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By Joseph Marhee
On the eve of Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, terrorists attacked Mumbai, India’s financial capital. Ten gunmen operating out of Pakistan approached Mumbai by sea, and within 60 hours, 171 people were dead and nearly 300 others were left wounded.
It was the first time attacks targeted foreigners in India with the gunmen taking over two hotels and a hospital. Out of the 171 dead, 26 were foreigners and five were Americans.
World leaders immediately condemned the brutal attacks and demanded that the Pakistani government pursue an in-depth investigation of the assault. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that he stands solidly with India and offers all possible help from Great Britain while President George W. Bush warned Pakistan that he will do whatever it takes to protect the American people.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India condemned the attacks as the work of those "outside" of India but was cautious not to accuse the Pakistani government of involvement. It was later clarified that the Islamic militant terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, located in Pakistan was responsible, according to intelligence reported by CNN. Lashkar-e-Taiba, banned in Pakistan in 2002, is now fronted by the Pakistani charity, Jamaat-ud-Dawa. It operates hundreds of Islamic schools and clinics.
The United Nations has blacklisted four of the charity’s leaders and it is subject to sanctions, such as freezing all of its assets. The four suspects are currently under house arrest and not allowed to leave.
Various intelligence agencies in the area failed to obtain data prior to the attacks because the gunmen used Internet phone services, which made it which made it nearly impossible to track calls.
The attack revealed a weakness in India’s security infrastructure. Various intelligence agencies in the area failed to obtain data prior to the attacks because the gunmen used Internet phone services, which made it which made it nearly impossible to track calls without prior registration, as reported by The New York Times.
According to a 2007 issue of Wired, neither India nor Pakistan has widespread broadband availability. This lack of service (and thus, lack of means of detection) makes this a serious threat, especially when used in situations like this.
FBI officials, Australian Federal Police, and other nations have all dispatched forensics and investigation units to find who was ultimately responsible, and how India can improve intelligence gathering and other security measures.
Since the dissolution of Great Britain’s Indian territories in 1947, Pakistan and India, as sovereign states, have both claimed Kashmir, thus creating violent border disputes; very similar to the conflict between the two nations of Israel and Palestine. Kashmir is an area of immense natural beauty and of great strategic importance to both countries. The "cross-border" terrorism has become a major threat to India’s security as militant Islamic terrorists groups are able to strike in India and then hide in Pakistan.
Over the years India’s government has grown more secular with a stronger democratic infrastructure while Pakistan’s is rooted in the Islamic religion and its military has controlled the country for over half of its 61 years as a country.
George W. Bush has pledged America’s support and offers the "weight" of America’s strength in helping India defend itself. Lashkar-e-Taiba was believed to have Indian conspirators, according to The New York Times, along with former Pakistani military officers that trained last month’s attackers and the use of strategic information stolen from Pakistani intelligence officials.
"This is not an India-Pakistan issue," Indian Foreign Minister Pranad Mukherjee was quoted as saying in The New York Times. "This is not an issue related to Jammu and Kashmir. This is a part of global terrorism."
LEARN THE FACTS:
- Many brutal conflicts blow up between India’s Hindus and Muslims sects over religious issues and self interest.
- India is at risk for "cross-border terrorism" attacks from bordering Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh where militant radicals operate.
- Latest attack could be an attempt to derail India-Pakistan relations and disrupt the peace process initiated by the two countries in 2004.
- India’s unbalanced economic growth is increasing the gap between rich/poor and escalating the dissatisfaction of its minorities causing serious conflicts.
- There are 275 terrorist groups in the country, according to statistics from the Indian Interior Ministry.
- The U.N. Security Council added Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, to a list of people linked to Al Qaeda or the Taliban, according to The New York Times.
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