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November 28, 2008
Still in Denial
A comment made by one of the first CNN pundits to weigh in on the terrorist attacks in Mumbai was, “this is India’s 9/11.” A very accurate insight, yet one that, 36 hours later, is difficult to glean from the media reports and analyses being aired on TV and the internet.One major difference is the speed with which they were carried out: on 9/11, both WTC towers were struck by hijacked airliners and collapsed within a few hours, while the Mumbai attacks are still in progress some 50 hours after they began. The implications of that difference may turn out to be profound.
Two equally obvious similarities are that both operations were carefully planned and carried out by people unconcerned with their own survival. A third is their connection with Islamic fundamentalism, clear cut in the case of 9/11, but still shadowy with respect to Mumbai. Yet their focus on Westerners, especially Jews (in Mumbai), suggests a connection with al Qaeda, which has yet to take any notice, let alone claim responsibility. Another similarity is the attackers' willingness to kill indiscriminately despite their focus on westerners.
Perhaps the most important comparison will be those made in the future. The shocking 9/11 attack on America’s iconic financial center quickly produced a “war on terror” that ultimately led to a controversial and financially ruinous invasion of Iraq some fifteen months later. Although we have yet learn what responses the Mumbai events will eventually generate, they will be important because both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons and have been at loggerheads over a variety of divisive emotional issues since the end of British rule in 1947, how they will respond to an event that can so easily reopen old wounds is of obvious importance.
Hopefully, both nations will deal with it as 9/11 should have been: as a crime to be carefully investigated and an opportunity to learn about a new threat to human survival; not as an exercise in irrational anger and an excuse to rush into war.
Anyone curious about how this essay relates to my study of cannabis is invited to compare typical emotional responses to cannabis on the one hand, and to alcohol on the other.
Doctor Tom
Posted by tjeffo at November 28, 2008 07:48 PM