Blog #13

On the washington post i found an article that is about the Kashmir conflict. I found out that it involves India and Pakistan fighting over Kashmir and they currently have a truce but that truce has been broken multiple times. Kashmir is very mountainous and has a population of about seven million people. There was one question that stands out to me the most from this website, which is: will there be war? They say it is a possibility and I strongly agree considering the violence that is taking place in Kashmir right now. The Washington Post states, "For India, three terrorist attacks in the last nine months, allegedly perpetrated by Pakistani-based militants, justify a military response. In October 2001, Islamic separatists killed 40 people in an attack on the legislature in Srinigar. In December, five Islamic gunmen entered the Indian parliament in New Delhi and killed seven people before being killed." This is just some of the many disasters that have taken place for India in Kashmir. Another big question arises as well: What is the U.S. position? In the past, and also the present, the U.S. has been known for not taking a stand when other countries are suffering and need our help. Take the Holocaust for example, we just stood by not knowing, but if we did know would the government have helped? We will never know. I feel that from our country's past mistakes, we are learning from them and hopefully will help others in need in the future. The washington post says, "The United States is pressuring Pakistan to curb terrorism while discouraging India from attacking." Which shows that we are at least doing something to try to help. The fact that both Pakistan and India are nuclear powers makes this an even bigger conflict. Both countries have gone to war twice and I hope there isn't a third time.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/kashmir/front.html