Posted on 11/30/2008 7:38:34 AM PST by Xth Legion
An increasing number of counterterrorism specialists say the nature of the attack is clearly different from the South Asian norm and possibly even by any global measure. And because it is was so successful — a score of armed men holding an entire country to ransom for three days — it may become a model for the next wave of jihadi fighters.
Colonel Jonathan Fighel of Israel’s International Institute for Counter-Terrorism is among those who has pointed out that the Mumbai attacks are “unusual not only for India, but also on the international scale.” The subcontinental norm has been a “series of explosions undertaken simultaneously by radical Islamic organizations aiming to kill” masses of people. This was an “all-out offensive, with clear military hallmarks.”
The military nature of the attack is striking. Indian commandos have been interviewed as saying it was like fighting regular soldiers whose training was not unlike their own. And contrary to the common perception, the militants largely avoided the taking of hostages or using civilians as shields. The innocents were either executed or got caught in the crossfire.
Lashkar-e-Tayyeba and its ilk have over the years developed a jihadi-making process that churns out ideologically-driven cannon fodder. This attack indicates they, probably with the assistance of al-Qaeda grey matter, have shifted to quality over quantity. US intelligence sources say they rate the Mumbai attack as being more sophisticated and logistically complex than even 9/11.
(Excerpt) Read more at hindustantimes.com ...
US intelligence sources say they rate the Mumbai attack as being more sophisticated and logistically complex than even 9/11.
In what way I wonder? Certainly 9-11 was far more destructive.
IF your true goal is terror then these attacks in India are the best tactics. The Fort Dix thing was almost silly because of the ignorance of the perps. That said I am still very surprised that there has not been a coordinated attack on Malls or places of large public gatherings. A few hundred dead in several Malls around America would shut the economy down. I think previous tactics were based upon OBL’s obsession with grandiose things. 9/11 was spectacular but depended on too many things going right. Unfortunately they did mostly go right but if the FBI didn’t have their head up their a$$ the whole plot could of been exposed and shut down. Getting 50 young Muslims from around the US to attack Malls at the same time would be relatively easy.
One problem I see with our people is that they understand terrorists, but they don’t comprehend them. Our people have no comprehension as to how they think or why they do what they do. Our people live in a bubble, for the most part. They believe that you must do the right thing, no matter what. People in other countries do not believe this so we will fight battles until the end of time. All terrorists know is death......if you don’t give it to them, you are viewed as weak.
It’s become a copycat template attack. Expect more.
I bet you are glad the USA’s borders are secure now.
I hope that this current news cycle wakes up our politicians.
There should not even BE a “norm” for terrorism.
John Kerry (D-traitor) said that we would all have to get used to a certain level of terrorism in the world.
We are ripe for slaughter because weak spined politicians don’t want to give this the response it needs.
These are the same COMMUNISTS who wanted to negotiate peace treaties with Nazi Germany to coexist with Adolph Hitler.
Their incompetence will kill us all.
There can be NO tolerance for Islamic terrorism in this world. NO tolerance for Irish terrorism in this world. NO tolerance for eco-terrorism in this world. NO tolerance for Weather Underground terrorism in this world. NO tolerance for Eric Rudolph terrorism in this world.
But that is not what the Left has taught for 40 years. Even today they support the “insurgents” in Iraq and the Palestinian terorist war “They use the only weapons they have (sob, cry cry, sob) their BODIES... (sob cry cry sob)”.
I think that's the real point of the Mumbai raid: to demonstrate to the Indians that they cannot live peacefully beside the Pakistanis. Because Pakistan cannot control its own territory, radical Muslim groups are free to train and assemble attacks against India, and the government of Pakistan is politically unable to stop it. If India is going to have security, it will have to take matters into its own hands and do what Pakistan is unwilling to do. This could very likely lead to war between two nuclear powers, or, at the least, poison the relationship between them.
The same might happen to the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico if a radical group launched a coordinated and well trained attack across our southern border.
For one thing they don't want to further arouse the sleeping giant that is the US. They know we know who they are and where they hide out and train. They also know that so long as Dubya is The Man at the helm in the US we would not hesitate to go after them with a vengeance.
Another reason is that they don't have to right now. Plenty of soft targets all over the world for the to use to play out their plans for terror. Besides, they have too many friends in the US, powerful members of Congress and in the State Dept. and CIA that would not be happy if they started attacking us on our own soil.
Time is on their side. They grow stronger and stronger, while every month that goes by without an attack on our soil Americans grow more complacent.
And, we really do have some pretty intense intelligence and defensive programs all across the fruited plain.
I am convinced though that the main reason they haven't struck us again is that they fear the consequences. They don't need the US and its troops and predators going after them in all their caves and isolated villages in countries that either support them outright or are too cowardly to do anything about them. In some cases countries who harbor them are just too weak to do anything on their own. It's either turn a blind eye to them using their territory for staging and training or run the risk of being overthrown.
In the end, the fear of retaliation is the best defense against these cowards. There are simply too many of them to set about trying to wipe them out one by one or group by group, but the knowledge on their part that we can and will if sufficiently aggravated keeps all of them at bay.
I have to wonder how this will work when Obama is President.
Who's with me?
Let's roll!
Yeah look at all the Thanks giving on this thread to President Bush for keeping us safe from such obscene acts.
Oh no, instead we get the vague assertions about the “border”
I hope all the Bush critics left and right get their richly deserved rewards in the coming year.
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