Terrorism in Mumbai | Last Post by Omcheeto

[Greg Bernhardt]

Last post was omcheeto:

Originally Posted by Vanadium 50 View Post

Originally Posted by Reshma

All I can say is terrorists are people who do not have a religion or a race or for that matter they don't even have a Nationality.

Of course they have a nationality. They may not be acting on the orders of a government but they certainly have a nationality. They may (or may not) have a religion as well.

I think Reshma's post implies that their nationalities are irrelevant, with which I agree. It's not about nationality, it's about ideology.

Originally Posted by LowlyPion View Post

Like I said, I have no desire to see this devolve into a religious discussion

TOO LATE!

Please. Can we stick to what is going on in Mumbai?

Originally Posted by Reshma View Post

I hardly slept last two nights. Just spend most of the day watching the news. The terrorists had made their way to the city via sea. Plus the sea route was used to transport all the ammunition (grenades, machine guns, et al.). I am appalled at how the Coast Guard and the Navy weren't able to detect such an operation.

I've yet to run across any pictures of the boats that brought the terrorists in.
I've heard that when they motored past the fishermen, they told them to mind their own business.
I see from google-earth that the bay in front of the Taj hotel is filled with boats. I think it would be difficult for your Coast Guard to determine they were terrorists until after the shooting started.

When the attack did happen the local police and security weren't equipped to tackle the situation. The Special Operations force arrived only the next morning and enough damage has already been done. This is the third time in my life, Bombay has experienced such a tragedy. The only difference this time the terrorists didn't just plant bombs in a bike, bus, train or public place but stayed to fight head-on with the police and had come with the intention to kill maximum people.

It may be that the world is becoming jaded to the random suicide bombers. People wielding guns makes for a much more interesting show.

I am back to work at my lab at IIT Powai. I don't see any stringent security measures even at IIT inspite of the past hours of drama, which only proves the indifferent attitude of the government and the people towards such incidents. All we hear is the annoying politicians praising the city's "spirit" and "resilience" and the national and international media making another circus of the incident.

Indifference. I agree. When the twins towers were hit in New York, my two sisters and I continued to paint my brothers living room. Because it's becoming so commonplace, it's becoming difficult not be indifferent to these kind of acts until they come to your town.

My condolences for the violence and death in your city.

 

[Astronuc]

I have not seen pictures of the boats, and perhaps it will be some time before evidence is made available.

Here is one article that describes two Gemini boats.
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.2762084070

The Indian Coast Guard, which is tasked with patrolling the country’s territorial waters, is examining the alleged use of small rubber boats known as "Gemini" by the terrorists to sneak into Mumbai from the sea.

"This appears to be the first terrorist attack from the sea route using the Gemini boats. These boats have an horizontal wooden structure at the end on which a high-speed motor can be fitted. These Gemini boats usually travel up to four kilometres at a stretch," said a Coast Guard official.

The death toll has risen to over 170 and includes several foreigners, but seemingly mostly residents of Mumbai. The gunmen fired indiscriminantly.

November 29, 2008
Mumbai Terrorist Siege Over, India Says
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/world/asia/29mumbai.html
By SOMINI SENGUPTA and KEITH BRADSHER

MUMBAI, India — Indian commandos took control of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, the last nest of terrorist resistance, on Saturday morning, after a lengthy assault that left three terrorists dead and sections of the hotel in flames, the head of the commando unit said in a televised news conference.

Soldiers were still combing the hotel, going room to room in search of remaining gunmen, but the siege appeared finally to have ended, J. K. Dutt, director general of the National Security Guard, an elite commando force, said in the news conference at 9 a.m. Firefighters were permitted to begin pouring water over the flames that had burned out of control in the hotel’s lower floors for as much as an hour while the commandos battled the terrorists.

It was the third day of a siege that has shaken India, raised tensions with neighboring Pakistan and prompted questions about the failure of the authorities to anticipate the tragedy or to react swiftly enough as it unfolded.

All told, after attackers were cleared from a second hotel and a Jewish center on Friday, more than 150 people had died. Most of the dead were apparently Indian citizens, but at least 22 foreigners were killed. Among the dead reported were a rabbi from Brooklyn and his wife, who ran the Jewish center.

The main success for the authorities on Friday came at the second hotel, the Oberoi. The authorities said that two gunmen had been killed and 93 foreigners — some of them wearing Air France and Lufthansa uniforms — had been rescued, though 30 bodies were found. Survivors offered harrowing accounts of their ordeal, trapped on the upper floors of the high-rise hotel while gunmen prowled below. The National Security Guard said it recovered two AK-47s, a 9-millimeter pistol and some grenades.

. . . .

His team found a gunman’s backpack, which contained dried fruit, 400 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, four grenades, Indian and American money, and seven credit cards from some of the world’s leading banks, he said. The pack also had a national identity card from the island of Mauritius.
. . . .

A Day of Reckoning as India Toll Tops 170
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/world/asia/30mumbai.html

. . . By midafternoon, the morgue was running out of body bags, and by evening the death toll had risen to at least 172. . . .

At a gas station near the Taj hotel, attackers opened fire on two waiting cars on Wednesday, critically injuring two occupants. When a married couple in their 70s went to their third-floor window to see what was happening, the terrorists blazed away with assault rifles, killing both and leaving shards of glass that still hung in the window on Saturday.

Down the road, when the gunmen seized Nariman House, the headquarters here of a Jewish religious organization, neighbors mistook the initial shots on Wednesday night for firecrackers to celebrate India’s cricket victory over England.

But when drunken revelers in a nearby alley began throwing bottles and stones, two attackers stepped onto a balcony of Nariman House and opened fire on passers-by, killing a 22-year-old call center worker who was the sole support of his widowed mother; five others were injured. A teenage boy who stepped out onto his balcony and came within firing range was swiftly shot and killed, a witness said.

. . . .

 

[out of whack]

His team found a gunman’s backpack, which contained dried fruit, 400 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, four grenades, Indian and American money, and seven credit cards from some of the world’s leading banks

Carrying two currencies and seven credit cards suggest that the gunman expected to walk away from this.

 

[LowlyPion]

Maybe one did walk away?

Lone surviving gunman reveals operation details

By Pamels Raghunath, Correspondent
Published: November 29, 2008, 23:31

Mumbai: Maharashtra deputy chief minister R.R. Patil on Saturday said preliminary investigations into the attacks revealed that the terrorists planned to kill at least 5,000, judging by the arms and ammunition they possessed.

With the recovery of AK-47 rifles, grenades, arms and several hundred rounds of ammunition from terrorists who were gunned down as well as from the one and only terrorist caught alive, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasar, 21, "it is apparent they wanted to cause extensive destruction to human life," said Patil.

Remand

Kasar, a Pakistani national, was arrested at Marine Drive even as he and his companions began a killing spree. He was on Saturday remanded to police custody till December 11.

Terrorists had access to modern communications systems like GPS, satellite and mobile phones and also had maps of the hotels even as they received regular directions over phone from another country, said Patil. He also informed that there was no involvement of any locals in the attacks.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said the state would also form a NSG-like force. When asked why the Mumbai and Maharashtra Police were not modernised or equipped with sophisticated equipment, he replied that all these years "our priority was development".

"The families of the security officials who lost their lives while fighting the terrorists will be given a compensation of Rs2.5 million [Dh190,000]," said Deshmukh.

Meanwhile, according to reports emanating from what the interrogators were told by the lone terrorist who was captured, it appears that terrorists who entered Mumbai began their killing spree on the high seas when they hijacked a fishing trawler, Kuber, and killed five fishermen who have been 'missing' since last week.

They pushed four of the fishermen and the fifth one, Balwant Tandel, was beheaded as the vessel neared the Mumbai shore. It appears that the captured terrorist revealed that 11 Lashkar-e-Toiba cadres had sailed off from Karachi to Mumbai.

http://www.gulfnews.com/world/India/10263664.html

 

[Proton Soup]

 

[mgb_phys]

I suspect this has about as much validity as Soviet era accident reports which always blamed 'counter revolutionary elements' for everything.
It is a warning about how reliable the evidence is if you allow political appointees to 'interrogate terrorist suspects.

Meanwhile in Africa, the 'whose religion is most peaceful' competition leads to a dissapointing result for the carpenter from Nazareth
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7756695.stm

 

[Proton Soup]

I suspect this has about as much validity as Soviet era accident reports which always blamed 'counter revolutionary elements' for everything.
It is a warning about how reliable the evidence is if you allow political appointees to 'interrogate terrorist suspects.

who knows, but you've had a change of government in pakistan, so that changes things. the new government appears to be less militant. also, starting a war with India might be part of a plan by the old government to regain their political power in pakistan.

 

[mgb_phys]

I meant that irrespective of who actually did it - an Indian police/army official, a suspect and a couple of electrodes is going to produce the answer you wanted.

A couple of years ago there was an Al-Quada attack on some trains in Madrid. there was an election the next day and the Spanish government was on the ropes over it's unpopular involvement in Iraq. Within hours of the attack Spanish, British and US military intelligence was rushing out statements to prove that it was due to ETA and nothing to do with Iraq at all.

 

[Proton Soup]

i guess it all depends on how you do it. you've got to separate the guys and not make suggestions about what you want to hear. even so, if you get the same story from all of them, you have the complication of maybe that being prefabricated.

 

[Office_Shredder]

I realized that nowhere has it been reported how many terrorists there are estimated to have been

EDIT: I should add that I mean nowhere that I've seen... it's probably out there somewhere. Anyone know?

 

[Art]

I realized that nowhere has it been reported how many terrorists there are estimated to have been

EDIT: I should add that I mean nowhere that I've seen... it's probably out there somewhere. Anyone know?

Original estimates were between 20 and 25. Only 10 have been accounted for which means either the original estimates were wrong or some slipped away.

 

[Reshma]

Thanks OmCheeto for the link.

I've yet to run across any pictures of the boats that brought the terrorists in.
I've heard that when they motored past the fishermen, they told them to mind their own business.
I see from google-earth that the bay in front of the Taj hotel is filled with boats. I think it would be difficult for your Coast Guard to determine they were terrorists until after the shooting started.

Well one of the terrorists caught alive is spilling the beans. They had hijacked a fishing trawler near the coast of Porbandar (very close to Pakistan border), killed the people on board and made their way to Mumbai.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/10_terrorists_had_entered_Mumbai_Police/articleshow/3774122.cms

It may be that the world is becoming jaded to the random suicide bombers. People wielding guns makes for a much more interesting show.

I am more amazed that just 10 terrorists were able to put up a 60 hour long battle with over 200 commandos.

Indifference. I agree. When the twins towers were hit in New York, my two sisters and I continued to paint my brothers living room. Because it's becoming so commonplace, it's becoming difficult not be indifferent to these kind of acts until they come to your town.

I think US handled it far better. After 9/11, there wasn't a single terrorist attack on any American in US. This was the 5th terrorist attack on India in 2008 and the 2nd one in Mumbai since 2006.

My condolences for the violence and death in your city.

Thank you and everyone on PF.

 

[Office_Shredder]

I think US handled it far better. After 9/11, there wasn't a single terrorist attack on any American in US. This was the 5th terrorist attack on India in 2008 and the 2nd one in Mumbai since 2006.

Better technology and a far more stable political situation tend to help with that. Although you still should keep in mind the Beltway sniper incident was after 9/11, and that SUV driver a couple years ago who hit a bunch of people to avenge Muslim deaths and called one of the 9/11 hijackers his role model, so your statement is wrong anyway

EDIT: Oh, and what about the anthrax mailings?

 

[Astronuc]

Better technology and a far more stable political situation tend to help with that. Although you still should keep in mind the Beltway sniper incident was after 9/11, and that SUV driver a couple years ago who hit a bunch of people to avenge Muslim deaths and called one of the 9/11 hijackers his role model, so your statement is wrong anyway.

Those were isolated criminal actions, not the work of a terrorist group.

EDIT: Oh, and what about the anthrax mailings?

Again this is an action of one individual who had unusual access and opportunity.


Geography (distance) is helpful in hindering attacks from groups.



With respect to the number, 10 have been killed and as Reshma mentioned, one has been taken. There is concern that some got away. I saw one estimate of 4 groups of 8, or 32 terrorists. Later, like Art mentioned the number was estimated in the 20's. It will be some time before we know the whole story.

The terrorists were well trained and organized. The military had to start from scratch, not knowing what they were dealing with, and they had to be careful to minimize collateral damage. The terrorists were dispersed to about 9 or 10 targets, so it took some time to engage and stop the terrorists.

 

[Office_Shredder]

Those were isolated criminal actions, not the work of a terrorist group.

Again this is an action of one individual who had unusual access and opportunity.

I didn't realize that for a terrorist attack to be The Real Deal^TM it had to be launched by an organized group. Besides, we still don't really know who sent out the anthrax

 

[Astronuc]

I didn't realize that for a terrorist attack to be The Real Deal^TM it had to be launched by an organized group. Besides, we still don't really know who sent out the anthrax

Security officials and government draw distinction between politically motivated (and international, i.e. those attacking across national borders) terrorist groups, domestic terrorist/hate groups and isolated/individual criminals. One could mention criminal gangs like those in LA and other large cities, but they are more of a threat to each other than the average citizen or those living outside those neighborhoods.

With respect to the anthrax, the authorities have apparently identified the source, if not the person. The one suspect committed suicide, so we will never know for sure unless someone else confesses and provides evidence. Nevertheless, there has been no further anthrax attacks since that case/investigation.

 

[OmCheeto]

Thanks OmCheeto for the link.

It was the least I could do.

Well one of the terrorists caught alive is spilling the beans. They had hijacked a fishing trawler near the coast of Porbandar (very close to Pakistan border), killed the people on board and made their way to Mumbai.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/10_terrorists_had_entered_Mumbai_Police/articleshow/3774122.cms

Thank you for the link. I now know where to get my news on this matter.

Another article from the Times of India:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Taj_hotel_was_warned_of_terrorist_attack_Ratan_Tata/articleshow/3775558.cms

Says that the people in the Taj hotel had been warned of an attack.
Very similar to the 9/11 incident.
I suppose these terrorists saturate the intelligence communities with false plots to mask the real one.

I am more amazed that just 10 terrorists were able to put up a 60 hour long battle with over 200 commandos.

I'm sure the terrorists went there with the full intention of not coming out alive. If the commandos had moved faster, for a swift resolution, you might have ended up with 10 times as many casualties. Things become very complicated when hostages are involved.

If you want to see a historical perspective on how badly these can get, see the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_theater_hostage_crisis" . It's a long read. Basically they pumped poisonous gas into a building with all of the hostages and terrorists. The terrorists had gas masks. Guess who perished.

I think US handled it far better. After 9/11, there wasn't a single terrorist attack on any American in US. This was the 5th terrorist attack on India in 2008 and the 2nd one in Mumbai since 2006.

We have the advantage of having only friendly neighbors.
It's quite a bit easier to keep thugs out when they can't walk across your border, or sail a couple of hundred miles into your port cities.

Thank you and everyone on PF.

Keep us posted!

 

[LowlyPion]

Mastermind of attacks apparently arrested in Pakistan.

Mumbai terror mastermind among 20 LeT activists held: Report
8 Dec 2008, 1813 hrs IST, PTI

ISLAMABAD: In a crackdown by security forces in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander and suspected Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi was arrested along with at least eight other members of the group after a gunbattle. ( Watch )

A total of 15 members of the LeT and its front organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawah were arrested following the raid conducted by Pakistani forces yesterday in a camp near Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK, Geo News channel reported.

The arrests took place as international pressure mounted on Pakistan to take action against the banned LeT, seen as the prime suspect in the deadly Mumbai siege that left 183 persons dead. US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has pressed Pakistan to act quickly.

The operation was carried out by the army and other security forces backed by helicopters. The troops exchanged fire with the militants for almost three hours. Some of the militants were injured.

There was no official word on the arrests from the Pakistan government or the military. The military spokesman could not be reached for comments.

But LeT founder Hafiz Saeed slammed the raid in the camp operated by his charity saying "the operation against jihadi organisations in Pakistani Kashmir is unwarranted and we strongly condemn it."

Ajmal Amir Iman, the lone terrorist captured alive by Indian authorities after the Mumbai attacks, had named Lakhwi as one of the LeT commanders who had planned the strike.

The security forces sealed a large LeT complex and a madrassa affiliated to the organisation at Shawai Nullah, five kilometres north-west of Muzaffarabad.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...activists_held_Report/articleshow/3807337.cms

 

[Astronuc]

There was an article recently that profiled the one terrorist who survived. Apparently he started out as a low level criminal, street hood, and was determined to start his own gang. He was then recruited by some militant group and sent to a paramilitary training camp.

Other articles indicate that some groups of Taliban and most (if not all) of al-Qaida are involved in criminal activities. They are simply criminal organizations.

 

[LowlyPion]

The US had apparently brought a resolution against this LeT guy to freeze assets 4 months ago, but the measure was objected to by Pakistan for insufficient proof and China blocked it.

US moved the UN on Lashkar men, China put it on hold

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/us-moved-the-un-on-lashkar-men-china-put-it-on-hold/395216/

 

[LowlyPion]

There was an article recently that profiled the one terrorist who survived. Apparently he started out as a low level criminal, street hood, and was determined to start his own gang. He was then recruited by some militant group and sent to a paramilitary training camp.

Other articles indicate that some groups of Taliban and most (if not all) of al-Qaida are involved in criminal activities. They are simply criminal organizations.

If you figure that the US is running through bank transfers and freezing assets and such, then crime would be the natural funding option.

When you have airborne Hellraisers cruizing overhead that might rain from the sky on you for your activities already, running a little poppy paste isn't exactly upping the ante against you.

 

[LowlyPion]

And as if this wasn't enough ...

Zardari fielded hoax call, Pak went into war-alert mode
New Delhi: A hoax call—from a man pretending to be External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee—made to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari sent the entire Pakistani establishment into a tizzy, even prompting Pakistan to put its air force on high alert, according to a report in Pakistani newspaper Dawn.

The call by a man identifying himself as Pranab Mukherjee was put through to Zardari on November 28, the report said. The report said the caller spoke in a “threatening manner”. Dawn said the country’s air force was put on high alert in response to the call. It said it came from a New Delhi number, but that Indian officials believed the caller ID could have been manipulated.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/zardari-fielded-hoax-call-pak-went-into-waralert-mode/395220/

Pranking Sarah Palin is one thing, but provoking someone with nuclear weapons is quite another. This would seem to be beyond mischief.

And if they are spoofing caller ID, maybe a more secure diplomatic line would need to be deployed?

 

[LowlyPion]

Mumbai attacker's hometown is in Pakistan
Residents say the gunman caught by Indian police comes from a village in Pakistan where Lashkar-e-Taiba has been recruiting young men for 'jihad.'
FARIDKOT, near Depalpur, Pakistan - The lone gunman captured alive by Indian police during last month's terrorist attack on Mumbai (formerly Bombay) comes from a dirt-poor village in Pakistan's southern Punjab region where a banned Islamist group has been actively recruiting young men for "jihad," according to residents of the village and official records seen by McClatchy Newspapers.

Ajmal Ameer Kasab, the dark-haired 21-year-old man arrested by Indian authorities in the first hours of the assault – in which more than 170 people died – left the village four years ago, several residents said. He would return once a year to see his small family home, and one villager recalled him talking about freeing the Muslim-dominated region of Kashmir from India.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1208/p25s01-woap.html

Interestingly it seems Pakistan is trying to cover up his connection to the village.

 

[LowlyPion]

Pakistan Says 124 Arrested in Mumbai Investigation

By SALMAN MASOOD
Published: January 15, 2009

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Vowing to cooperate with India in the investigations of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, a Pakistani official said Thursday that 124 people had been arrested in a crackdown against a group linked with the attacks and urged India to provide more evidence to bring the perpetrators to justice.

In a televised news conference, the official, Rehman Malik, a senior figure in the Interior Ministry, said the Pakistani government had formed a high-level investigation committee that would examine information provided by India.

He said a ranking police officer would head the committee. Investigators in Pakistan will “have to inquire into this information to try to transform it to evidence, evidence which can stand the test of any court in the world and of course our own court of law,” Mr. Malik said.

“We are with you in this difficult time,” Mr. Malik said while assuring a transparent investigation. But he stressed the need for cooperation between investigators from India and Pakistan. “We should share real-time information,” he said.

Tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors has worsened since the November attacks that killed more than 160 people.

Mr. Malik said top and mid-ranking leaders of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity that is seen as a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant organization India has said was behind the Mumbai attacks, have been detained. He added that 5 camps, 20 offices, 87 schools and 6 Web sites affiliated with Jamaat-ud-Dawa had been shut down.

Mr. Malik said the government had no knowledge of the whereabouts of Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder of Jaish-e-Muhammad, another extreme Islamist group suspected of involvement in the attacks. India has demanded that Pakistan hand over Mr. Azhar. India and Pakistan have no extradition treaty and Pakistani officials say any Pakistani citizen who is accused of involvement will be tried in a Pakistani court.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/world/asia/16pstan.html?ref=world

 

[mgb_phys]

Interestingly it seems Pakistan is trying to cover up his connection to the village.

It's like that quote by Einstein;
If the theory works- the Germans will call me a German, the Swiss a Swiss etc..
If it doesn't the Swiss will call me a German and the Germans will call me a Jew.

 

[LowlyPion]

The two stories suggest a sea change in Pakistan at least at some level. On the face of it it would seem that Pakistan's arresting 124 is an attempt to put themselves on the right side of the issue.

 

[Reshma]

One year later...

Hard to believe that it is already a year since last year's carnage. With nearly 200 people killed, the only terrorist caught alive Ajmal Qasab is still under the custody of the Mumbai police. The attacks have raised more questions and little answers on how the ten or so gunmen managed to evade and bypass all the security systems and waged a 3 day long battle with the city authorities...

More can be found here...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8379828.stm

 

[mheslep]

I think US handled it far better. After 9/11, there wasn't a single terrorist attack on any American in US. This was the 5th terrorist attack on India in 2008 and the 2nd one in Mumbai since 2006...

After 911 true enough, but pick another time frame and the US doesn't look so good: '93 first WTC bombing, US embassy bombings in Africa in the 90's, Saudi Arabian attack killing several US citizens, USS Cole bombing. With all that going on US policy raised, not lowered, the bar between the intelligence operations of the CIA and law enforcement actions of the FBI, making it much more difficult for the two to talk to each other.

 

[OmCheeto]

Hard to believe that it is already a year since last year's carnage. With nearly 200 people killed, the only terrorist caught alive Ajmal Qasab is still under the custody of the Mumbai police. The attacks have raised more questions and little answers on how the ten or so gunmen managed to evade and bypass all the security systems and waged a 3 day long battle with the city authorities...

More can be found here...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8379828.stm

I found the blog pointed to by the above article interesting:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/soutikbiswas/2009/11/living_with_insecurity.html"
Soutik Biswas | 18:54 UK time, Wednesday, 25 November 2009
...

Meanwhile, in the taxi on our terror whirligig, Saurabh says that life remains wretched for people like him, terror attacks or not. He sleeps on the streets near the Gateway of India because he cannot afford a home. His wife stays with an ex-gangster friend of his who has a roof over his head.

I ask him whether he believes that the city could be attacked again.

"Oh yes, it will happen again," Saurabh says dismissively. "Does anybody care?"

If a taxi driver in Mumbai has to live on the street, can the lives of the people in Pakistan be any better? I do not know the answer. But when life becomes so miserable, that people no longer care if people around them are murdered, something is very wrong.


Also, it is not always a good thing to look to deeply for answers.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/11/florida.burned.boy/index.html"
Sheriff's detectives say the attack on Brewer started over a video game and a bicycle.

The answers sometimes make you wonder how you could possibly be a member of such a mindless and cruel species.

 

[mheslep]

Living with insecurity
Soutik Biswas | 18:54 UK time, Wednesday, 25 November 2009
...

Meanwhile, in the taxi on our terror whirligig, Saurabh says that life remains wretched for people like him, terror attacks or not. He sleeps on the streets near the Gateway of India because he cannot afford a home. His wife stays with an ex-gangster friend of his who has a roof over his head.

I ask him whether he believes that the city could be attacked again.

"Oh yes, it will happen again," Saurabh says dismissively. "Does anybody care?"

That's uncannily like the back story in the film Slumdog Millionaire.

 

[Reshma]

I found the blog pointed to by the above article interesting:
If a taxi driver in Mumbai has to live on the street, can the lives of the people in Pakistan be any better? I do not know the answer. But when life becomes so miserable, that people no longer care if people around them are murdered, something is very wrong.

Why only taxi drivers? More than 65% of the population of my city (Mumbai) live in the slums. Even the police force and other security personnel live in shoddy dwellings. A few days before the anniversary of the attacks the security personnel posted were made to live on the pavements of the luxury hotels they were guarding.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ent-night-on-pavement/articleshow/5251239.cms

The reason this attack got such international publicity is because for the first time in the city's 15 year terror history, the city's elite was targeted. Not so long ago, in July 2006 when the city's local trains were attacked which killed more people, (luckily my mom just missed the train which got attacked) the incidents were not well documented and even today the city's most important modes of transport - buses and trains, used by millions everyday continue to remain vulnerable.

There are so many other terrorist attacks and cross border infiltration taking place in the country which are not covered even by the national media...because somehow the lives of the not-so-elite Indians are not as important.

Personally, my anger is not a least bit directed towards the terrorists but more towards the government who have only routinely failed to provide public security.

 

[Reshma]

After 911 true enough, but pick another time frame and the US doesn't look so good: '93 first WTC bombing, US embassy bombings in Africa in the 90's, Saudi Arabian attack killing several US citizens, USS Cole bombing. With all that going on US policy raised, not lowered, the bar between the intelligence operations of the CIA and law enforcement actions of the FBI, making it much more difficult for the two to talk to each other.

On a humorous note, two very attractive people managed to gatecrash into a White House State dinner...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Gatecrashers-met-Obama-US-Secret-Service-embarrassed/articleshow/5278647.cms