INDIA AND PAKISTAN. TAPPING ON SHATTERED GLASS.

            Yet another “skirmish” in the Kashmir region. Is that worthy of the BBC making it the headline, at least for a few hours? Doesn’t that happen a couple of times a year? Isn’t this much like the events that take place elsewhere in the world? Really….what’s the big deal? CNN and FOX didn’t cover this latest attack and we all know what a professional group of journalists they are. Sputnik news covered the story, all be it a few pages deep. In the end, was this latest event any different? Was this truly worthy of the BBC’s attention?

History:

            In the past, I’ve addressed the dangers of this ongoing issue between Pakistan and India. I spoke of the time, shortly after 9-11, we were nearly scared out of our shorts India and Pakistan where going to go at it.  If you are reading this and you didn’t realize both nations have nuclear weapons, then you need to pay better attention to the world you are living in. Yes, there is deep history of bad blood between the two nations and the flash point has always been the Kashmir region. Both nations are being courted by the Dragon and “others”, and the struggle for leverage in the region is obvious to just about everyone, but the more the Chinese “court” Pakistan, the more nervous the government of India becomes. Anyone who makes decisions based upon, “ Oh…that happens all the time”, are the same people who condemn others to go cleanup their mistakes. Who am I referring to here? You should be able to guess. It’s typically those who no little about the real underlying issues of an event, or those who are simply too lazy to put in the effort required. Does the US’s intelligence community understand if this event is more dangerous than the ones in the past? Most likely. Do the Chinese and the Russians? Most likely. Why is the Western Press coverage of this latest round of clashes not making a splash on the news? It seems, nobody wants it to. Does that mean it will just fade away as the stories of Venezuela, Syria and the “Wall” continue to be the flavor of the day?  Ask the people of India? Read the Indian news. Just how upset this time is the government of  1.2. BILLION people?

Inside Pakistan:

            Where did this latest round of conflict take place? Take a look at Pakistani news and see how they refer to the region.  “India Occupied Kashmir”. That is the term of reference you will typically find. In this case, the Indian story is the attack came from Jaish-e-Mohammad, a group India alleges is supported by the Pakistani government. A group that attacked an Indian “Paramilitary” unit. Notice…..a “Group”….. and a “ Paramilitary Group”….you know……Proxy fighters. What do proxy fighters, mostly very young, unemployed young men or Indian “little Green Men”, like to do? Yep….fight…………and if one of these fights gets out of control, will it get the attention of the governments or organizations that back them? You bet it will. So is  that what took place here? Did two “Proxy” fighting groups take it too far? Was this an event that was not supposed to happen on the scale that it did? Let me answer that with a viewpoint some of you may not want to hear. No. That’s not what took place. It’s worse than that…….way worse.

Pakistan’s struggle:

            Have you heard of the struggles in Pakistan with the Red Mosque? Have you paid attention to the creeping, radical Islamic movement in Pakistan? It’s not new news, but if you’ve not been paying attention, then you are going to be very worried about what I am about to tell you, or at least you should be. If the radical Islamic front in Pakistan wanted to bring down the government, would it be willing to force that same government into a war with India? Absolutely. Could this radical movement attempt to make this war take place by prodding the one true hotspot between the two nations? Silly question.  Is that what is going on here? Does the intelligence communities of the West, China and Russia realize this? You bet they do. Did the phones ring soon after the 40 “Paramilitaries” were killed? Was the message, “don’t let this get out of hand”? Here’s even a worse way to look at this issue. Does anyone think for a second the US, Russia and China came to a quick agreement on how this latest event should be handled? The phones may have rang, but in what order and with what feedback?  Yes, there are several other so called “hotspots” in the world, but name me the one where a destabilized, nuclear nation is being prodded to start a conflict with a nation of over a BILLION people….a nation with nuclear weapons. The day to day working Joe in India will read about this latest attack, the one after the one that killed 40 Indian citizens, and the pressure to “ Do something” will mount. Here is the problem, and it’s a big one. “ Doing Something” is exactly what the radicals inside Pakistan want. Pay attention to Venezuela and Syria if you wish, but be prepared to see a headline that is far more terrifying than anything those two nations can produce. This issue of India and Pakistan is similar to tapping on fractured glass right now. Someone better find a way to keep that glass from shattering