Derek Grossman is a senior defense analyst at the think tank RAND Corp. in Santa Monica, California, and an adjunct professor in the practice of political science and international relations at the University of Southern California. He formerly served as an intelligence adviser at the Pentagon.
The Taliban’s reconquest of Afghanistan following the U.S. military’s withdrawal in August 2021 generated serious strategic concerns for India. No longer would New Delhi have a friendly Afghan government in place. Nor would it benefit from having U.S. troops on the ground to serve as a bulwark against instability and terrorism, especially against groups seeking India harm, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). And now, India’s top rivals — China and Pakistan — are trying to fill the power vacuum, with potentially significant economic and security consequences.
