Quote:
Originally Posted by saden1
Come on, you're smarter than that. Don't do my man Gandhi and the people who made so many sacrifices like that.
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I think you misunderstand me. I have enormous respect for Ghandi and what he did. My point is that the Indians, et al are in a unique position geo-politically. They understand Western Values, Eastern Values, and are economically viable. We and the Chinese will be struggling to be their best friend for some time to come. They are the diplomatic hinge of the next 20 years, IMO.
Perhaps the phrase "no apparent reason" was overstated. Ghandi gave them good reasons to leave but they were enlightened compared to what happened with, say, the French in Vietnam. He more or less talked them into leaving. If Arafat were half the man Ghandi was, the Israelis would never have been able to maintain their presence in the West Bank all these years. Likewise if Ghandi had been a corrupt, venal, thug given over to violence, the English would have stayed out of spite, probably another ten years at least. v