Peaceful Bulgaria gets a jolt

Bulgaria is a lovely little country of around 7 million people tucked away East of Europe. When I visited the country around 5 years ago, one of the things that struck me as remarkable was the complete absence of any security apparatus anywhere in the country. Being used to the intimidating presence of gun totting security guards, metal detectors and frisking at every nook and corner of the country, the absence of a threat perception among Bulgarians was astonishing.

When I checked into my rented apartment on arriving in the country, my agent – an old lady probably in her fifties - helped me to settle down and showed the place around. At one instance, I had some difficulty understanding the strange locking system on the outer door of my apartment, which she was trying to explain. After a few unsuccessful attempts at teaching me how to lock & unlock the door, she politely said that if I found I could not understand the lock, I could leave the door open while going to office - no one would take anything! I looked at her in total disbelief, but over the next few weeks realized she had really meant it.

Outside the President's Residence - the guards have gone home!

My office, at that time, was located right in the front of the President’s Residence, in the heart of the capital city Sofia. The majestic building stood there almost discreetly, watching life go by. There would only be one security guard at the gate who stood on duty for the entire building. He too would leave at 6:00 PM in the evening and after that, there would be no one! The National Assembly, which stood a stone’s throw away, looked similarly commonplace. You could easily walk up the stairs or take photographs, with no one even casting a glance at what you were doing. No rifle wielding commandos, no cars flashing their red beacons, no VIP cavalcades bringing traffic to a halt. It was clear to me that Bulgarians had no enemies, nothing to fear. Having come out of the Iron Curtain, the country had at that time one of the highest growth rates in Europe and was looking forward optimistically to joining the European Union. 

In fact, the only time I saw any security presence in the country was when the then U.S. President George Bush visited Sofia. For his visit, some of the principal roads in the city were cordoned off, traffic was diverted and there were policemen all around. The night before Mr. Bush was due to arrive, as I walked home late from office, a policeman stopped me and asked for my identity. After showing him my papers and answering a few questions, I proceeded home. Clearly, Mr. Bush had enemies, though the Bulgarians didn’t.

Last week, a powerful bomb ripped across the coastal city of Burgas in Eastern Bulgaria, killing 5 Israeli tourists and injuring many others. The tragic attack has shattered the peace and harmony of this beautiful country. If the attack changes this permanently, it would be a sad day indeed.

What Bin Laden's death means for India

Today the U.S. government announced that Osama Bin Laden has been killed. I have not read the comments of political pundits and experts on this development, but my view is that this is a very unfortunate development for India. This is why:

Bin Laden’s death will increase the pressure on United States to withdraw from Af-Pak. Already; the U.S. was committed to withdraw in 2014, now that date may even be brought forward. The U.S. Presidential election is due in end - 2012 and a “successful” withdrawal from Afghanistan will help boost Obama’s low popularity rating. But the U.S. withdrawal from Pakistan, whenever it happens, would mean terrorist organizations such as the ISI, Lashkar – e- Toiba etc. will now have a free hand. They will rule Pakistan, and exercise control over its nuclear arsenal. In fact, I won’t be surprised if it is revealed one day that some ‘insider’ such as the ISI, the Pak Army or some other terrorist element actually betrayed Bin Laden and allowed him to be killed. It was the only way to get U.S. forces out of Pakistan and keep the Pak terror machine intact.

This is happening at a time when India has one of its weakest leaderships in recent times, with a puppet President and a puppet Prime Minister, remote controlled by a lady of mediocre intelligence and questionable leadership qualities, who owes her present status to the fact that she was married into the family of the then Prime Minister of the India.

Throughout their now 7-year old tenure, the Sonia – Manmohan combo have been decidedly pro-U.S. They now need to stop the U.S. from withdrawing from Pakistan until the entire terror infrastructure is destroyed. Otherwise, things will only get worse for India. Manmohan has done nothing positive in his second tenure. He now needs to do at least one good thing for India and its people. 


I am sure Chidambaram must be a worried man. I am.