, don’t exaggerate the threat and run the risk of creating another generation of terrorists. Second, Washington must not abandon its policies before 9/11. Cohen said the US appeared to be using the fateful day for political ends. He was a hawk on Iraq, he said, but saw no link between terrorism and the crying need to remove Saddam Hussein.

The Bush Government though was doing fine in its dealings with India, he said. It had banned fears of the US turning to Islamabad, to the exclusion of New Delhi, after the World Trade Centre (WTC) attacks.

Third, Cohen warned against confusing current developments with a civilisational clash.

Cohen, the author of an authoritative work on Pakistan’s army, said once a country goes nuclear, it’s impossible to think of a regime change there. He said many Pakistani generals want to let civilians take over governance, but worry that their country lacks the right civilian politicians.