Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I. The Historical and Political Background of the Crisis: 1. The roots of crisis: post-Kargil conflict in Kashmir and the 2001-2002 near-war / Praveen Swami; 2. Understanding the political-military context of the 2002 military standoff: a Pakistani perspective / Zafar Jaspal -- Part II. The Conventional Military Environment: 3. Military dimension of the 2002 India-Pakistan standoff: planning and preparation for land operations / Gurmeet Kanwal -- Part III. Managing the Nuclear Environment: 4. What was done to achieve strategic stability during the Cold War? Lessons South Asia? / Michael O. Wheeler; 5. Pakistan's nuclear force posture and the 2001-2002 military standoff / Feroz Hassan Khan -- Part IV. Outside Actors and Crisis Resolution: The United States' Role: 6. U.S. crisis management in South Asia'ss Twin Peaks Crisis / Polly Nayak and Michael Krepon; 7. The 2001-2002 crisis: a real-time view from Islamabad / David Smith -- Part V. Avoiding Future Crises: 8. Arms control, confidence building and nuclear risk reduction: a Pakistani perspective / Naeem Ahmad Salik -- Conclusion: lessons learned and unlearned / Zachary S. Davis.