But seriously, I am with Atanu on his assessment of our brethren. Replace ‘Indians’ with “Hindus” and I am in even greater concurrence.

Harish.

While it is true GW has made the world a far less safer place, I always subscribe to the theory that man is better off dead than be alive and continue to live like a moron. And let us face it – the world has become completely moronic to say the least. Largely because of that parasitical thing called Islam, and due to other factors too.

Iraq was a disaster in that America spent all that $$$ rebuilding, but it did give me tremendous joy to see an Islamic country being smashed as Baghdad was in the early stages. And if there is one person capable of bringing about the destruction of the entire Middle East, it is Bush. Bomb Mecca and Medina first, I say.

As for cozying up to Pakistan, why blame Bush? Are the idiotic Hindus any better with their “bhai bhai” bullshit, ignoring 900 years of savage history and the fact that the only thing Muslims do when they’re in a majority is wipe out the minorities and persecute them relentlessly.
At least with Bush there is a plus side (the possible extermination of the ME) — with Indians, there is absolutely nothing!

Bring on Iran, bring on Syria. And this time, no freaking rebuilding.

H.

Tolerance is the soul of Hinduism and is one of the reasons it has lasted for over 5 millenia. It is a pity you belittle your religion by professing such hatred.

I agree with the author of this blog on the stupidity of people considering the world safer in the hands of Bush. This alleigence is driven by the same greed that guides the destruction of Iraq today. Wake up and smell the commericialism. There is more to life than money. In my own experience I have seen this approval of Bush stem from the distrust of Islam. It is a pity people have such a lop sided view of the world. I am a Hindu myself and if there is one thing I take pride in, it is the fact that we are a tolerant lot.
Screw all the Modis and Advanis and the Mullahs and the bigots that are in our mainstream today.

Harish,what needs “freaking rebuilding” is a better part of your brain!

I am opposed to oppression by any group, whether it be historical or present, Islamic or non-Islamic. GWB’s brand of showering death and destruction for commercial gain is as sickening as the terrorism that GWB claims to be at war with. Killing of innocents is never justified, irrespective of the provocation. I will never make common cause with GWB even if some of his enemies seek my own destruction. I hope that we are strong enough to face our own monsters without allying ourselves with monsters.

I am not deluded enough to think that if only we behave nice-nice with those who seek our destruction that they will see reason and decide to live and let live. To our enemies we must not appear weak and indecisive. But that does not imply that we blindly go about nuking whole populations. That is an abyss we must not stare into.

I am not a fan of any ideology that starts off with “us against them”, whether it is the neo-con variety or monotheistic religious variety. I oppose those who operate on that sort of intolerant ideology. But my opposition does not extend to innocent bystanders.

That being said, I do not make a fetish of tolerance also. I will not tolerate the narrow-minded intolerance of the sort embedded in monotheistic faiths. I take pride in the fact that Hinduism admits that there are alternative ways of apprehending the universe. But if Hinduism tolerates injustice and intolerance, I am firmly opposed to that as well. I don’t believe that tolerating injustice is intrinsic to Hinduism. Perhaps it is a lack of backbone among Hindus that explains why we roll over every time someone threatens us. Gandhi, I think, rightly concluded that Hindus are cowards. I think it is a shame that sometimes that cowardice is passed off as tolerance. It is high time that Indians, especially Hindus, understood the message of Swami Vivekananda and developed a backbone.

Atanu

Your otherwise well considered views seem discordant when talking about GWB. You seem mildly afflicted with the so-called Bush Derangement Syndrome, first diagonised by Dr. Charles Krauthammer, of otherwise normal people suddenly losing it when anybody mentions good things about Dubya.

Like it or not, we ‘re watching a great historical process unfold at record speed, with relatively minimal bloodletting.

To call Bush names is the easy way out. One man is singlehandedly involved in changing the direction of the entrenched, leviathan US bureucracy to align with his policies. Gone are the days of freely mollycoddling dictators. Gone are the unholy alliances with tyrants in the name of ’stability’. For once, the ideals of widespread freedom and democracy are well aligned with longterm US interests. All the naysayers, the doubters, the nitpickers, the euroweenies, the media dhimmis, the bleeding hearts (who miraculously never see Saddam’s mass graves or the ongoing rampage in Darfur) have been proven wrong time and again – against communism in the 80s and hopefully against islamo-fascism in this decade.

Instead of seeing and appreciating a good thing when it happens, of lauding a man who risked his presidency on a the boldest gamble by any US president since FDR, all you intellectual types can do is spray silly terms like ’stupidity’ and ‘disgusting’.

Chill out, man. Relax and reconsider.

I have absolutely no doubts that GWB (or any American Administration) has any interest in spreading democracy anywhere – till the ruleres in those countries listen to them — that is the acid test! Can’t you see that they have no problem in dealing with Musharraf, Saudi royals, et al.