Understanding the Four-Day War between India and Pakistan

Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss the recent short war between
India and Pakistan. Christopher Clary’s first cut of history
provides a careful reconstruction of the key events, made all the
more difficult by misinformation and disinformation on both
sides. But did either side “win”? What role, if any, did Trump
administration officials play in negotiating the ceasefire, and
what does their involvement portend for the future? How did new
technology shape each side’s behavior in that conflict? And are
crises between the two countries likely to escalate in severity
in the coming years, or can they reach some accommodation?
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth earns a grievance for gutting
the Pentagon’s operational testing office, but an atta for his
strong performance at the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit in
Singapore. Attas to the Ukrainians for the audacious drone attack
deep inside of Russia, to President Trump for repealing the
supersonic air travel ban, and to the newly elected South Korean
President Lee Jae-Myung. Grievances for the abysmal state of
servicemembers’ housing, and to the Trump administration’s
crackdown on foreign students wishing to attend U.S.
universities.
Show Links:

 




Christopher Clary, “Four Days in May: The India-Pakistan
Crisis of 2025,” Stimson Center, May 28, 2025
https://www.stimson.org/2025/four-days-in-may-the-india-pakistan-crisis-of-2025/




Asfandyar Mir, “India and Pakistan Enter a More Dangerous
Era,” New York Times, May 9, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/opinion/india-and-pakistan-enter-a-more-dangerous-era.html 




“Five Key Concepts to Understand the India-Pakistan Crisis,”
May 19, 2025, Stimson Center
https://www.stimson.org/2025/five-key-concepts-to-understand-the-india-pakistan-crisis/ 




Supporting Stimson: https://www.stimson.org/support/




Dan Grazier, “Gutting military testing office may be the
deadliest move yet,” Responsible Statecraft, June 4, 2025
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/dod-testing-cuts/




Choe Sang-Hun, “He Survived a Knife to the Neck. Now He’ll
Lead a Divided South Korea,” New York Times, June 3, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/world/asia/lee-south-korea-new-president.html




Donald Trump, post, Truth Social, April 22, 2025.




Donald Trump, post, Truth Social, May 10, 2025.




Executive Order, “Leading the World in Supersonic Flight,”
White House, June 6, 2025.




Sudhi, Ranjan Sen, Faseeh Mangi, Dan Strumpf, and Akyla
Gardner, “Trump Truce Leaves India Furious, Pakistan Elated
as Risks Loom,” Bloomberg, May 11, 2025.




Diaa Hadid and Omkar Khandekar, “Vice President Vance Says
India-Pakistan Fighting is ‘None of Our Business,’” National
Public Radio, May 10, 2025.




Timothy A. Walton and Thomas H. Shugart, Concrete Sky: Air
Base Hardening in the Western Pacific, Hudson Institute,
January 7, 2025.




Rene Kladzyk, “Navy Secretary ‘Appalled’ by Barracks
Conditions in Guam,” Project on Government Oversight, May 29,
2025.