Posted by
Michael on Monday, July 07, 2008 10:14:28 PM
There is a compelling argument that the problems with Islamic terrorism wouldn't occur if we weren't interfering in their affairs. It's been echoed with venom by the Left and eloquently by Ron Paul. I've considered it many times, but with that argument comes the uncomfortable notion that we may not want to even help these countries, as simply being there to help can make one a target.
That looks like the case with India. It seems that India does have a low level of troops in Afghanistan, but they aren't there in a military capacity as much as to protect Indians there to help reconstruct the war-torn country:
India is sending 300 special police (Indo-Tibetan Border Police, or ITBP) to Afghanistan to help guard Indians working there on reconstruction projects. Eighty of the ITBP are already in southern Afghanistan, guarding Indians helping to build roads there. Taliban terrorists have attacked the Indian workers several times, with gunfire and bombs. Last year, twenty ITBP were sent to Kabul to guard the Indian embassy.
That's the same embassy that was torn apart today. Should we leave countries like Afghanistan to disintegrate, or should we intervene in their affairs? Even what we consider to be helping can be seen as interference.