Let us see....Pakis create Taliban in order to control Afghanistan in order to gain strategic depth against India (and be a major player in Central Asian energy game). They also create jihadi vermin like the Lashkar-e-toiba, Harkat-ul-mujahideen etc. to terrorise and kill Indians in order to gain control over Indian Kashmir and also to wage a low-intensity proxy war in the rest of India. They also plan and finance operations like highjacking of the Indian Airlines flight IC 814 in order to have three terrorists released. One of the three - Omar Sheikh- goes on to murder Daniel Pearl. The other forms another terror organization which, post 9-11, tries to murder Musharraf, their former paymaster (ha ha,the irony).A majority of Pakistanis support this approach, loooove the idea of jihad agaisnt the infidels in India, Afghanistan and the world, and donate generously for the cause. Now, that their chickens have come home to roost, pakis are justly reaping the whirlwind and are getting what they were dishing out to their neighbours. They haven't however given up on jihad as a tool of foreign policy, as evinced by yesterday's bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul where the Indian military attache was specifically targeted by a suicide bomber. I have the least sympathy for these pakis...may they be dammed!

"Non-extremist education will save the area and be a much better contribution to solving the issues there that stem from POVERTY"

True! There is no arguing with this fact. To claim that a group of people are inherent barbarians, is silly, dangerous and clearly a tactic to dehumanise them.

"IF teenagers have no other options, why shouldn't they turn to terrorism? If they have no life to look forward to, no job, no education, why shouldn't they aspire to jihad? Eliminate the real causes of terrorism-poverty, illiteracy, unemployment. Make it difficult for the jihadists to recruit"

I have issue with this statement. Yes, it is easy to recruit and brainwash a minimally educated/illiterate guy to blow himself up. However, that does not explain why people like Bin-laden, Omar Sheikh (graduate of LSE)or the son of Ethan Allen's CEO, who was at (prob.) Harvard Med School, chose to became jihadis. Or why a white Dutch convert blew herself up in Iraq. There are clearly other issues at play here and merely rectifying poverty, illiteracy would not toally help. However, anything that reduces the amount of cannon fodder available to the ISI/pakis will be extremely welcome.

Since everyone here seems to be in a hurry to get out from Afghanistan citing ancient history, one pertinent question is left unanswered: What happens whwn you run out of Afghanistan? Leave the country to the talibs and their paymasters the Pakis? Let jehadis take over the country again? It is a great idea to be against stupid and unnecessary wars like Iraq, but running away from Afghanistan will be suicidal and an unmitigated disaster. Anyone given a thougth about that?

There are some lessons to be learned from this fiasaco:

1. If you want to climb a tree, it is USUALLY a good idea to know how to climb down. Otherwise you will be like Saakashvili, sitting on the top, and crying Uncle.

2. No one likes being poked in their rear end, the Russian the least.

3. What is sause for the goose.... etc. etc. If Kosovo has the right to secede, so does Ossetia.

4. For the 'West': next time back someone who is not a trigger happy dumb idiot.

One is forced to think after looking at this mess: What was Saakashvili thinking? I am sure after Putin is done rubbing Saaks' nose in his own poo, it will be his time to receive a good, old fashioned schoolboy style caning at the hands of his handlers- for being incompetent and stupid!

Many years ago, GWB looked into Putin's eyes and the rest is history. I really love this: Palin is inarticulate but in her 'eyes' there is intelligence. Wow!!

Also, what do ivory tower dwellers like Ms. Paglia know about the traditional third world and the women there? Has she lived there...researched them...seen them on TV...watched movies about them...what? And conservatives like Palin are the best hope for the women there? Exactly how? I know this from personal experience that in rural north India, census takers have to qualify questions about the total number of children in a household by asking the number of girls ...AFTER they have asked about the number of children ...since 'children' means boys. And Palin is going to 'expand' feminism in places like these? Please enlighten me what policies/outlook of hers will do the trick? Things are changing as women there are getting educated and are moving into urban less conservative areas and getting jobs. So what will Palin do to help that has not been done already by non-Palinesque feminists?

Paglia has really lost it!!!

Seriously, the only solution, at least in the short term, is to sink the pirate boats, like the Indian warship did last week. The only reasons pirates are so bold is because it is ridiculously easy to get millions of dollars for a day's worth of sailing. Once a few of their 'mother ships' are sunk, a good number of them will desist from what will be a near suicidal mission.

What a wanker to suggest that "The fact is that the attacks were caused by Indian security services cracking down on Muslims in their country".

You stupid jihadi, you'll say anything to cover your lover Al-Zawahiri's and your fathers in the Lashkar's asses! I can only hope that next time such a thing happens, your family in Pakistan and your loved ones are at the receiving end of that carnage. Heck, I'll even crack open a boltle of chablis when that happens. Do remember to post the good news here.

cheers for now!