Obama Says South Asia is Biggest Threat

President-Elect Obama today said that South Asian terrorism represents the biggest threat to the US. He added that he is “absolutely committed” to beating it. He indicated that India, a victim of an horrendous attack last week, will get all the support the US can provide, and Pakistan, India's rival, has nothing to fear from America's new focus. It is a promising move.

Mr. Obama said, “We cannot tolerate a world where innocents are killed by extremists based on twisted ideologies. We're going to have to bring the full force of our power -- not only military but also diplomatic, economic and political -- to deal with those threats. Not only to keep America safe but also to ensure that peace and prosperity continue around the world." In other words, the Bushevik approach of shoot first and don't bother asking questions at all is at an end.

The next president added, “The situation in Afghanistan has been worsening. The situation in South Asia as a whole and the safe havens for terrorists that have been established there, represent the single most important threat against the American people. "We're going to have to mobilize our resources and focus our attention on defeating al Qaeda, bin Laden, and any other extremists groups that intend to target American citizens."

The Taliban and al Qaeda actually represent a greater threat to Pakistan than its decades long rivalry with India. India and Pakistan do have a dispute over Kashmir but neither side really threatens the existence of the other. Since both have nuclear weapons, Mutually Assured Destruction has ensured that a shooting war can't get out of hand. But the Pakistani government needs to start acting like it understands from whence the threat comes.

Meanwhile, India is deserving of far greater American support. Mr. Obama certainly thinks so. He said, “I am confident that India's great democracy is more resilient than killers who would tear it down. I can tell you that my administration will remain steadfast in support of India's efforts to catch the perpetrators of this terrible act and bring them to justice. And I expect that the world community will feel the same way." The only way to “smoke out the evil-doers” is to form a permanent structure for it. That means ever closer ties to India, a positive move for the US.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

Kensington Review Home