12.21.2008

South Asian Conflict

According to an Indian newspaper (and this is based on hearsay as well as knowledge of the kind of Indian newspapers available in the U.S., so many grains of salt are required), the U.S. has encouraged India to attack Pakistan--it's a bit unclear since I didn't read the article, but the idea seems to be that the U.S. wants India to take direct action against Pakistan for the Mumbai attacks.

To which I say: why not?  It's good for the war on "terror" because the U.S. can't be criticized for ditching two countries (Iraq & Afghanistan) for a third in an attempt to expand its already excessive sphere of influence.  Plus, the U.S. would be expected to support India, allowing for nudges in the direction of Westernization and West-friendly policies.

The only real problem is: what if India botches the job?  Considering the competency level shown by the police in Mumbai, I shudder to think about the state of their army (and there hasn't been much going on in Kashmir lately, so it's probably gotten worse).  If Indian action in Pakistan actually happens (which I doubt) and India isn't winning, that's going to look pretty bad.

Obviously, India has to do something about the terrorism, but I think that's going to have to be internal.

And dear governments: technology exists.  USE IT.  It's ironic, considering that the Internet and a lot of high-tech stuff in general started out with a military purpose, that governments in general tend to view widespread, basic change--as opposed to developing increasingly advanced weapons--as anathema.

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