In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War -- yes, that war, remember? -- India's military chief of staff reportedly drew this lesson: "Never fight the U.S. without nuclear weapons."

Recalling that perhaps apocryphal remark in a recent speech, Les Aspin (D-Wis.), chairman of the influential House Armed Services Committee, drew a similarly somber lesson from the conflict. Wars are more likely, not less, to occur in the new post-Soviet world, he said -- and, equally paradoxically, the threat of nuclear conflict has increased.