As countries continue their squabbles, their home the earth is going to hell in a handbasket. A new review paper in Biological Conservation (April 2019) reports 40 percent of insect species are threatened with extinction. Guess who pollinates our plants where we get our food?
All of which is of little concern to President Trump, who disdains science and experts of any kind. His vice president has been at the Munich Security Conference where an awkward silence prevailed as he conveyed greetings from Trump and waited for the customary applause. His speech, focused on hounding Iran, met with polite, muted applause.
Angela Merkel in contrast defended the Iran agreement (which the US has unilaterally abrogated) and talked of maintaining lines of communication without giving up gains already achieved. Her ambit included Russia and Mr. Putin, and her critique of Trump and his policies received thunderous applause in what was seen as a striking rebuke to 'America First'. Some said it was one of her best and thoughtful speeches.
In
India, it's Kashmir again. Poor Kashmiris. They tried trusting Nehru
and waited ... and waited for the promised vote for self-determination;
of course Pakistan's headstrong responses did not help. They tried
peaceful demonstrations and received blinding and sometimes fatal
shotgun pellets -- not for them just tear gas or the famed Israeli
rubber bullets. What's left but militancy for which Mr. Modi blames
Pakistan his convenient scapegoat. All too convenient, with elections
round the corner, he has the country awash in jingoism. Communal
assault often follows in this his tried-and-true election tactic.
Rahul Gandhi the jejune opposition leader is out of his depth as usual. His only hope is for Mr. Modi to overplay his hand. All of this despite a general dissatisfaction because the promised economic benefits for the majority have not materialized, and as cell phones multiply, people can actually see the extravagances of the rich.
Mr. Modi threatens to isolate Pakistan and Muhammad bin Salman the de facto Saudi ruler signs projects and loans worth $20 billion -- at the beginning of his visit to Pakistan, the figure touted was $10 billion. As Theodore Roosevelt used to say, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick' not the reverse.
A
rational answer to the Indian subcontinent is a loose confederation of
independent states in a cooperative scenario, accruing the benefits of
free trade and the particular resources of individual members -- not the
copycat US 'most favored nation status' to be yanked like a toy from a
recalcitrant child. All this when Pakistan has just introduced the very
short range Nasr low-yield nuclear-tipped missile designed to decimate a
cold start attack.
Instead of the frenetic jumping up and down and undiplomatic meaningless threats, how about a calm and rational peace?
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