Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged that he could understand Pakistan's insecurities vis-a-vis India and said he still believes that resolving the Kashmir imbroglio is the path to peace in the region. The remarks from Mullen came in an interaction that followed his farewell address at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. When a Pakistani journalist asked Mullen if it's worth for the US to fight a war in Afghanistan and lose young American lives in what has now become allegedly a battleground between India and Pakistan, Mullen agreed that "it's a fair question and we need to listen." "We need to understand where Pakistan's interests lie, how Pakistan sees its future, and where certainly these shared interests combine," he said, and added, "We need to help each other achieve that." He acknowledged that "this isn't just about Afghanistan and Pakistan. It's a regional issue and that includes India and other neighbours." But Mullen reiterated, "Certainly in India -- and I know that has been for a significant period of time -- there's an existential threat with respect to Pakistan. It remains today and I've said a couple of years ago, and I believe today, solving Kashmir unlocks the whole place, that that's the path for long-term solutions," he argued. Mullen conceded that it's a "very difficult issue that isn't going to go away, it isn't going to get better over time". "I have had these discussions, actually with both the Pakistani leadership as well as the Indian leadership."