pakistan and the mumbai terror attacks

The evidence that the Mumbai attacks were initiated and directed from Pakistan is overwhelming. A lot of people will say that this shows the need for restraint on the part of the two countries, both of whom have nuclear weapons. That's true, but I think it misses the point.

Pakistan is, to be blunt, a country of dubious legitimacy. It was carved out of British India as a Muslim-majority state without any real basis in Indian history. It now appears to be serving as the home base both for Osama Bin Laden and other 9-11 terrorists as well as those who attacked Mumbai last week. In the latter case, as in several previous attacks on Indian soil, so-called "former intelligence officials" appear to have played an active role.

Pakistan lost half its population as a result of its irresponsible behavior in East Pakistan--what later became Bangladesh--in the early 1970s. I think it needs to get the message that, if it continues to tolerate or encourage behavior of this type, it risks losing the rest. It is inconceivable that the U.S., as the world's second largest democracy, would tolerate behavior of this type from its next-door neighbor. Why should the largest democracy do any differently?