As we enter the third day of fighting between two nuclear armed nations, India and Pakistan, the United States has made it clear that it will not serve as a mediator to prevent a regional war. In an interview with Fox News, Vice President JD Vance called the conflict “fundamentally none of our business,” ignoring a nearly 50-year history of the United States using South Asia to push back against Russia and China.
Sticking to the “America First” narrative and publicly stating that the United States will not work to influence any country to “lay down their arms” not only diminishes American power — it gives China the gift of dominating the wealth of trade going through the subcontinent, at the cost of millions of civilian lives.
As a U.S. diplomat at the height of our country’s war in Afghanistan, I witnessed the U.S.’s effort to balance South Asian narratives of trauma while securing benefits for all involved.
As a U.S. diplomat at the height of our country’s war in Afghanistan, I witnessed the United States’ effort to balance South Asian narratives of trauma while securing benefits for all involved. The U.S. is well-equipped to step in as a diplomatic power to stem conflicts between other nations, from the Dayton Accords that settled the Bosnian War in 1995 to building multinational coalitions to keep the peace in the Central African Republic in 2013. In cases where direct talks between leaders at the height of emotion can make the situation worse, U.S. diplomats’ shuttle diplomacy has given the South Asian nations a face-saving off-ramp after terror attacks.
The two states of India and Pakistan, created after a horrific and bloody partition in 1947, have much in common culturally but are now on very different trajectories strategically.
With more than 1.5 billion residents, India is a booming economic market now looking to be a global cultural force. The U.S. is India’s largest trading partner. To grasp the scope of India’s expanding cultural influence here simply look at the Met Gala’s embrace of Indian superstars like Shah Rukh Khan and the Kardashian’s highly publicized friendship with the ultra-wealthy Ambani family.
Meanwhile, Pakistan, a nation of 250 million people, has used its position at the crossroads of the Middle East and Central Asia to become a trading bridge to China and a base of U.S. national security operations. As recently as last month, while slashing foreign aid budgets elsewhere, the Trump administration continued a nearly $400 million military assistance program with Pakistan, as part of the decadeslong U.S.-Pakistan counterterrorism program.
U.S. leaders from across the political spectrum have supported strategic planning with both India and Pakistan, including high level exchanges on trade and defense. Between Strategic Dialogue deals and bilateral agreements, billions of dollars were invested over the years in making security and stability in South Asia the business of the United States.
Civil society and social institutions in both countries worked hard to move their military and political classes away from seeing each other as enemies worthy of destruction — and instead to operate as competitors. In 2006, after nearly 40 years of no direct transit, bus and rail routes between some cities in both countries resumed. Bollywood recently opened the door for Pakistani music legends and movie stars like Fawad Khan, while Pakistani-produced soap operas still draw millions of viewers from India. At the Wagah border, color guards from both sides put on a show for civilians, stamping their feet and posturing at each other every sunset. Cultural connections, known formally as “track three diplomacy,” have been the backbone of keeping the lid on conflict.








