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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Friday, December 05, 2008

Picture of the Day - 3
















A big carbombing in Peshawar, Pakistan targeting Shiites kills a least 20. (Ali Imam/Reuters)

4 Comments:

  • I know not everything in the world is George Bush's fault, but still... Do you feel more secure, in ANY way, than you did 4 or 8 yrs ago? Does anyone?

    I really think it will take more than a generation to climb back from domestic and global devolution that's occurred over the last 8 yrs.

    By Blogger -epm, at 1:48 PM  

  • ...and so much of it is due to the collusion and arrogance of a small group of individuals in search of wealth.

    By Blogger r8r, at 2:21 PM  

  • I would add...

    ...coupled with religious extremism.

    Actually, radical, ideological fundamentalism transcends religion. It's a sociopathic disorder suffered by capitalists and religious alike.

    By Blogger -epm, at 3:10 PM  

  • I tend to agree, but in more serious terms. The entire point of terrorism is to provoke a political response, and after the horror of 9-11, the Bush administration launched on an inexact course that has led to ripping the scabs off several long conflicts.

    If the US had treated 9-11 as a "criminal matter" (backed with the full force of all available resources,) not invaded Iraq, not tortured, not denigrated Islam as the enemy, we'd be in a very different place.

    However, although it seems likely, you can't guarantee that would be a better place. I think it would be, but it's tough because we tend to oversimplify in the hypothetical.

    To me, the real issue is the perceived "war on Islam" and the tactics of that that separated the Islamic moderates from US influence. They certainly didn't turn terror sympathetic, but the US lost its influence with them, and undermined their ability to promote western ideals.

    Simply put, hearts and minds.

    PS. specific to this attack, it appears the Pakistani Islamic groups are trying to spur conflict with all their rivals to force the country to unify to a cause.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 4:01 PM  

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