bombay bombs

i was at work today when news of the explosions on commuter trains in bombay came in. my producer said, somewhat sarcastically, what enemies does india have besides pakistan? and my reaction was - there are outside enemies of india, but india has enough internal issues for these bombings not to be outside interests necessarily. so it got me to thinking... it's sad to say that, while there is a lot of national pride in india, there is also a tremendous amount of strife in the country. many of the differences center around religion, but of course, historical, geographical and political issues come into play. there are so many forces looking to subvert indian authority because of long-standing issues that have no resolution in sight. the communal differences that continue to fester are based on decades old british intereference that left the region with more problems than it could handle. this is rambling, but it just honestly makes me mad to think of this.

and now, when i look at iraq, and the american insistence to keep the country together, i just wonder if we're trying to impose fake borders on regions and communities that were never meant to be together. i don't know the history of iraq, whether it was consolidated sometime in the past, before saddam hussein started his regime, but what if these groups should be allowed to create their own autonomous states? yes, i take the stance that we shouldn't leave this country is turmoil, but maybe we should listen to these groups and see what the solution should be. maybe a central iraqi government isn't the best way to restore this country to peace.