These policies negatively impact India as well, albeit in a less direct fashion. Today Indian reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan are running up against a nasty old foe in the Taliban. Pakistan’s reckless military has allowed these fundamentalists to regroup even as the US was too busy in the battle in Iraq. In the past the mujahideen have turned their attention to Kashmir, so this Talibanisation of Pakistan is just bad news for everyone.

America ‘s actions abroad belie the lofty language it has used in the war on terror. It is ironic that the US is invoked after terror strikes because the world is possibly more unsafe because of America. South Asia certainly doesn’t present a rosier picture. So for those who still think the “tough” measures of the US are admirable, here is a beautiful question from the late Catalonian cellist Pablo Casals. He asks, “The love of one’s country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?” It does and that is the problem.

The writer is studying international relations at George Washington University