An Indian Incursion into Pakistan?

There's a debate this morning over the international response to Mumbai. Robert Kagan suggests the military option is called for, but given the controversy this might cause among populations around the world, the effort should be "internationalized."

Abe Greenwald takes Kagan's logic further, examining what "internationalization" means for the incoming Democratic administration:

If ever there is a real-world test of the utility of Barack Obama’s global popularity, this is it. If this is really to be a new age of international cooperation, and if Obama wields such vital soft power, then let’s make things happen. So far, Obama’s Pakistan policy encompasses little more than a humanitarian aid boost. This is uninspired and historically ineffective. It should be junked in favor of a bold policy aimed at reversing the dangerous deterioration inside Pakistan.

The hitch here is Pakistan’s sovereignty. But as Kagan notes, sovereignty has to be earned. And after decades of exorbitant American aid being repaid with expansive state-supported jihad, it can be said that Pakistan has failed to make the grade. After the invasion of Iraq, the Left seemed to make a fetish of sovereignty for autocrats and tyrants. Let’s hope this is another area in which Barack Obama is poised to flip-flop. And let’s hope that he doesn’t believe popularity is its own reward.

I won't be surprised if the U.S. stands on the sidelines, calling for "restraint" over these next few weeks. With no international action, the political pressure on the Indian government could be too much for the government of Manmohan Singh, and New Delhi could very well decide to root out the terror sanctuaries in Pakistan's hinterlands on its own (see also, "Mumbai and Obama").

That would be something.