Macabre moments in Mumbai

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The joy of Thanksgiving was partially disrupted by a troubling event that took place at the same time. I only wish I was talking about how CMU lost to EMU, but alas, I am not.

The attacks that took place in Mumbai, India, causing almost 200 deaths and several hundred injuries, were an absolute atrocity against good and sane people.

The perpetrators may believe they are fighting for some greater cause for freedom, but I find those who create senseless violence to be already completely senseless.

In fact, there could not have been a worse time to even attempt such a spineless move. The situation between India and Pakistan will only deteriorate and not yield anything remotely like what these militants were aiming to accomplish.

Kashmir is a region that remains torn by those who want it most, and for anyone to use violence to gain an edge over claiming a godforsaken bunch of mountains seems illogical. Of course, Kashmir has more to it than just mountains, but it still isn’t worth commiting murder if those people have a shred of common sense.

As for American foreign policy, this Mumbai incident is an example of how far we have to go to normalize relations with those who feel threatened by the U.S.

The repair work that the Obama Administration will have to do is extensive, and this terrible outbreak of carnage will only pile onto a laundry list of problems yet to be resolved, like North Korean nuclear proliferation, the Afghan and Iraqi Wars, Israeli-Palestian relations, Russia’s growing aggression towards the West, Iran’s rogue policy-making, trade deficits to the Chinese and the whole global war on terror that will have to be redefined in some fashion. And we have to save the global economy just to top it all off.

Clearly, the U.S. is looked at in times of crisis, and since some Americans tragically lost their lives in the Mumbai attacks, there is no exception – especially when two of those American victims were the parents of a 6-year-old boy. I cannot imagine the sorrow that that poor child must feel for losing the two most important people in his life, but I nonetheless feel deeply saddened when something like this happens because of such reckless disregard for human life and decency. I hope and pray for his well being as well as the rest of those in grief for lost loved ones, and I can only wish that those who aim to cause harm will come to their senses and realize what they have done or plan to do.

The troubles of the world are numerous and fraught with peril, but some people must feel empowered enough to do something about them, even if there is no thanks for giving it the best effort possible.