Laura Flanders " Rice may manage to stand in solidarity when she arrives in India'."

She certainly did just that. Then she went on to Islamabad and proceeded to stand shoulder to shoulder 'in solidarity' with the Pakistanis.

All that it proves is that when it comes to singing from both sides of the mouth ,no one can touch the Americans.

This is one particular talent that should persist-irrespective of whoever comes to power. ( " We'd hate to ruffle the Paki feathers wouldn't we. Just imagine what would happen to our GWOT. etc etc.")

Some "food for thought":

"India's 9/11. Who was Behind the Mumbai Attacks?
Washington is Fostering Political Divisions between India and Pakistan

by Michel Chossudovsky

Global Research, November 30, 2008
- 2008-11-29"

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11217

Three more articles are linked in my following post.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/12/01-5#comment-1085937

I haven't read the articles yet, but there are more related or specifically related articles posted Dec. 2 (2008 of course) at www.globalresearch.ca and suggest people check these out.

You know what "brainstorming sessions" are about right? It's for people to go in and present ideas without being ashamed to say what comes to mind and the purpose is to evaluate the presented ideas in order to try to determine, as best as we can, which to retain and which to discard.

Well, this "food for thought" matter is about not just ideas, but analyses, and I suggest not being ashamed to consider very carefully what others say even when the words can be offencive to us; f.e., a lot of ego-centric, bigotted, etc., "Americans" don't want the U.S. to be exposed for its covert ops, black ops, it's worldwide criminality, its overthrowing of good or considerably good govts, and so on, but should change and start to accept that this very much is the way the U.S. govt is used by the "elites" who think they're real elites, instead of just a bunch of stinking, rotten, heinous, ... rats.

Rats might take offence to my using them in such manner, but I really mean no offence to muskrats and other wild rats; as long as they stay out of human sewage, where our govt's ruling "elites" come from; ya know.

Laura Flanders wrote:

"The pressure's on George W Bush and Rice to rein nuclear India back from a deadly revenge attack on its neighbor. But in the name of combatting terrorism, the US has been conducting missile attacks into Pakistan for months. A week before Mumbai, protestors in Islamabad were urging their government to sever ties with the United States over those assaults."

1) Pakistan is also nuclear-armed, and I doubt India is unaware of this, as well as doubt that India would strike at Pakistan with nuclear arms when Pakistan would then reply with nuclear arms, or likely would anyway. Pretending the contrary strikes me as scaremongering more than anything else; while the people doing this may not be intending to scare-monger, probably most don't have such intent, it still strikes me as scaremongering and possibly, if not probably, causing public panic among people who believe such frigtening scenarios are really likely to happen, nuclear attacks and replies.

Also, the two governments have been working on negotiations for rapprochement, getting closer, friendlier, ..., both know this very well, and both surely realise that it's neither of these governments that are responsible for the attacks in Mumbai. Hence, this just adds to my argument about the scaremongering, for the Indian government would have no reason to even think of striking Pakistan with nuclear arms given both governments wanted the negotiations to continue and succeed.

2) "But in the name of combatting terrorism, the US has been conducting missile attacks into Pakistan for months."

Yes, but the U.S. has been also doing more than that. The U.S. has a base in Pakistan, perhaps very underreported, but it's been reported, and I believe people can learn of this via www.daily.pk, www.globalresearch.ca, and surely other websites.

It's been reported by the Indian Observer website or else by Andrew Buncombe for the Belfast Telegraph, UK, that Hindu extremists have committed attacks that they blamed on Muslims in India. Iow, the reality isn't always as the accusers want listeners to believe.

In a daily.pk article about attacks in Islamabad, the Marriot or Mariott (spelling?) Hotel, very recently too, it was reported that the U.S. military, Marines I believe, secured the hotel to bring in sizable metal boxes that were closed and which no one else could get close to. The report also said that Pakistani security, and so on, weren't allowed on the two floors that the fires caused by the attack broke out on or in. USN Admiral Mullen, or another one, was present and knew about these boxes of ... shsh, it's a secret what the contents are and/or were; we're clearly not supposed to know, and neither is the Pakistani govt or its security forces. The article or another one on these attacks spoke of the U.S. base somewhere I believe south of Islamabad and very secured it evidently is.

Hmmm, something of "fishy" business is going on in this region of the world, Pakistan and neighbouring India, these days; both having been and within a very short period of time, struck with serious attacks, while the U.S. has been, for months already, doing as Laura Flanders said, carrying out invasive attacks in Pakistan, which Obama has basically promised to continue doing as well as to escalate the incursions.

3) The Pakistanis are right, their govt should cut off ties with the U.S., that is, in theory. In practice, it'll be basically impossible, I believe. I doubt that the govt there would want to take the risks that such cutting would, I believe, expectedly incur.

Why does the response have to be one or the other? WHy can't the Pakistan Government ensure security within it's own borders and ask for external help if it's inability to do so is causing suffering elsewhere.

But also, those nations which demand a reaction when something impacts on them should also provide support at the prevention stage.

I'd like to see at least 1,000 preventative foreign aid shipments for every weapons shipment.

Sure, the US and other western nations can't solve every grievance in every country, but if a larger fraction were spent on effective foreign aid rather than foreign military incursions this would have a much greater impact.

You'd hardly launch attacks on the country that supports you, but the country which represses you, I can understand.

Flanders seems to be seeking desperately to equate the U.S. to India in more ways than one. The U.S. is responsible for far more deaths than any other country on the planet. Its not incorrect to surmise that U.S. imperialism has caused the death of millions already in these last few decades. By contrast India is only now beginning to surface after drowning in poverty all these years and is definitely not responsible for the kind of carnage that the U.S. has unleashed. To suggest that somehow the U.S. is attempting to 'reign in' India is patronizing and incorrect. The U.S. is incapable of reigning in even a failed State like Somalia.

Take for instance this statement:
"But the government would far rather point fingers than look at economic disparities -- or India's treatment of its minorities -- to explain what might have motivated the attack. "

This would hold true in the attacks earlier this year in which the Indian Mujahiddin took full responsibility and even sent emails to major news organiizations just before the bombs went off. However, the current attacks in Mumbai have every mark of Pakistans ISI and its surrogate LET. every shred of evidence points to it. According to Flanders this should be completely ignored and instead we should look at generic causes like economic disparity and social injustice.

How about doing both.

How about getting Pakistan to completely dismantle its terrorist infrastructure by using our $$$$ leverage ($10 Billion this year and counting) AND addressing issues of socio-economic injustice.

How about getting Pakistan to hand over suspects like Dawood Ibrahim (underworld don) whose extensive contacts in the Mumbai underground help set the stage for these bombings ?

None of these need to be addressed, according to Flanders who in typical ivory-tower, elitist manner suggests 'they eat cake' instead !

"There's no excuse for terrorism, but "

This just about sums up the entire 'liberal' Left response in any situation that involves a terrorist attack. Its a knee-jerk reaction completely distanced from reality. Yup ... lets look at the 'causes' of terrorism by all means but lets not condone these attacks by blithely ignoring the effects.