New Delhi, June 17 -- We are living through one of the most precarious moments in recent history. The twin flashpoints that have emerged this year first in South Asia, and now in the Middle East, reveal not only the volatility of our times but also the weakening of global mechanisms that once restrained such crises.

Just last month, tensions between India and Pakistan once again spiraled toward the edge of war. The military exchanges raised the specter of a catastrophic confrontation between two nuclear-armed neighbors. While global powers, led by the United States, quickly stepped in to push for a ceasefire, their reaction exposed an uncomfortable truth: selective urgency. Washington remained largely silent after the initial Indian stri...