Washington has sent Strobe Talbott to Asia with a tall order: persuade India and Pakistan to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, to refrain from "weaponizing" their nuclear weapons and to accept mediation in their dispute over Kashmir. "Talbott's mission is probably a long shot at this point," says TIME correspondent Douglas Waller. "It's unlikely that Pakistan and India will be prepared to give up their nuclear programs -- the major pressure to back down remains U.S. sanctions, but those sanctions are being undercut by European countries."