Enjoyed reading Stephen Fry on Oscar Wilde and Anton Chekov. Thanks for the link.

So, is your book about marsupials?

I've looked at those pictures and don't feel the urge to become polarized in any way. Unless you consider being opposed to terrorist violence as a "polar" position. Even if you do, it's clearly not what Sullivan meant.

"The legitimate rage at these barbarians must not cloud our judgment in figuring out how best to defeat them," Sully adds. This is by far the more important and potent aspect of his post.

"Reacting in the way the terrorists want may be morally understandable and emotionally unavoidable," he continues. "But our goal must not be to give them what they want, or to compound the problem by over-reaction."

It's not really too fine a point on it - very simple, very basic. In fact, as essential element of Judeo-Christian ethics - to whit, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Dropping Indian bombs on Pakistani civilians won't do a damn thing to stop this, and will likely do much to increase its prevalence. An Indian attack on Pakistan will do nothing but give Pakistani thugs justification for further action.

"If we haven't learned that from Iraq and Afghanistan, it's hard to know what we have learned," Sully concludes.

Watching & listening to Americans react to these latest attacks... listening to our current & future Presidents as they wax bellicose about this and future violence... watching as India preps itself for Yet Another War With Pakistan... waiting as all voices of leaders and followers pilot the world toward more violence... I begin to think most of us have learned little, if anything, from the last eight years.

Cal, I don't feel polarized either. I just think it's important, as Andrew Sullivan says, that we realize that polarization is actually a direct goal of most terrorist acts. Dialogue becomes impossible when bombs are exploding. That's the point I was trying to make. I also do personally think that people all over the world -- and especially in the USA, judging by the latest election -- have learned a lot of hard lessons in the past several years. There's definitive evidence that human beings are getting slightly (slightly) smarter.

Part of the problem is; Pakistan is an artificial state created along religious lines of conflict by the British to solve their(the Brits) end of empire difficulties-likewise east Pakistan, now Bangla Desh.
The undrelying political tensions in the region wont be resolved until the religious antagonisms are resolved.
It is as much a question of historical theology, invasion, forced seperation,and nuclear proliferation, as it is a question of terrorism. In her entire history India has never sent her army across her borders, but has been subject to to cultural political and military invasion by Buddhism Mohammedenism and Christianity.
If India does move across her borders, the war zone will encapsulate the globe.
That's what the 'Song Celestial' is all about.
No one can comprehend Indian politics without being aware of the Bhagavad Gita.
That is India, past present and future.
It is also poetry.