War in Iraq

Pat Buchanan was on Meet The Press on Sunday. I don’t agree with majority of things he says but the guy had an interesting take on the events in the Middle East. He thinks that there are more terrorists because of the war in Iraq and I agree with him . Militancy cannot be solved with weapons. A lot of hard work has to be put in to win peace.

I have observed this in India with the militancy in Punjab. The militancy lasted almost a decade and hundreds of people died. In the late eighties and early nineties the leadership in India worked towards brining the disgruntled youth back into the mainstream. Strong and compassionate leadership helped solve the complex problem. People wanted peace and the leadership made some bold moves. Compassion is the need of the hour in Iraq. The people in the Middle East like people in other parts of the world surely long for freedom and democracy. They will get there if the situation is handled with care and compassion. There is no choice or crazy people like Bin Laden will take the disgruntled youth in the wrong direction.

US is a great nation and the success of democracy here has had positive impact world over. How the world shapes up in the coming years will depend to a large extent on the outcome of the elections in November and the policies of the next administration.