Vice President J.D Vance has weighed in on the escalating fighting breaking out between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India over the last several days. He said in Thursday comments that a full-scare war would be “disastrous” but cautioned that the United States would not get involved.
“Look, we’re concerned about any time nuclear powers collide and have a major conflict,” Vance told Fox News’s Martha MacCallum in a segment. “What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit.”
That’s when he emphasized that the South Asian conflict is “none of our business” and that Washington acknowledges its inability to control outcomes in the restive region.
“But we’re not going to get involved in the middle of war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it,” he asserted.
But he did admit the danger of nuclear confrontation if it were to spin out of control:
“Our hope and our expectation is that this is not going to spiral into a broader regional war or, God forbid, a nuclear conflict,” Vance told MacCallum. “Sure, we’re worried about these things, but I think the job of diplomacy — but also the job of cooler heads in India and Pakistan — is to make sure this doesn’t become a nuclear war.”
Interestingly, Vance had actually been visiting India last month when the Kashmir massacre unfolded, involving militants from the Pakistani side of the Line of Control (LOC) killing 26 mostly Indian tourists on April 22.
As for President Trump, he had soon after the killings stated that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ” and the incredible people of India, have our full support and deepest sympathies.” He said “Our hearts are with you all!”
But despite calls for de-escalation, the fight has been growing over the last 24 hours, with hundreds of drones being exchanged, and anti-aircraft fire active – and more crucially reports of major fighter jet engagements.
Of regional diplomatic efforts to defuse the situation, The NY Times writes Friday that “Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are sending their diplomats to try to de-escalate the conflict between India and Pakistan at a moment of particular global disarray.”
The city of Jammu, on the Indian side, has been under two straight nights of Pakistani artillery fire – but some reports said this ceased at some point early Friday. Heavy artillery fire has been intermittent.
Currently, each side’s leadership is seeking to prove a ‘tough’ response to their respective domestic populations:
Some Pakistani analysts say they believe that there is still a small window for de-escalation despite the wider fighting over the past day. Farhan Hanif Siddiqi, a professor of international relations at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, suggested that with both Indian and Pakistani leaders publicly proclaiming victory, there was still a chance to save face and back off. “The sooner they do it, the better it is for regional stability,” he said.
Some cities especially on the Indian side in Jammu and Kashmir have been plunged into darkness and even the capital New Delhi is under ‘high alert’ – and military imposed restrictions are evidence through parts of the country especially in the west.
Even US officials are now confirming that Indian jets were downed by Pakistan (https://t.co/I223JcJjpB)
So at this stage it’s been confirmed by:
– 4 local Indian government officials (https://t.co/LQ6puYDlBj)
– A high-ranking French intelligence official… pic.twitter.com/RX5Zxr3B0c— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) May 9, 2025
Islamabad is currently saying ‘no de-escalation’ and score-settling has continued. Pakistani officials have claimed the army shot down up to five Indian jets. But verification of all the claims and counter-claims have been hard to verify and a thick fog of war remains over the remote border region where fighting is at its most intense.
The Trump administration’s commitment to non-involvement on a military scale is encouraging, however, given the number of hot spots where America is currently deeply involved (on a weapons and intelligence support level) – especially Ukraine and Israel/Gaza. Can a fourth all-out war over Kashmir be avoided?
Tyler Durden
Fri, 05/09/2025 – 18:00
