Swing Country

Like many of you, I have been gripped by the recent events in Mumbai.
India to me is a swing country: very much representative of many of
the best Western ideals (free markets, innovation, democracy) but very
much entangled in tenuous conflicts with the worst sorts. Hence it
being persistently targeted this decade, for the very reason that it
can go either way. Here's hoping good overcomes evil, that violence
is stemmed as swiftly as possible, and that not insignificant tensions
(the West's dealings with Pakistan, India's nuclear ambitions, trade
agreements) can give way to a shared commitment to standing up against
hate-filled terrorists.