The greatest misfortune stemming from Kashmir's grip on the bilateral agenda between India and Pakistan is the absence of qualities in the relationship that could bring about a fundamental change in the political climate. If, for example, the two countries had developed a strong economic interaction, there would be powerful vested interests at work in both countries to keep tensions from getting out of hand. Once such interests -- and the wide-ranging contacts that flow from them -- take hold, solutions regarding Kashmir that neither side would even look at under present circumstances could become thinkable. Analysts often cite the example of France and Germany coming together after far longer enmity than India and Pakistan have endured. Putting aside other weaknesses of that comparison, what helped in the Franco-German case was the specter of a common external threat and the catalytic role of U.S. economic and military aid, both of which are hardly conceivable in the Indo-Pakistani situation. But it is also true that Franco-German cooperation became possible only because far-sighted leaders in both countries recognized the harm caused by historic animosity. And that has to be the starting point for India and Pakistan as well.