Kashmir, again, and again, and again.

Once again, the brave optimist that Vajpayee is, an attempt to talk to Pakistan and normalise relations has begun.  This time, both sides aver that Kashmir and cross-border terrorism would not be the only items on the agenda. 

Have the two P.M.s spoken to each other because they fear that the US may intervene, even taking military action ?  Or has Bush spoken to them about the benefits of using diplomacy rather than placing armies on the border. [but wait, Bush and diplomacy over military action ?] 

I am not a very big optimist.  A few months down the line, Kashmir is going to top the agenda again, under pressure from members of both governments and opposition parties in both countries.  Here's hoping that we don't see a repeat of Kargil and the years since then.