An article in the Delhi Times today was harshly critical of BJP Leader Advani's past decision to trade captured terrorists for hostages, a decision which he now denies. While I understand that this qualifies as what Bush calls "negotiating with terrorists," I wonder whether the greater evil would have been to let the hostages be harmed like in the numerous beheadings that occurred after 9/11. As an American, I watched and was horrified at how the government could stand by out of foolish pride and watch this happen to its citizens. Shouldn't the lives of its citizens be more important than a country leader's individual pride. And would that momentary negotiation make that much of a difference if we are just going to go after them later anyway.
I also personally wonder whether allowing and even broadcasting such displays of violence serve a nationalistic purpose as well. These sorts of displays fueled support for not only the war on terrorism but the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Witnessing such a scene fuels people with blind hatred of not only these assailants but anyone with the same nationality, with no discrimination and no consideration for even that individual's personal situation. As a Buddhist-minded thinker, I believe that an individual's wrongdoings will hurt them as much as their victims in the end, but that doesn't give us the right to stand by and watch. It also means that we should not feel anger towards these people, because they are only human, but pity and sympathy. Only then will we stop the cycle of hate and destruction.
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