The Bad, the Ugly, and the Good: South Asian Security and the United States

Co-Chairs Tauscher and Turner, and distinguished members of the Panel, it is an honor to appear before you today to discuss the future security threats to the United States that might emanate from South Asia.

South Asia’s Recent Threat Trajectory

Fifteen years ago, when the Cold War ended, South Asia was toward the lower end of America’s list of priorities and interests. We had lost interest in Afghanistan, it was thought that Indian and Pakistani nuclear programs could be “capped, rolled back, and eliminated,” and there was little awareness of the growing rise of Islamic radicalism.