Report: India, Pakistan Were Near Nuclear War in '99 (washingtonpost.com)

Some people, I know, worry that India and Pakistan might be more willing to go nuclear than the old-line nuclear powers. To a degree, that seems like a cultural judgment I'm not comfortable with. But in the case of Pakistan, at least, it makes sense. Pakistan is much smaller and weaker than its rival; if a full-fledged war did break out it might have to go nuclear or face ruin.