Saturday, November 29, 2008

Great Game I

Okay, here's another link for you. It's a rather lengthy article from the recent "Foreign Affairs" journal. By the way, I happen to love this particular journal. Fortunately, I have the ability to speed-read...and so whenever I'm at Borders and have the time, I'll digest this scholarly work. And please, take the time and effort someday to have a good look at this journal yourself. You will be seeing many more comments and citations from me in the future about their writings.

http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20081001faessay87603-p0/barnett-r-rubin-ahmed-rashid/from-great-game-to-grand-bargain.html

This article is quite substantive with regards to the on the ground realities of this particular region. The suggestions made for our future policies are subject, of course, to more intensive evaluation.

The only critique I have of this particular article is that it seems to avoid the underlying nature of Islamist thought and its aversion of Western thought and culture. It may be true that perhaps the US needs to hold more formalized discussions with our adversaries in this region to effect a "peace". But this may just be a Damocle's sword in the long term.

There is a significant percentage of the world's Muslim population which supports violence against those who would fail to submit to Allah. The word Islam refers to the obedience and submission to Allah's will.

I fully support and honor individual and collective choices to practice whichever religious thought that provides spiritual comfort. I will not support, however, interpretations of any religion or quasi-political belief that embraces the spread of its dogma through violence. My study of Islamic fundamentalism shows no desire for it to enter into a meaningful understanding of social and cultural needs of the "non believers". It's quite easy for readers of this article to do simple word searches detailing political aims of Islamic fundamentalism to verify this base reality.

Now that you have read this posting....make your own judgments about the last few days in Mumbai.

And it really doesn't matter as course of explanation to know whether the assailants were directed by Pakistan or were an Indian Muslim group or, as some reports indicate, included British-born Pakistanis who traveled to India to commit this carnage. The fact remains they represent a violent strain of Islam that represents a continuing threat to our security as well as that of our allies.

I support any means necessary to eliminate this threat.

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