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Isaac Saul
This is Tangle. Good morning, good afternoon and good evening and welcome to the Tangle podcast, a place you get views from across the political spectrum, some independent thinking and a little bit of my take. I'm your host, Isaac Soule and on today's episode we're going to be talking about the latest in the India Pakistan conflict. If you've been paying attention to the news, you probably see some headlines about what's going on. I know many of our listeners are not familiar with this issue. Personally, I, you know, I have some knowledge on it but have also done a lot of learning over the last few years. So we're going to start by trying to just give you some historical context, break down exactly what happened, explain the news a little bit and then we're going to share some arguments from the left and right. Right. And then I'm going to share my Take. Before we jump in, though, I do want to give you a quick heads up that tomorrow we're going to be debuting something that I'm really excited about. I don't know if we're going to make this a recurring series, but I think there's a chance we do. And it's this idea of going back to some news stories that were at some time dominant in the headlines that felt like these existential major issues that were gonna be with the country for a long time and then just sort of disappeared, faded into the background, kind of got memory hold by people. And we're gonna start tomorrow with a newsletter and a podcast on what happened to the baby formula shortage. Do you remember that? I kind of forgot about it, but for a large period of a month, I think we were being told that there was gonna be this massive baby formula shortage that we weren't really sure how to get out of it. And then the story kind of just dissipated, just floated off into the ether and everyone sort of forgot about it and moved on. And we want to revisit stories like that. And we're thinking about making this a recurring series, but we're curious for your thoughts. So we're going to start tomorrow with a revisitation of the baby formula shortage. And if you like the podcast, feel free to let us know because it's something we're thinking about doing as a sort of thematic, recurring. All right, with that, I'm going to pass it over to John for today's main topic and I'll be back for my take.
News Anchor
Thanks, Isaac, and welcome, everybody. Here are your quick hits for today. First up, President Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with Britain that will roll back US Tariffs on British steel, aluminum and automobiles in return for increased access to British markets for American imports, such as beef and ethanol and other farm products. Trump said the 10% baseline tariff on global imports would remain in place and details of the deal would be finalized in the coming weeks. Number two, the Federal Reserve held its benchmark overnight borrowing rate in a range between 4.25 and 4.5%, where it has been since December 2024. After its meeting on Wednesday, the Fed said it will assess the economic impact of President Trump's trade policies before changing the rate. Number three, President Trump announced Dr. Casey Means as his nominee for surgeon general after pulling his initial nomination of Dr. Jeanette Nashwat. Four, a federal judge instructed the Trump administration that it cannot deport immigrants to Libya, Saudi Arabia or any other country where they are not citizens without due process and number five, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and US Trade Representative Jameson Greer was will meet with China's top economic official in Switzerland later this week. The meeting is expected to kick off talks on a potential trade deal. Funerals have been held for 31 people.
Maybelline Representative
Killed by what Pakistan is calling unprovoked.
News Anchor
Indian aggression against civilians even as people were being buried. More attacks were reported on Wednesday. The Indian government said it conducted several airstrikes in Pakistan controlled territory while India called the strikes a success. At least 2 of its military aircraft were reportedly lost in the operation. Pakistani military officials said at least 31 people were killed in the strikes or by artillery fire. India said the strikes were in retaliation for an April mass shooting at Pahalgram, an Indian administered town in the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people, primarily Hindu tourists, and wounded 17 others, the deadliest attack against civilians in India since 2008. India has accused the Pakistani government of supporting the militants who carried out the attack and on Wednesday claimed it had credible leads, technical inputs, testimony of the survivors and other evidence pointing towards the clear involvement of Pakistani based terrorists in this attack. Pakistan has denied any involvement. India and Pakistan have engaged in a decades long conflict over the region of Kashmir since 1947 when the United Kingdom divided British India into two independent nations, India and Pakistan, with the latter then further divided into West Pakistan and East Pakistan, modern day Bangladesh. The partition set off a wave of violence and displacement with millions of Muslims fleeing to west and East Pakistan while millions of Hindus and Sikhs fled to India as each side fought for control over disputed territories. India and Pakistan both claim complete control over Kashmir and each country administers a section of the territory divided by a military militarized ceasefire line established in 1949, later formalized as the Line of Control in the 1972 Simla Agreement. Two subsequent wars and a limited conflict were fought over Kashmir, most recently in 1999, but the sides agreed to a ceasefire without agreeing on the fate of the region in 2003. Kashmir remains a source of conflict with an ongoing armed insurgency against Indian rule, separatist violence and regular military operations. Both governments have also engaged in tit for tat measures since the Pahlgram attack. India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and experts and political leaders have long warned that the hostilities could eventually spill over into nuclear conflict. The Washington Post published a detailed explainer on the history of the conflict. We've included a link in today's episode. Description On Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shabazz Sharif called India's airstrikes and an act of war and said a strong response is indeed being given. Additionally, Pakistani security forces claim to have shot down five Indian Air Force jets and one drone during India's attack, describing a series of missile exchanges involving a total of 125 fighter jets. However, both countries have since signaled caution, with India describing the strikes as non escalatory and Pakistan saying it would only pursue a proportional response and would never target civilians. President Donald Trump offered to help resolve the conflict. We get along with both countries very well, good relationships with both, and I want to see it stop and if I can do anything to help, I will, trump said. Furthermore, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has corresponded with Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar in the past week in an attempt to ease tensions between the sides. China, which shares a border with India, and Pakistan, called for de escalation. India and Pakistan are neighbors who cannot be moved away and both are also China's neighbors. China opposes all forms of terrorism, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Today we'll cover the latest in the conflict with views from the left, right, and Indian and Pakistani writers, and then Isaac's Take Foreign.
Isaac Saul
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News Anchor
All right, first up, let's start with some agreement. Writers across the political spectrum and abroad agree that the risk of war between India and Pakistan has heightened. Many also say that the conflict could further destabilize the global order. And now let's move to what the Left is saying. The left is troubled by the latest in the conflict, with many saying the risk of war is as high as it's been in many years. Some worry that the conflict could soon spill outside Kashmir. In the New York Times, Meher Ahmad suggested this India Pakistan skirmish is not like the others. Longtime watchers of this contentious region of the world often call these incidents skirmishes. Rarely do they escalate into all out war. Rather, they end after some militaristic back and forth and threats lobbed by politicians in media statements and shows a force geared toward releasing the nationalistic bloodlust that often comes in the wake of a deadly terrorist attack, ahmad wrote. The last serious skirmish in 2019 ended after India dropped bombs in the wooded hills near Madras that it claimed was harboring terrorists and Pakistan dropped some munitions on the Indian inside. Soon after, things remained touchy for a time. The news media cycle in both countries was sent into jingoistic overdrive before returning to the uneasy middle ground India and Pakistan often find themselves in. I had hoped for the same outcome for the two nations in this latest iteration of this long conflict. India and Pakistan share so much with one another, a rich culture and history and millions in each country who originally called the other side home, ahmad said. But the attacks early Wednesday were very different. The Indian military did not drop bombs in the middle of the woods this time. The strikes hit near major population hubs and Pakistani military officials said that more than 20 people, including a child, have died. It's hard to imagine this skirmish will end in a TV spectacle and memes in Bloomberg, James Stavridis said India and Pakistan can't let conflict spill into the sea. Leaders of both nuclear armed powers are fanning the flames most ominously, the chief of the Pakistani army General said. Asim Munir said any attack by India will be met with a swift, resolute and notch up response. Where is the spiral of threats headed? Stavridis asked. India has many options for further retaliation short of full on combat. It could choose a cyber attack against critical Pakistani infrastructure, launch special forces against what it regards as terrorist organizations operating in Pakistan's territory, as it did in 2016, undertake precision airstrikes as it did in 2019, or initiate artillery barrages along the Kashmiri border. But a less obvious thing I worry about as a naval officer who sailed many long voyages on the Indian Ocean is the possibility of the conflict spilling over into the sea. The world's third largest ocean affords plenty of options for maritime adventurism. Leaders of both nations may see the use of naval forces as less potentially escalatory, stavridis wrote, but trust me, military confrontation at sea can escalate all too easily. A strategy of naval brinksmanship could bring the nations closer to broader war. India and Pakistan would be wise to avoid inflaming tensions not only in Kashmir and across the subcontinent, but also on the wide expanse of the Indian Ocean. Alright, that is it for what the left is saying, which brings us to what the right is saying. The right aligns with India's view of the conflict and hopes the strikes act as an effective deterrent to further military action. Some suggest the countries are doomed to continue this cycle of violence. In the Wall Street Journal, Saddanandume said India tries to subdue the threat from Pakistan Dealing with Pakistan, an unstable nation bristling with armed jihadists, is a serious challenge for India. New Delhi must find a way to deter Pakistan army backed jihadist groups that have long sheltered under Pakistan's nuclear umbrella while factoring in Islamabad's support from China, which calls Pakistan its iron brother, dume wrote. The west too has a Pakistan problem, although it's more manageable. The Biden administration imposed sanctions on Pakistan's missile program last year over fears that the country was developing long range ballistic missile capabilities that could threaten the US and people of Pakistani origin have been implicated in terrorist attacks in the US and the UK While sympathizing with India over terrorism. The Trump administration has made it clear it isn't interested in getting overly involved in the India Pakistan conflict. Washington should nonetheless hope India succeeds in moderating the Pakistani army's appetite for risk, Dumay said. Indians are right to wonder why Pakistan picks fights with a larger neighbor. It happens in large part because in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the army, steeped in hostility toward Hindu India, calls the shots for India. Ending the symbiosis between the Pakistani army and jihadism in the near term may not be possible, but New Delhi has no choice but to try. In Creator's Syndicate, Austin Bey wrote about terror, nukes and reunion should this war go hot, India will win, but Mumbai and Delhi will have Gaza craters, Islamabad a radioactive memory and the real victor is China. BAE said. India and Pakistan have a lot in common, including cricket, but they kill each other. Serbo Croat is similar. Serbs are Orthodox Christians who write in Cyrillic. Croats are Catholics who use Latin letters. Both are Slavs speaking the same language but divided by politics and religion and alphabets. And they often kill each other. Pakistan and India, however, possess nuclear weapons. Will Kashmir lead to a nuclear war in 2025? I say no because Pakistan knows India will win and no one sane wants radioactive craters. Is there a solution? The post World War II partition of British India was a blood drenched mess. Since partition, India has prospered, Pakistan has not. Bey wrote. In retrospect, splitting British India into West Pakistan, now Pakistan, East Pakistan, now Bangladesh and India may have been one of the 20th century's greatest geostrategic errors. If religion and politics divide them, culture, common sense and common decency unite them. But reuniting India? Political fantasy? Alright, that is it for what the left and the right are saying. Which brings us to what some Indian and Pakistani writers are saying. Many Indian writers praised the government's response, saying it sent a message without risking wider war. Conversely, Pakistani writers express concern that the retaliatory attacks will have repercussions in both countries. In the Indian Express, Arun Prakash called India's strikes an apt and timely response to Pahalgram. The strikes should have served to fulfill two underlying objectives in the larger framework of the India Pakistan power play. First, this was an overdue act of retribution to assuage justified public and political outrage at the barbaric and faith based gunning down of 26 tourists in Pahalgram Kashmir, Prakash wrote. Secondly, no matter how spectacular or satisfying an act of retribution may seem to the public, it can only be classified as a tactical level response. What the Indian state actually needs to establish or re establish vis a vis Pakistan is conventional deterrence as part of a well thought out strategy. India can thus re establish conventional deterrence vis a vis Pakistan, provided Indian security planners are mindful of two factors. First, the initial wave of kinetic strikes may need to be followed up with more and the public should be prepared for attrition, loss of life and the distinct possibility of escalation. At the same time, while public opinion may demand for a jaw for a tooth, our military leadership should remain wary of the escalation ladder. Easy to step on but difficult to jump off, prakash wrote. Given the nuclear shadow that hangs over the subcontinent, Indian planners have taken care to send clear signals of India's non escalatory intent by using only aircraft launched weapons and not ballistic missiles and also by avoiding Pakistani military units, establishments and targeting only terrorist hubs. In Dawn, Arifa Noor wrote about after the standoff on the Pakistani side, government officials are no longer publicly providing a countdown of when an attack is suspected while the info minister is also boasting a victory of the Bayan, Noor wrote. On the Indian side too, some events suggest a de escalation or is being interpreted as such. The Cabinet Security Committee meeting ended with the Prime Minister authorizing freedom to the military to decide on the response. This was followed by another meeting which announced a cast survey, something the BJP had been resisting and the opposition party the Congress had been asking for. In this war of retaliation and more, neither side wants an escalation which is not just possible but also capable of causing great destruction. Still, the one upsmanship the two sides have prepared their domestic audiences for has bound them in varying degrees and this aspect the domestic fallout will prove important in the near future as the crisis plays out. After all, one can safely say that compared to 2019, both Islamabad and New Delhi have weaker governments and in case of a fallout there will be a price to pay domestically. All right, let's head over to Isaac for his take.
Isaac Saul
All right, that is it for what the left and the right and some writers from India and Pakistan are saying. Which brings us to my take. So when I think about the India Pakistan conflict, I see some very strong parallels to the discord in other parts of the world today. Israel and Palestine, Russia and Ukraine, North Korea and South Korea, Armenia and Azerbaijan, China and Taiwan. What always strikes me about these conflicts is just how much shared culture, language, history and identity these groups tend to have. These are all to a large degree the same peoples who have fractured and divided over decades or centuries and come to view each other as so different, so malignant that they view war and conflict as the only way out. It is one of the great and depressing ironies of our present day that the groups an outsider would have the hardest time telling apart are often the ones spending the most time shedding each other's blood. To state the obvious, the situation in India and Pakistan, it is not good. These are two nuclear armed powers with a deep and passionate distrust of each other, which is almost worse than a dislike, though that's also present here. While the tit for tat of strikes continued overnight, both sides seem to be looking for an off ramp, which is encouraging. India is emphasizing that its strikes were contained near the line of control, and it never entered Pakistani airspace. And Pakistan has repeatedly said it will avoid escalating beyond responsibility. Responding to India's strikes the problem of course, is that these kinds of conflicts can spin out of control quickly. One side accidentally strikes a religious site or kills civilians in what was supposed to be a military airstrike, and then things spin out of control. In this case, several lingering questions illustrate the distrust and anger. Most relevant is the question of who actually committed the April 22 terrorist attack. India has not exactly been forthcoming with evidence that Pakistan supported the attackers, and the Pakistani based jihadi group that claimed responsibility for the attack then bizarrely retracted its claim, saying it was hacked. Such retractions are not uncommon and often reflect internal or external pressures, though it does add to the current fog of war. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked visas for all Pakistani nationals in India, separating families at the bottom border. And then Pakistan responded in kind. Modi, apparently thirsting to punish as many people as possible for what happened, is now promising to stop the flow of water into Pakistan, abandoning a 65 year old water treaty that has no legal mechanism to be abandoned in this manner. It's not just an illegal move, but one that could upend farming and food supply for millions of people across the region. What's happening on the ground in India is equally terrifying. Abuse of Muslims, already commonplace, has ramped up alongside language from India's leaders that mirrors what we heard from Israeli leaders in the wake of October 7th, all signaling a lust to draw blood for blood. Naturally, Kashmir and its people are caught in the middle of this conflict. Its neighbor, Pakistan, has a history of harboring jihadist groups, and Pakistan's refusal to take full accountability for that reality has added to India's disposal distrust. Pakistan's civilian leadership often lacks full control of the country. The military is considered the de facto leadership, leading to a general air of disorder. And Kashmiris live among armies of soldiers, literally millions functioning as a partly occupied territory that is run by both India and Pakistan and even a little bit of China, though a growing number simply just want independence. It's all a very familiar and dark story in today's tense state of affairs. If I were in Modi's shoes, the choice for a path forward could not be more plain. In fact, you could look back to India's history for examples of the path to pursue. In the 2008 Mumbai attacks known as 261110 militants from a Pakistani linked group arrived in Mumbai and carried out coordinated attacks across four days. They killed 174 people and wounded over 300. India had to decide what to do and in a great act of diplomatic wisdom, it decided not to condemn tens of millions of dollars people to war and potentially nuclear war, and instead refused to carry out a military response rather than begin the exchange of bombs. Then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh won the diplomatic war. His reward was international praise, unity against extremism in Pakistan, and pressure on Pakistan to do more to root out its extremist elements. While India was initially criticized as being soft on terrorism, its decision actually resulted in major gains in its diplomatic credibility, years of relative peace and stability, and eventually a more sophisticated intelligence and military ability to avoid similar attacks. So that is one path. The other path is what we saw in the wake of October 7th. Israel, tens of thousands of dead Palestinians and hundreds of dead Israeli soldiers later, is still fighting its October 7th war. A year and a half in the entire region is now destabilized with Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran all activated in various kinds of kinetic warfare. Israeli citizens have been torn at the seams with domestic turmoil about the current government and the path forward while still facing imminent threats. Just days ago, the Ben Gurion airport had to be shut down after a strike from the Houthis. Gazans are living in an absolute hellscape, stuck in the constant torment of relocation while Israeli bombs rain from the sky and Hamas brutalizes anyone who objects to to its disastrous rule. Now Israel's plan for the future looks increasingly like an unambiguous occupation and ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip. Or in perhaps a closer analogy, India could look to Russia and Ukraine, two countries like India and Pakistan with more advanced militaries and eerily similar historical ties. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians have died, millions have fled their homes, and daily horrors have have now become the norm. Each country's economy has been disrupted and the violence and military threats are upending normal life, even for Russia, the aggressor. From where I'm sitting, it could not be more glaringly obvious what path forward is better for India, Pakistan and the civilians of each country. What we need at this moment is leaders who can see with that kind of clarity. But my fear, increasingly, is that we don't have them.
News Anchor
Foreign.
Isaac Saul
We'll be right back after this quick break.
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Isaac Saul
Picture this. You're halfway through a DIY car fix tools scattered everywhere and boom. You realize you're missing a part. It's okay because you know whatever it is, it's on ebay. They've got everything. Brakes, headlights, cold air intakes, whatever you need. And it's guaranteed to fit. Which means no more crossing your fingers and hoping you ordered the right thing. All the parts you need at prices you'll love. Guaranteed to fit every time. Ebay Things People love alright, that is it for my take. Which brings us to your questions answered. This one's from Keith in Barnwell, South Carolina. Keith said Is it time to scrap the reader survey or at least publishing the results? You have acknowledged the obvious that Tango's audience has shifted to the political left. I know you personally attempt to consider all viewpoints, but that doesn't seem to apply to your readership. Every day as I read your survey, I know the results in advance. If there is an anti Trump or left leaning option, it will win the day. Often now I don't even bother to add my center right perspective or do more than glance at or scare entirely the previous results. Perhaps it is helpful for you as it helps monitor the inclinations of your readers. For those readers, however, this is now a reliably foregone conclusion. So funny enough, this is actually another potential change we've been recently discussing. We talked about it a lot at a team retreat we had just this weekend, and since we got such a productive response from our readers and listeners about experimenting with how we present summaries of our arguments across the political spectrum, we thought maybe we could discuss this question today too. First of all, you're right, our readership has shifted to the left after our feature on this American Life, at least based on the surveys we conduct. And that's the main data point we have for where the biases of our readers and listeners are. Maybe part of that is due to an increase in vocal criticism of a new administration that's aggressively pursued its agenda. Maybe it's been supercharged by a negative feedback effect where you don't want to offer your opinion if you know it's not going to be the winner. That is a real thing that happens on surveys, by the way, and is kind of demonstrated by this question. Regardless of the reason it's clear that we aren't getting the range of results we used to get from our daily poll. That's not necessarily a bad thing. As we've said before, our poll isn't scientific by any stretch of the imagination. It is telling us something about our audience, but we aren't sure what. That being said, we are worried that it could be skewing our understanding of our readers and maybe even skewing our topic selection, which is a problem. Of course, it would also be a problem if we just stopped surveying altogether. Nonpartisan news outlet that emphasizes transparency stops publishing results because they aren't getting what they want is a pretty bad headline. So we had a couple ideas about what to do going forward. Maybe we don't offer the survey every day. Maybe we keep the survey narrow and just ask about whether you agree with the take. Maybe we use the survey to solicit ideas on stories to cover, ask people their feelings about breaking news events. Maybe we just ask more casual questions related to other topics in the news and culture. Alternatively, we could go the other way. We could work with a seasoned pollster and data scientists and make our surveys less frequent and super scientific and begin weighing the results to seek a meaningful understanding of the country more broadly. You may have noticed the answer uses the word maybe a lot. We aren't sure what to do right now, and we definitely don't know what the tango community thinks. Let's start there. What do you want to see from our reader and listener surveys? And for that matter, what do you think about yesterday's reader question about changing how we group our summaries? You could take two minutes to answer a survey that we have in today's episode description and let us know. All right, that is it for your questions answered. I'm going to send it back to John for the rest of the podcast and I'll see you guys tomorrow. Have a good one. Peace.
News Anchor
Thanks, Isaac. Here's your under the radar story for today, folks. Diabetes deaths in the United States have fallen to their lowest level in years, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and prevention. In Q3 2024, the rate of deaths linked to diabetes was 26.4 per 100,000, continuing a downward trend from 2021, when the rate peaked at 31.1 deaths per 100,000. Diabetes was the eighth leading cause of death that year. Scientists and experts suggest that the diabetes death rate and COVID 19 pandemic were closely linked and the falling rate signals a return to pre pandemic levels CBS News has this story and there's a link in today's episode. Description alright, next to bizarre numbers section the approximate population of India as of 2025 is 1.45 billion. India's approximate Gross Domestic Product in US dollars per capita in 2024 was $2,710. The approximate population of Pakistan as of 2025 is 240.5 million. Pakistan's approximate GDP per capita in 2024 was $1,580. The approximate population of Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistani administered Kashmir respectively as of 2023 was 10 million and 4.5 million. The approximate percentage of land in Kashmir controlled by India is 55%. The approximate percentage of land in Kashmir controlled by Pakistan is 30%. The approximate percentage of land in Kashmir controlled by China is 15%. The length in miles of the de facto line of control separating India and Pakistan administered Kashmir is 460 and the approximate number of people detained by Indian authorities in India administered Kashmir following the Pahalgram attack on April 22 is 1,500. And last but not least, our have a nice day story. Four months ago, U.S. swimmer Gary Hall Jr. Lost his Olympic medals in the Los Angeles wildfires in an unconventional ceremony at the International Olympic Committee headquarters. On Monday, hall was presented with 10 replica medals, five golds, three silvers and two bronzes to replace the originals from the three Summer Games. Having friends and family, I'm a very lucky man, hall said. The support that I was offered from the athletic community has buoyed me through the darkest of nights. The Associated Press has this story and there's a link in today's episode description alright everybody, that is it for today's episode. As always, if you'd like to support our work, Please go to retangle.com where you can sign up for a newsletter membership, podcast membership or a bundled membership that gets you a discount on both. As Isaac mentioned at the top, in tomorrow's special Friday edition, we're going to be revisiting an old story and trying to find out what happened to the baby formula shortage. This is a test for a series we're considering for Tangle. Not sure what it's going to be just yet and would really like your feedback on it. So if you haven't yet, please sign up for a membership so you can get this special content and give us your feedback on whether we should turn this into a regular series and what platform we should put this on. Isaac and Ari will be here for the Sunday podcast and I will return on Monday. For the rest of the crew, this is John Law signing off. Have an absolutely wonderful weekend, y' all. Peace.
Isaac Saul
Our executive editor and founder is me, Isaac Saul, and our executive producer is John Wool. Today's episode was edited and engineered by Dewey Thomas. Our editorial staff is led by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman with Senior Editor Will Kbach and associate editors Hunter Casperson, Audrey Moorhead, Bailey Saul, Lindsey Knuth, and Kendall White. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet75. To learn more about Tangle and to sign up for a membership, please visit.
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Podcast Summary: Tangle – Episode on Escalating India–Pakistan Conflict
Title: The India–Pakistan Conflict Escalates
Host: Isaac Saul
Release Date: May 8, 2025
Isaac Saul opens the episode by setting the stage for an in-depth discussion on the escalating conflict between India and Pakistan. He emphasizes the complexity of the issue, acknowledging that while some listeners may be familiar with the headlines, many might not grasp the full historical and geopolitical context. Isaac outlines the episode's structure: providing historical background, breaking down recent events, presenting viewpoints from across the political spectrum, and sharing his personal analysis.
Notable Quote:
"We're going to start by trying to just give you some historical context, break down exactly what happened, explain the news a little bit and then we're going to share some arguments from the left and right." – Isaac Saul [01:49]
The podcast delves into the origins of the India-Pakistan conflict, tracing it back to the 1947 partition of British India into two independent nations. This division led to widespread violence, mass migrations, and ongoing disputes over the Kashmir region. Kashmir remains a highly contested territory, split between Indian and Pakistani administrations by the Line of Control (LoC), established in 1949 and formalized in the 1972 Simla Agreement.
The immediate trigger for the current escalation is a mass shooting in Pahalgram, an Indian-administered town in Kashmir, on April 22, which resulted in 26 deaths, primarily Hindu tourists, and 17 injuries—the deadliest attack against Indian civilians since 2008. India attributes this attack to Pakistani-based militants, citing credible evidence, while Pakistan denies involvement.
Notable Quote:
"India has accused the Pakistani government of supporting the militants who carried out the attack and on Wednesday claimed it had credible leads, technical inputs, testimony of the survivors and other evidence pointing towards the clear involvement of Pakistani based terrorists in this attack." – News Anchor [05:54]
In retaliation, India conducted multiple airstrikes in Pakistan-controlled territory, targeting areas near major population centers. Although two Indian military aircraft were reportedly lost, India hailed the strikes as successful.
Notable Quote:
"India and Pakistan have engaged in a decades long conflict over the region of Kashmir since 1947... Kashmir remains a source of conflict with an ongoing armed insurgency against Indian rule, separatist violence and regular military operations." – News Anchor [05:54]
Pakistan has labeled India's airstrikes as unprovoked aggression and an act of war. In response, Pakistani forces claim to have shot down five Indian Air Force jets and one drone amidst missile exchanges involving a total of 125 fighter jets. However, both nations are signaling caution to avoid a broader conflict.
Notable Quote:
"Pakistani Prime Minister Shabazz Sharif called India's airstrikes an act of war and said a strong response is indeed being given." – News Anchor [05:54]
Left-leaning commentators express significant concern over the heightened risk of war, emphasizing the potential for broader destabilization of the global order. Meher Ahmad of The New York Times suggests that unlike previous skirmishes, this incident's targeting of major population hubs indicates a shift in the nature of conflict between the two nations.
Notable Quotes:
"Many also say that the conflict could further destabilize the global order." – News Anchor [11:38]
"The strikes hit near major population hubs and Pakistani military officials said that more than 20 people, including a child, have died." – Meher Ahmad, The New York Times [09:55]
Right-leaning voices tend to support India's approach, viewing the strikes as a necessary deterrent against ongoing terrorism. Sadhu Nandume of The Wall Street Journal highlights the challenges India faces in deterring Pakistan-backed jihadist groups and underscores the need for India to establish conventional deterrence.
Notable Quotes:
"The right aligns with India's view of the conflict and hopes the strikes act as an effective deterrent to further military action." – News Anchor [11:38]
"New Delhi must find a way to deter Pakistan army backed jihadist groups that have long sheltered under Pakistan's nuclear umbrella." – Sadhu Nandume, The Wall Street Journal [11:38]
Indian authors like Arun Prakash commend India's strikes as timely and necessary responses to terrorism, advocating for continued conventional deterrence without escalating to broader conflict. Conversely, Pakistani writers express anxiety over the retaliatory measures, warning of domestic repercussions and the destabilizing effects on both nations.
Notable Quotes:
"India and Pakistan have a lot in common, including cricket, but they kill each other." – Austin Bey, Creator's Syndicate [11:38]
"In addition, Pakistani security forces claim to have shot down five Indian Air Force jets... Pakistan says it would only pursue a proportional response and would never target civilians." – News Anchor [05:54]
Isaac Saul draws parallels between the India-Pakistan conflict and other global tensions such as Israel-Palestine and Russia-Ukraine, highlighting the tragic irony of deeply connected cultures engaging in persistent conflict. He stresses the danger of escalation, especially given both nations' nuclear capabilities, and advocates for diplomatic solutions over military responses.
Isaac emphasizes the importance of leadership capable of prioritizing peace, referencing India's historical restraint following the 2008 Mumbai attacks as a potential model for de-escalation.
Notable Quotes:
"What we need at this moment is leaders who can see with that kind of clarity. But my fear, increasingly, is that we don't have them." – Isaac Saul [21:28]
"If I were in Modi's shoes, the choice for a path forward could not be more plain." – Isaac Saul [21:28]
Isaac concludes with a call for effective leadership and diplomatic engagement to prevent the conflict from spiraling into a nuclear confrontation. He underscores the necessity of finding common ground and fostering mutual understanding to break the cycle of violence that has plagued the India-Pakistan relationship for decades.
Notable Quote:
"From where I'm sitting, it could not be more glaringly obvious what path forward is better for India, Pakistan and the civilians of each country." – Isaac Saul [21:28]
The episode includes brief segments on unrelated topics and advertisements, which are omitted from this summary as per podcast guidelines. For those interested in further details, Isaac mentions a forthcoming special edition revisiting the baby formula shortage and invites listener feedback on potential new series formats.
Final Note: Listeners are encouraged to explore more about the India-Pakistan conflict through linked resources provided in the episode's description, including a detailed explainer by The Washington Post.
Key Statistics Mentioned:
For more in-depth information and supporting data, visit readtangle.com.