The public unease in India over our government agreeing to talk to yours has in large part been quelled by the rapidity of the demise of said talks. It was amply evident that no talks can be fruitful with the spectre of terrorism looming over both nations. The best recourse for India today would be to ensure that Pakistan cannot hurt us. Not by an all out war, which it is in no position to start or sustain, and also not by random acts of terrorism, where our state apparatus has been found wanting. I believe that Nirupama Rao has very firmly and simply verbalized what Pakistan already knows. That forget waging war, even war by proxy and stealth will come at a steep price for Pakistan. A price which hopefully sooner rather than later the people of Pakistan will refuse to pay on behalf of their rulers. Or face the choice of a price that will become steeper with every act of violence on Indian soil originating from Pakistan. To sum up, we need to protect ourselves to the extent possible. And for those incidents that happen in spite of our best efforts, extract a price that makes future misdemeanours an unattractive proposition. And here we have a lot to learn from Israel and their response to any risk to their own. If I were a Pakistani, I would wonder and ask my leaders whether having 20 people blown up in India was really important enough in the larger scheme of things to warrant 200 of my own blown up in my own cities and towns and villages every day. When that happens, and the sentiments and questioning gathers steam, maybe we can all have a reasonable shot at making such 'talks' actually work.