An International Failure

Any aggression against Pakistan will be answered in a proper fashion.

#202

#204

read in a book the following:

``Whenever we feel threatened by anxiety, misunderstanding,

or blatant attacks on our judgements, capacities or

character, we become emotionally vulnerable. At his

point our sensitivities become heightened. Sights,

sounds, smells, off hand comments, or rumors that

are typically ignored become very disturbing to us.

Such vulnerability includes a readiness to experience

the world as an attacker because the stimuli to which we have become so

sensitive become organized in a paranoid

way in order to be mastered.``there are some times i am very defensive to criticism.

even simple comments on how i did something bad (either

by my boss, friends, parents...glad i have no husband yet)

any comments or advice on how to become more strong

and not think the world is out to get me. rationally

thinking, i know the world doesn`t care a lot about

me but sometimes it feels like it is conspiring against

me. i have noticed this tendency among many of my

friends who act so irrationally and out-of-proportion.

they start lashing out at people (at least i withdraw

and don`t attack others) and gossipping (ok b!tching :)

with me about people and just being vicious in comments.in almost all cases these people are just imagining

things in a very delusional way.what is the best way to get around these moods?

yea sandle face u fu(king IDIOT get the hell outta here and go to

someone who actually cares...your yaar ur so stupid...dont gimmie ur fake attitude

and PLZ STOP acting like ur the respect of all cultures..plz...if u

say the things that u do, then that just proves wat kinda of FU(KING

IDIOT U REALLY ARE!!! go and rub some cow Sh!t on ur face...if u say

another word bout in favour of if u bad mouth ME,..hell...if it even comes

outta ur mouth....i`ll grab a hammer from my room and hunt u down, crack

open all ur head! goodbye and have a crap A$$ day!

LOOK u IDIOT...u can complain and run to the admin after u read wat i

have to say to u, cuz personally i dont give a SH!T about if the admin

kicks me off or not, u know y? cuz u just dont know HOW TO STOP!!!!! so

watever i say to u, u deserve ALL OF IT!!!!!! u r a BIG IDIOT..Y DONT U

HAVE A LIFE??????? y is it that ALL ur posts involve indruunn,will he marry u after fu *cking you,bashing ME ,wat

the FU(K is ur DAMN PROBLEM??? would u like it if ppl were putting up

false messages about YOUR rapist that he was saint,would u like it if ppl were

BASHING up .o...of course u`ll say ``if its true than so be

it`` WELL FU(K U...cuz u know wat...ur just SO FAKE...EVERYTHING that

comes outta ur mouth is BS...u dont know NE THING bout indian moslem culture yet u think

u know EVERYTHING...o yea...ur the ``mother of all illegal child of indrun type`` o plz...ur

definalty NOT no mother ofany moslem child..if u even know 1/4 of wat u claim to

know...then u wouldn`t say NE of the things that u have said....im done

now...dont respond back to me, cuz i dont want to c ur idiotic

responce...just go complain to the admin since ur such an idiot that

thats ALL u can do....so if the admin will kick me off the forum for

this...then i`ll leave u with these last words...FU(K YOU and get a

life.

listen...i told u to STOP...i also told u, that if someone says ne thing

against indian moslem culture or ne thing i dont like, i will get pi$$ed...and wat u

said is mare IDIOTIC AND STUPID...plz do me a HUGE fav and learn

something b4 u say ne thing...our .i was right to stop indrrunn 3 times,once was enough for me.

..ur not muslim...u have

no rite to say BS things like this...and u have no rite to think that u

r RITE...cuz u know wat? u r not apart of this blessed religion...and u

know nothing...so keep ur mouth shut b4 u get me really started...cuz i

can say a lot...trust me...and i will...if u dont stop this nonsense..

i dont care man..i think u kind of got the point that i HATED wat u

said...i didn`t threaten u...BUT if u wanna think that i did...then

sure...go ahead and think it, cuz honestly...i dont care...but

honestly...u have no rite to write BS stuff like this...do u know a word

called ``feelings`` when u write idiotic and stupid things like this.indrun haas moslem friends he was provoked,u slu *t..it

does hurt...but its obvious that u have no heart and dont care thats y u

keep bashing upour indian moslem culture even after i asked u to stop! i

stopped...but u kept going and going like u have verbal Diarrhea...i

mean..c`mon...enough is enough, let it go and relax...there is a limit

to everything...and u`ve just exceeded it..

yea watever...first of all, dont use my words..

and i mean....wat

is ur problem? u say is dumb and idotic...dont u c that u r

the only one that is continuing this discussion? u have 3 ppl who r

against wat u r saying...but still u continue...u r a very obnoxious

individual who deserves two slaps up ur a$$, and one down ur throat!!!!!

and that my friend...is a THREAT!!!!!!!!!!! good BYE MOTHER FU(KER

``swallow ur own poison`` ---couldn`t u come up w/ a better line than

that? o rite...u cant...ne wayz...i dont hate ppl who disagree w/ me, i

hate ppl like u...who THINK that they r putting down FACTS when in

reality they r putting down BS...ppl who think they know more about

another`s religion rather than the person who is actually in that

religion...yea so..i hate u, w/ a passion too! so u know..i will

threaten who i want...and i feel like threatening u...nothing u can do

about it...so get lost!

and very stupid too...is this ALL u can say ``freedom of speech`` ``freedom

of speech`` cut ur Bull Crap...GOD...just cuz i figured out u we and u got embarassed u have to throw something rite

back at me...but i mean...i already know that i called u names and

cursed u out, and i already know that i dont like u posting, and wat u

write..sooo...umm...exactly WAT r u trying to prove here?? i ALREADY

know these things, NO NEED TO REPEAT!!! god...u r SO DAMN LOW

DAMIT...GET A DAMN LIFE U GIRL/GUY/IT!!!! geez...i bet ur over 25 and u

act like a damn 3 year old...ur so stupid u know that? im calling u

names bcuz I WANT TO...r u gonna stop me?? no, u cant...u can go run to

the administrator...call me rude, mean, watever the hell u want...bcuz

thats all u know how to do...but im still not gonna stop, bcuz there is

NOT A SINGLE PERSON IN THIS WORLD WHO CAN STOOP LOWER THAN U...so u

know..GET A LIFE...find a better hobby...stop devoting ur life to prove

a WRONG FACT...and plz...stop having this identity crisis...GEEZ

sandilya, sanathan, and abdulrafi r the same ppl...i mean...c`mon

girl/guy/it...u that desperate to get ur point across that u have to be

THREE different ppl and pretend that u r someone else? its so obvious,

cuz ur writing styles r the same, and so is ur IP #...better come up w/

another plan next time cuz u`ve been caught dummy..and dont even deny

it...cuz if u do, i`ll just know how low u really r...ne

way...hah...this is hilarious...ur that frustrated w/ us...and u know we

r RIGHT, so u have to pretend to be different ppl and pretend that

everyone agrees w/ u...damn...talk about being desperate...and talk

about stooping LOW!!! bye bye pathetic loser...

no we are not packing it up...i am just saying...and dont even deny

it..its so obvious...IP# is ur computer #...and i really doubt there r 3

ppl in ur family who come to this forum to do the same thing as u...so u

know....u r as low as an ant on the ground compared to a human!!

r u stupid or something? i didn`t hack into ur comp u idiot...and if u

say ``u r not allowing participants on this forum to express their views``

wat the hell?? who`s stopping them from expressing their views??

certainly not me, bcuz everyone is already expressing their views...i

think b4 u say something u need to learn how to THINK..if u dont know

wat the word THINK means, then go look it up in the

dictionary...besides...its not rite to PRETEND to be three diff

ppl...now dont u feel ashamed..b4 i thought u had at least some sorta

life...but i guess i was wrong.

alrite, i`ll let u continue being two-faced, since that is wat u r good

at...ever thought of making that into ur profession? hmm...not a bad

idea...ur one of those ppl who doesnt know the meaning of humanity ne

way.

o plz, c, this is wat everyone means...ah forget it...there`s no use

arguing w/ u, i have much better things to do then to waste my time w/

ppl who ``think`` they know everything but know nothing...ne way...i

honestly think u should take up some classes about respect and modesty.

HAHA u guys crack me up...u say that we muslims r bullies...hmm...maybe

we r...r u getting scared by us? cuz we r obviously higher than the ppl

on THIS forum...since u guys have nothing better to do than to bash up

islam....i cursed...``my bad`` but i do recall u ppl saying that w/ me

cursing it shows how i am...and i remember...all u hindu`s comming after

me, just cuz i cursed at u...u told me i was being ignorant, and shows

wat level i am at...well cowards...i got some news for u...ur universal

friend down there has shown his weakness and has started to swear as

well...now...i think its best...for u hindu ppl, to say to him, xactly

wat u said to me....so go on...im waiting..

of course u should be proud...i haven`t sworn for a while now

actually...ha! and yes...its very odd that ppl r meaner to us now, and

have the nerve to call us traitors! plus...no one has the guts to reply

to UR posts...cuz i guess u make um all look stupid...good job!

if indian culture can be called bullies...then christian culture of yours can be called

cowards...definatly..cuz u r living proof of it!

blah blah blah blahhhhhhhhhh shut up!

now i honestly dont care if u reply to this or not...the point is that u

read it...im sick and tired of sandle brains responces to your flirtness, im sick

and tired of reading all the BS that this person puts up...it is NOT

rite to put down ppl`s religion...its not rite to put things down that u

DONT know the truth of...its not rite for sandle head to write idiotic

and rude comments like he/she has done...if my language or ne thing was

not acceptable which im sure it wasn`t...then i suggest u tell this

person to stop their bashing...but i am not sorry for wat i said.

and u watch wat u say bout indian moslem culture..it goes both ways...not just

one...so u STOP IT...if u dont like my language, then dont say ne thing

bout muslim culture.

http://www.tehelka.com/channels/currentaffairs/2001/dec/15/ca121501politicians.htm

People do not believe politicians

One of the shocking things was that the terrorist attack on Parliament left common people indifferent, and that is a disturbing trend, says Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr

New Delhi, December 15

Two disturbing trends are discernible in the wake of the terrorist attack on Parliament on Thursday. First, there is the indifference of the people at large. The attack on Parliament has not outraged them. This became clear in interviews that television channels conducted immediately after the attack. The blunt question that ordinary people asked was: ``Do these politicians care if the lives of ordinary people are lost?`` And in a report done by tehelka.com, ordinary people from different walks of life showed alarming indifference.

It is not that people are unpatriotic. They have become desensitised by the escalating violence - caused by internal and external elements. People are aware that much of the internal violence is the handiwork of politicians, especially communal riots. They are not inclined to be shaken by the attack on Parliament because the shenanigans that take place inside Parliament - now from the Opposition, not from the ruling coalition - has shaken their faith in pre-eminent democratic institutions.

After the initial response, no television channel went back to the man and woman on the street to record their views. No newspaper has bothered even to check the popular reaction to the attack on Thursday.

Even on the BBC Question Hour on Friday night, some of the articulate members of the Indian middle class in the audience raised the uncomfortable question as to why a terrorist attack on politicians is of greater significance than terrorist attacks on ordinary people. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pramod Mahajan and Congress leader S Jaipal Reddy were left speechless.

The other disturbing trend is the response of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in the government. Before the attack, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at the birthday party of Nationalist Congress Party (NCO) leader Sharad Pawar in Mumbai had talked about the danger posed by the terrorists and the need to turn the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) into a law, and mentioned that one fo the targets of the terrorists was the Parliament. The same argument and the same bit of information was doled out by Home Minister L K Advani a few days earlier at the Federation of Industrial and Commerce Chambers of India (FICCI).

In the popular mind, the impression has been created that the Government had an inkling of a possible attack on Parliament, and that not enough precautionary measures were taken. It has become clear that it was the Watch and Ward at Parliament House, Delhi Police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) who had saved the day.

The intelligence agencies and the Home Minister still have a lot of explaining to do as to why the terrorists were not intercepted even as they entered Delhi.

And after the event, the BJP leaders have been indulging in sabre-rattling. As they adopt a tough stance, people are not impressed. They (the people) are demanding tough action, even if it means going to war with Pakistan.

Now, that is a promise that the Government may not be able to deliver, and even if it does it will be at a great cost as it did in Kargil in 1999.

What the people would have liked to hear from Vajpayee, Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes and Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh is more reassuring talk, telling people that things are under control, and that firm action will be taken without resorting to language which would trigger jingoism.

By launching a direct and an indirect verbal assault on Pakistan for harbouring terrorist organisations for the umpteenth time, the government is revealing its agitated state of mind.

There is no doubt that tough action needs to be taken against the terrorist groups in Pakistan, but it has to be done through firm action and not through loud words. Decisive action would have had an electric effect if it is not preceded by war rhetoric.

So far, India has not been able to get an assurance from the United States that it would pressurise Pakistan to close the terrorist training camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and elsewhere in Pakistan. That requires lot more behind-the-doors lobbying in Washington, rather than public statements of intent.

Most importantly, political leaders of all parties have to take serious note of the low levels of credibility of the political class in the eyes of the people. Unless, the image of the politicians changes for the better, it poses a greater danger to democracy than the attacks of terrorists.

Re: AnNY

``...BUT a crackdown is still possible imo...quite soon itll be too late ...``

My dear, I hope you are SOOOOO right:) Regards

Stuka #213
Just 2 questions.
1. If Musharraf can do nothing to stop violence against India, why should we waste time dealing with him? Indian leaders wasted enough time and political space on Nawaz Sharif and Lahore and all to no purpose.
2. If Musharraf is so beleagured by out-of-control rogue elements who are working against Pakistani national interests, he and other Pakistanis should have no problem if another country like India uses an outrageous incident like this to go after them.


Why go to the extent of declaring these groups innocent and allow them to issue statements of their own?Right now Pakistan is trying to have it both ways, ``we cannot control them but they are innocent``. or ``we cannot help you so pl. grin and bear it``. This is the most lose-lose position for Pakistan because maybe they save some face by not conceding anything and stretch the lies another day, but actually it doesnot help them at all, because they are losing leverage both with India and with the jihadi groups. They have been losing ground ever since Musharraf came to power. Its hard to believe the government of the fifth largest country in the world can be so stupid and shortsighted.

Whether such irrationality is with intent or out of pure stupidity can only be guessed. Why should India ride along and keep saying OK bomb us whatever and keep making such a policy look profitable to the same `rogue` elements?

Whatever action we take(or donot take), what India needs to do is to bring about a conclusive BREAK in this self-perpetuating cycle.

Stuka # 213

I broke a cardinal rule that one of my professors had once outlined. ``Prem,`` she had said, ``never use a concept that you have not first fully explained to your readers. She surely knew one of my faults well.

Stuka, I will be back after dinner in a couple of hours, and will go over the ``distance and deniability`` doctrine and the concept of ``blessing-from-a-distance`` in a bit of detail. I used both in fairly specific senses, and it is important to get those meanings right.

stuka:

why that was a smart post if i ever red one!..musharafs not stoopid to plan or encourage something like this especially at such a time and of such gravity ..india is milking it nice n proper as it is expected to..the man might be an armyman but he isnt as stupid as most of them are...these jehadi groups are now no longer under the states control...BUT a crackdown is still possible imo...quite soon itll be too late

Re: Stuka

``...Look at the attack on the Parliament. What did Musharraf gain? If he gave his blessings, what was in it for him?...``

I think that if logic alone dictated the flow of events, then Kargil would never have happened. But, it did. I think that one needs to factor in `strategic stupidity/recklessness` as well. Crossing the LoC is not the only option. Pakistan is now dutybound (as a signatory of the recent UN resolution on counter terrorism) to stop it. If it does not, then sanctions can be applied on it. Likewise, a sea embargo is not out of the question either.

Prem :

``I don`t think Musharraf himself planned and financed the attack. But I do think he gives his ``blessings-from-a-distance`` to those who probably did.``

Dude, The attack on the Indian Parliament was not an attack on the Government of India. It was an attack on the Government of Pakistan. The Laskaris and Jehadis hold the liberals and the westernised people of Pakistan in as much contempt as they do the Indians. On Chowk, you can witness UrsTruly`s diatribes on liberal Pakistani thought, but the sppeches and articles in Jehadi websites proves as much. By extension, the government of Pervez Musharraf has become as much an enemy as is Vajpayee`s.

The logic of the Jihadi groups has very different fundamentals than our own, and we are blindly walking into the trap set by them. It is not in the interest of the government of Pakistan nor the government of India to actually go to war. It is in the interest of the Jehadis to precipitate war, not because they think that they will win, but because to them the destruction of India is more important than the survival of Pakistan.

Look at the attack on the Parliament. What did Musharraf gain? If he gave his blessings, what was in it for him? Absolutely nothing. For him, it meant increased pressure from the US, another headache that he does not need, and the chance of a punitive action from India which will put him in a tough spot.

The Pakistani experience with the LeT and Jaish and other fundamentalist organizations remind me of striking parallels with India`s LTTE experience. In that case, the Sri Lnkan gov`t missteps created an opportunity for Tthe Indians to arm, train and Finance the LTTE. In Pakistan`s case, they did not interfere in Kkashmir from 1971 to 1989, the initial uprising was indigenous, and Pakistan was presented with a golden opportunity. Hindsight is always 20/20, but at that time Pakistan would have been a fool to turn down an opportunity to create trouble in Kashmir.

The matter has now gotten out of hand. Just as the Indian Army lost thousands of soldiers to an organization which many an Indian general had referred to as ``our boys``, the Pakistani Army and Gov`t also do not enjoy the level of control they did before the Afghan turnaround. These organizations have turned rogue, and their strategic objectives are now at variance with that of the Pakistan state. By crossing the LOC, the Indian Army would put the Pak Gov`t in a bind where it would have no choice but to retaliate, thereby bringing the Jehadis back into the strategic mainstream.

My biggest fear however is that the Indian establishment, inspite of reaching these very same conlusions (as they appear to be doing) may be forced into action just to prevent the loss of face among it`s own people.

Re: Ferozk

Your calls for a nuclear war were followed by a smiley face symbol -- so, I assume you were not serious. However, you appeared to be very serious about the call for a civil war in Pakistan. Please elaborate. What will be the ideology that will separate the combatants? Or will it be warlordism like in Afghanistan, with no particular ideology at stake? I am sure that you recognize that the consequences are SERIOUS for Pakistan AND for India. No recent civil war anywhere has progressed without outsiders steppin in. With Pakistani nukes, that interest is going to attract all major global players. Are you able to contemplate the future of Pakistan and its sovereignty in that scenario?

``Everyone in Pakistan knows that India wants to take this pretext and declare war on Pakistan...``

Regarding your asking for evidence, yes it is a fair demand, but a lot of the evidence is already in the public domain. The 2 organizations in question have made repeated claims for accepting responsibility for similar acts numerous times in the media. Shouldn`t that be enough to initate action against the 2 organizations? Also, did India not have enough pretext to attack Pakistan in `99? It did, but India did not attack. Has anything changed since then? No. So, why would India seek pretexts now?

Re: Prem

Your `distance and deniability` logic is a charitable and plausible description of Musharraf`s strategy. Musharraf is (I hope) smart enough to understand the consequences of these events if taken to their logical conclusion. This strategy works for a while, but after a certain point is reached it does not anymore, when global public opinion turns against such acts. A case in point is Arafat`s recent diplomatic isolation over suicide attacks in Israel.

rsridhar #204
You are right on the mark. Such an incident does MUCH more damage to the cause of Pakistan in India than stupid things like Gaddar which has been complained about so much, or years worth of articles in Western newspapers.

`proof` is given to people who are willing to see it and act on it. when lashkar/jaish openly claimed attacks (red fort, srinagar assembly), no action was taken to control them. had they not claimed their roles, the demand from pak would have been `show us the proof`.

even if hafeez/ajhar are caught on videotape planning the attack on parliament, pakistanis would dismiss it as `fabricated`.

but one thing is very clear, bjp will certainly lose the next election(s), if something visible is not done to these two groups.

Re:Reply #: 202

semipreciousme

Thanks for your support.

Lest people accuse me of being filled with hatred, my tirade is against a (mis)ruler and the ideologies that he espouses, which are contrary to India`s ideologies. Here is a dictator, who even while ruling after a military coup, talks of democracy. He has set a bad precedent which is only the army can protect its people, thereby denying any chance for a politician to stake a legitimate claim in future. Democracy is never perfect. Like a baby learning to walk, democratic exercise is full of falls before it learns how to balance itself. Mushy and rulers of his ilk deny this chance to Pakistani politicians and its people to expt. They will have corrupt politicians like BB or Nawaz Sharief on the way but if they persist they are also sure to find a politician to their liking.

Ultimately, the question is: What do the people of Pakistan want? Do they want to go to war with India on Kashmir? Or would they rather prefer the diplomatic route. Mushy seems to be pushing his nation to war with India. If people do not want this, they need to speak out. You cannot have one single individual (or may be a group)setting the agenda for an entire nation.

Sridhar

Ferozk # 204

The demand for evidence is fair. What kind of evidence do you think will suffice to establish Pakistan`s involvement in violence in Kashmir?

Re:Reply #: 204

Ferozk,

The problem with democracy is that it works slowly. To me, the attack on the Indian Parliament is more symbolic than anything else. I can tell you that India would have survived even if all the M.Ps including the P.M were to fall victims to that attack. India runs because of its people. These people pull at different directions creating the confused picture of what India looks like to an outsider. Amazingly, despite being pulled at different directions, India seems to move forward, ever so slowly. India`s expt with democracy started in 1950 (with promulgation of constitution) when literacy rate was just about 30%. It opted for one man one vote formula, which was laughed at by every western nation. We have persevered and today we have this democracy, which is vastly different from any western democracy but works nevertheless.

My fear is not if this democracy will ever wilt under the terrorist attacks. I can tell you, it never will. Terrorists make a serious mistake about collective will of the people, which is what runs a democracy and a country. My fear is that, at some point, these different ethnic cultures and races within the Indian landmass will be so fed up of Pakistani ruler`s antiques that they will shout in one voice ``let us get Pakistan and be done with it``. When popular sentiments rise to this level, it becomes impossible for a ruling party to ignore it. The ruling party, in such circumstances,even has a justification in going to war. India has been at war with Pak diplomatically speaking for many years now. It is obvious that our ideologies do not match. Today, the world is with India in condemning such attacks as on Dec 13. If India goes to war after preparing the opinion within and outside India, the world will understand.

I am disappointed in Mushy. I thought he will learn from his mistakes. He is obviously janus-faced, projecting himself as a champion of anti-terrorism to US and the world while covertly encouraging such acts against India. If he is sincere, he will have to prove by deeds not mere words. India does not have to prove to him that JEM or LeT did these acts. These are terrorist organisations shortlisted even by USA. These organisations have committed terrorist acts against India in the past and claimed responsiblities for these acts. If they are denying now, it is because Mushy told them to deny.

To prove his sincerity, Mushy just needs to crack down on these terrorists. This time around, there is no scope for dodging any blame. I am sure, he does not like the idea of his country going to war, even a nuclear war, on Kashmir. This was all, as per his strategic calculations, supposed to be a low intensity war in Kashmir meant to bleed India. He has awakened a sleeping elephant. You know what happens when an elephant gets mad and runs amuk, don`t you?

Sridhar

SPM # 202

I don`t think Musharraf himself planned and financed the attack. But I do think he gives his ``blessings-from-a-distance`` to those who probably did.

Musharraf appears to be looking to strike the same Faustian deal with terrorists that all his predecessors since the days of zia have tried, in vain, to reach. Put simply, the ideal Musharraf deal is -

1. Terrorists don`t carry out killings within Pakistan.

2. Terrorists don`t lay public claim to their acts in India.

3. They don`t flaunt their presence and their recruiting, trainting, and fund collecting actitivities within Pakistan.

4. They don`t oppose his international policy decisions, such as related to Afghanistan, any more than he may himself want them to for tactical reasons.

Should terrorists keep their end of the bargain, in return,

1. Musharraf provides them with moral and political support.

2. He winks at the activities of those of his supporters who read his moral and political support as a clear green light to supporting and funding the supporters, financiars, and planners of terrorists.

But, SPM, this Faustian ``Doctrine of Distance and Deniability`` is completely unrealistic for three key reasons, two of which are related to the nature of terrorism itself; while one is related to the changing nature of the world around us -

1. Terrorists who are actively trained to think in religious fanatical ways and to wield guns to promote those ways need people to murder. When they are not killing Indians, they end up murdering the ``lesser`` Pakistanis - Shias, Ahmedis, and Christians.

2. Terrorists, by the very nature of their goals, need some visibility just as you and I need water and air. They need public appeals, displays, ritualistic gatherings, acts and words of bravado to drum up and maintain support among a section of the wider populace.

The masters of terrorists know that emotions, unless kept alive through repeated public acts, tend to get overwhelmed, in time, by hard reason and requirements of real living.

3. The world around us has become far more interconnected than ever before in history. It is next to impossible to keep any information released publicly anywhere under wraps. We can all go online, read newspapers from all over the world, dig through CIA archives, and scan websites run by various organizations. What someone says in Bombay and Karachi does not remain confined to Bombay and Karachi any more; words reverberate almost immediately throughout the world. Actually, it is funny in a macabre kind of way how, Indians have followed, in real time, many of Musharraf`s public vows to take action against religious militants, followed by retractions, obfuscations, and reassertions of Jihad.

None of this inspires any confidence in his repeated public posturings and calls for talks between India and Pakistan ``anytime`` and ``anywhere.``

To summarize, I don`t think Musharraf himself plans and executes many of these terrorist acts. But he is unable, unwilling, or both to break out of the two-decade old mould shaping Pakistan`s India policy. The dubious Doctrine of Distance and Deniability has completely broken down, and Musharraf seems unable to grasp that.

Regards.