Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says he and other members of the Bush administration are in contact with officials in both India and Pakistan. They are urging restraint in a bid to defuse mounting tensions between the two countries.
Mr. Rumsfeld calls the situation dangerous. He says the Bush administration hopes efforts by U.S. and other officials to call for restraint will have a positive impact. "The message clearly to everyone is that it is a dangerous situation and that our hope and all of our efforts are aimed at encouraging them to lessen the tension along the border both in Kashmir and elsewhere," he said.
Mr. Rumsfeld says the tensions have so far had no direct effect on American counter-terrorism operations in nearby Afghanistan. But he says more Pakistani troops would be deployed along the Afghan border in support of those operations were it not for the threat of war with India.