kalm wrote:
Thanks. Link on the casualty figures?
My point is that quite a few innocent muslims have died as a direct result of our actions. We can debate whether or not those deaths are worth it in the grander scheme of things, but these examples are not isolated or a very good way to spread freedom and democracy.
I understood your meaning...and that is why I added the identical issue that some inner city folks hate police officers because of collateral deaths...and even deaths of people who were correctly targeted, will always incite hatred from the locals. But should cops pull out of cities? Are cops bad (don't ask JSO
). And yes, you need to coordinate the force with the building up of the communities. But when ther bad guys are armed, you do need the force. 2008
"SRINAGAR, India (AP) — The crowd's hostility was unmistakable. Each time they passed Indian soldiers, thousands chanted the name of one of South Asia's most violent Islamic groups.
"India, your death will come. Lashkar will come," they chanted, harking back to the early 1990s when militants from groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyaba roamed this predominantly Muslim region's towns and villages and even Kashmir's peaceful separatists openly defied New Delhi.
While the militants may still be underground, a new generation of Muslim Kashmiris has loudly taken up the separatists' old slogan of "azadi" — freedom — from Hindu-majority India, long viewed by many here as an occupying power.
The latest and largest protest came Friday as an estimated 200,000 people streamed into central Srinagar...
They chanted "Death to India!" and "We want freedom!" while soldiers and police kept their distance, hoping to avoid a repeat of clashes that have killed at least 34 people in recent weeks."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008 ... test_N.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://article.wn.com/view/2010/02/08/U ... nd_week_h/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It ended up being 40 people in that one incident alone. I'll try to find the other link, but India, with their Hindu base, and Pakistan, with their Muslim base, are not going to resolve their differences any time soon. Muslims in the Pakistan area have other issues bigger than the US. As you mentioned, there is a battle for the minds of the younger folks. The Taliban are trying to eliminate any moderates...and they'll continue those efforts regardless of whether the US is there or not. Sure, we may have some Pakistani folks that hate us, but in the bigger scheme of things, they have bigger problems than the US.
