This is John Batchel. Conversation with colleague Rick Fisher of the International Assessment and Strategy Center.

Lessons learned from the recent exchange of weaponry by India and Pakistan over Kashmir.

Rick gives us lesson number one. It's about nuclear weapons. Both India and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons.

We're told Pakistan has tactical nuclear weapons, meaning small yield.

But one small yield would lead to a very big catastrophe globally.

Here's Rick to assess what those nuclear weapons did or did not do in the conflict that lasted a few hours.

Much more of this tonight.

Lesson number one, John, is that nuclear weapons mattered in this conflict.

That both sides could strike each other with nuclear weapons, forced India to

constrain its campaign, to tailor its strikes against the terrorist sites, all to avoid

escalation that, that unfortunately was on the way to avoid a nuclear exchange.

And the American intervention coming nearly at the last minute when India feared that Pakistan was considering a nuclear escalation,

turn the tide away from a potential real nuclear exchange.