Give credit where it's due

When, in the early 1970s, the world's strongest democracy and the world's strongest autocracy joined hands to fight the "evil empire", the game of table tennis (ping-pong diplomacy) ran away with all the credit while it was President Nixon (and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger) who did all the hard work.

With the U.S. bombing of selected targets in Afghanistan and Sudan recently, it would seem that, at long last, the world's strongest democracy is finally joining hands with the world's biggest democracy to fight terrorism. And I sincerely hope that Monica Lewinsky doesn't run away with all the credit since it was President Clinton who did all the hard work.

K.B. KALE

Pune, India