Musings on the Human Condition

Well-known Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir expounds on the dire situation in Pakistan. As Mir explains (sorry this is in Urdu, not English), the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have completely and thoroughly occupied a large region of Pakistan that is on the border with Afghanistan. He claims that the armies of Pakistan and the US are fraudulently claiming to be fighting the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Pakistan. In fact, Mir asserts, the armies are active in the fringe areas and do not dare enter the actual strongholds. He challenges politicians to enter the Taliban and Al-Qaeda strongholds by road and travel even a portion of the 500 km stretch that constitutes the region of Pakistan that Mir claims has been irreversibly occupied by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

On March 4, terrorists in Lahore, Pakistan attacked a bus carrying the visiting cricket team from Sri Lanka. Many friends have expressed their horror over an attack on sports. Terrorists, by definition, appear to hold nothing sacred. They seek attention for their claimed cause, at any cost. Characterizing something (e.g. sports) as out of bounds only makes it a more attractive target. I agree with those who have suggested that the best possible response would have been to continue the game and the series per schedule. That clearly did not happen in this case. Therefore, terrorism won this round. Terrrorism is defeated only when the silent majority exhibits a level of imagination, selflessness, determination and solidarity that exceeds that of the terrorists. Here's a case in point. Four planes were hijacked during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The only plane that didn't crash into a landmark was the one on which the passengers and flight crew challenged and disrupted the terro...