Deepak Chopra is an immigrant Indian medical doctor and alternative/mind-body/holistic medicine pioneer, perhaps better known as a widely-published self-help/self-esteem guru, pacifist and philosopher.
In the aftermath of the tragic Mumbai (Bombay, India) hotel terrorist atrocities, Larry King had a series of interviews with Dr. Chopra, whom was also promoting one of his new books on Jesus Christ within the context of cosmic/divine consciousness.
Chopra has bought into the Western leftist groupthink on Islamic terrorism. The United States is as "terrorist" as the Islamic radicals it pursues; one man's "terrorist" is anothe man's "soldier"; he sees collateral damage as genocide ("Get rid of the phrase "war on terrorism."...It's an oxymoron, terrorists call mechanized death from 35,000 feet above sea level with a press of a button also terror...innocent people are being killed. So, you know, terror is a term that you apply to the other.") Chopra argues that the Mumbai bombings were about sending messages to the Indian and Pakistan democratic governments, the Western democratic homes of victims, and Israel. The Western democracies, by fighting and creating new victims, alienates the Muslim moderates and creates an ever-worsening cycle of violence. Chopra further alleges that with Muslims being the fastest growing quarter of the world's population it is important to appease the moderates. He speculates that Obama's initial overtures to Muslim moderates may have sparked terrorists to act at Mumbai, terrified that their own power base may be compromised. Chopra says that the West is largely responsible for what's happening: their oil addiction funds the autocratic regimes, and some of that makes its way to radicalized clerics, schools and terrorists; he furthermore notes that Western arms suppliers are eager to sell to the oil-rich Muslim world.
Chopra sees victimization throughout the Muslim world: "You have to, you know, go to the deeper causes. Is it shame? Is it humiliation? Is it poverty? Is it lack of identity?" His solution? "I think in the long term, there has to be a marshall plan that looks at the deeper causes of global instability, poverty, radicalism, lack of education."
Analysis
First of all, I don't believe in victimization theory. Many radicals, like Osama bin Laden, come middle- or upper-class families, and are highly educated. It has more to deal with a distinctive religious fanaticism and ideals, e.g., for a monolithic Islamic world. Concessions are seen more as a sign of weakness.
There is a lot to be said that government reforms can make a difference; for instance, some sources indicate that there are perhaps as many Muslims in India as in Pakistan, but the number of radicalized Indian Muslims is much lower. President Bush took a relevant position early in his second term when he promoted a region-adapted form of republican democracy in the Mideast/Asia region. The basic theory is that democratic nations are slow to wage war.
Second, there are a number of internal and other conflicts (e.g., the disposition of Kashmir) in the Islamic world which cannot be scapegoated on the Western democracies.
Third, I would argue the biggest issue involves dissemination of information relevant to the atrocities of the Islamic extremists. Probably the best known example is how Al Qaeda in Iraq had begun to target certain tribal Sunni leaders, whom it regarded as disloyal and not accommodative, and civilians. Free elections, a vibrant free press, and coverage of terrorist attacks on innocent Iraqi civilians have had a lot to do with a huge drop in popular support for Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremist groups.
Conclusion
As a native Indian, Deepak Chopra is aware of religious tensions within India itself, particularly between Hindus and Muslims. However, he is buying into the same erroneous liberal analyses that predicted failure of the Iraqi surge strategy with counter-insurgency tactics. Calling America bombing raids on Al Qaeda targets as acts of terrorism is unreasonable and unconscionable. I am skeptical that a Marshall Plan-like initiative would work without the right political reforms in effect. What we need to see the Gulf Region do is to diversify their economies beyond oil production and refining and to ensure free trade agreements.
Deepak Chopra's analysis of the Mumbai attacks is speculative, provocative and ultimately shallow and unconvincing. The idea that any or every act of violence in Asia in some way ultimately related to American actions, including the election of Barack Obama, is ludicrous and violates Ockham's razor; Muslim extremist attacks within India occurred without having to build elaborate, complicated theories of possible American connections. From my perspective, Deepak Chopra adds very little to the discussion beyond a conventional liberal perspective. Deepak Chopra should worry more about damage to his branded image as a self-help guru by advancing crackpot political opinions like he did on Larry King.
