A Very Puzzling "Could"

The Hindu quotes the Prime Minister as saying: More terrorist incidents could disrupt peace process.

Could? In other words, more Indians might die but there's only a small chance that this pointless "peace" process will be disrupted. Why are we Indians such gluttons for punishment?

Asked whether the Ayodhya incident would affect the India-Pakistan peace process, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered this nuanced assessment: "I have always maintained that we need to carry public opinion to make a success of the peace process. Anything that comes in the way of public opinion, and certainly these incidents, if they get repeated, have the potential to disrupt the peace process. So all concerned have obligations [to keep]. In our Joint Statement, I and President Musharraf have committed ourselves to making the peace process irreversible. I sincerely hope that we can stick to that solemn commitment, both of us."

We are tired of this word "nuance". If Pakistan is to blame, as the Prime Minister hints, then why not call evil by its name?

Frankly, the more he reads the Prime Minister's statement, the more infuriated this blogger -- a Manmohan Singh supporter -- gets. The statement can be read to imply that protecting the infernal peace process is even more important than protecting Indian lives. Too bad the Prime Minsiter has to deal with that pesky & fickle public opinion.

Clearly the Prime Minister doesn't mean any of this -- therefore, his confusing attempt at nuance reflects staggeringly poor judgement at this blood-dimmed moment.

We've called for a mature Indian response to the grave provocation at Ayodhya; tripping over complex word construction to avoid hurting Pakistani feelings is hardly a sign of maturity. No more nuance, please.