The International Herald Tribune offers an interesting piece on the implications of this past week’s attacks. The major theme shouldn’t surprise any one.

The terrorists’ barely concealed ties to Pakistan suggest that a key objective of the Mumbai assault was to fan the dying flames of Indian-Pakistani conflict.

Because of this, neither the Pakistanis nor the Indians will serve themselves or the world at large if they give in to the politics of attachment. This necessitates much needed communication among all parties and offers  India’s PM Manmohan Singh a chance to show some leadership by articulating to his people that the Mumbai attacks, while probably Pakistani in origin, should not be allowed to refuel the engines of hatred that destabilizing forces so badly desire.

… extremist Pakistani groups as well as Al Qaeda have a strong interest in provoking fresh hostilities between Pakistan and India. A revival of India-Pakistan tension could relieve much of the domestic pressure on those groups; it could justify a renewal of support for the Taliban on the part of Pakistan’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence; and it could return the domestic focus in Pakistan to the plight of Muslims in Indian-ruled Kashmir.

Bows to all that are hurting in this process, and blessings to those with the courage to let tragedy open their eyes, hearts and minds.

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