Tuesday, November 16, 2004
The Kashmir troop withdrawal
So, the troop withdrawal in Kashmir has begun today, just as Manmohan Singh had promised. As a confidence building measure in Kashmir, it needs to be applauded. Question is why is the Indian army confident enough now to lower the troop numbers? Conventional wisdom is that action by Musharraf combined with the fencing activity on the border has greatly reduced infiltration.
I have to ask though -- is it possible that the infiltration level has come down because the peripatetic jihadis have left Kashmir to fight the bigger war against the bigger Satan in Mosul, Falluja, Samarra and elsewhere? After all, the global jihadis showed up in Kashmir only after they were left unemployed when the Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan.
Just asking is all.
I have to ask though -- is it possible that the infiltration level has come down because the peripatetic jihadis have left Kashmir to fight the bigger war against the bigger Satan in Mosul, Falluja, Samarra and elsewhere? After all, the global jihadis showed up in Kashmir only after they were left unemployed when the Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan.
Just asking is all.
