Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

(Mumbai) Attackers expose luxury hotels' vulnerabilities (security guards can't carry guns)
IHT ^ | November 30, 2008 | Keith Bradsher

Posted on 12/02/2008 6:59:43 AM PST by bamahead

Just as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks have had a lasting effect on aircraft cockpit security, with reinforced doors separating pilots from passengers, the deadly terrorist attacks that started Wednesday at the Oberoi and Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotels here could leave an enduring imprint on the design and procedures of luxury hotels.

With the death toll approaching 200, and with more bodies still being found at the Taj, the attacks have underlined the vulnerability of five-star hotels to determined attacks by determined gunmen armed with military assault rifles, as well as the attractiveness of such targets to terrorists.

The Oberoi Group had no warning of the attack here, however, Oberoi said, questioning what any hotel operator could do to withstand such an assault. "The authorities have to help us," he said, by preventing such attacks from occurring at all.

The Oberoi Group employs many plainclothes security officers in its hotels,but these are unarmed, Oberoi said. Obtaining a license for even a single officer to carry a gun is extremely difficult in India, which has tight gun control laws.

Particularly at the Taj, the attackers seemed to have a detailed knowledge of the building's layout, Dutt said. They kept moving among large halls with multiple entrances, not allowing themselves to be cornered in rooms with no other exit.

By contrast, the commandos and the police had old blueprints of the massive, labyrinthine hotel that did not clearly show how passageways were connected or blocked or recent construction, Dutt said.

(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: banglist; india; islam; jihad; mohammedanism; mohammedanism122008; mumbai; terrorism
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-26 last
To: ari-freedom
Even in this country, you can’t expect the guy next to you to have a gun just because of the 2nd amendment (I’m in favor of doing more to promote guns like in Switzerland)...but at least you’d expect the security guards to have guns!

Well,your expectations are wrong;since the 1960s at least one owner of a large security guard firm has waged a campaign, quite successfully, to disarm security guards!This is something he is quite proud of! The bigger the security company,the less likely they will provide or allow armed guards.The Pinkerton company was also bought up in the 1980s by a California anti-gun businessman,and soon guns began to be removed from posts,a decade ago a Swedish firm has swallowed Pinkerton/CPP.Most security guards are warned their employer will fire them and file charges if the guard is found carrying ANY thing deemed a weapon,including large flashlights,pocketknives,etc.ONE guard manual I studied forbade steel-toed footwear on that premise! In my experience,it is the small security operators that still provide or hire armed guards.They can be very selective whom they hire.

21 posted on 12/02/2008 9:04:53 AM PST by hoosierham (Waddaya mean Freedom isn't free ?;will you take a creditcard?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: bamahead

Video footage of the attackS:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Mumbai-Terrorists-CCTV-Footage-Video-Of-Attacks-On-Central-Station-And-Leopold-Cafe-Emerges/Article/200812115170764?lpos=World_News_First_Home_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15170764_Mumbai_Terrorists_CCTV_Footage%3A_Video_Of_Attacks_On_Central_Station_And_Leopold_Cafe_Emerges


22 posted on 12/02/2008 9:55:49 AM PST by nmh (Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God).)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bamahead
Click to enlarge:

(Image by Oleg Volk)
23 posted on 12/02/2008 10:28:39 AM PST by BorisTheBulletDodger (Bang!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bamahead
Obviously those "tight gun control laws" didn't work as expected.

What terrorist is going to obey any law? They've already said to hell with it, so should we.

24 posted on 12/02/2008 1:35:44 PM PST by pray4liberty (Always vote for life!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MyTwoCopperCoins

These women sound more free than I am.


25 posted on 12/02/2008 1:38:44 PM PST by pray4liberty (Always vote for life!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: MyTwoCopperCoins

Great picture of a clan of women who look like they’ve had enough.


26 posted on 12/02/2008 1:40:00 PM PST by pray4liberty (Always vote for life!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-26 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson