Terror in Mumbai -The iPINIONS Journal

[Author’s note: This article was published originally on Sunday, November 30. But a surprising number of friends have told me that they missed it because they did not expect my first post-Thanksgiving article to be published until Monday, December 1. Therefore, assuming that many of you probably missed it too, I have decided to republish it today.

You might also be interested in scrolling down far enough to read my update to yesterday’s article on Obama’s nomination of Hillary as Sec. of State.]

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It must be understood that no matter their collective resolve, there’s absolutely nothing our governments can do to prevent such attacks. Meanwhile, that Americans reacted yesterday as if those explosions went off in Washington or New York should compel westerners to focus on calming our collective nerves instead of fretting about (or worse, trying to figure out) the motivation for and timing of terrorist attacks by Islamic fanatics.

[From New York to London, Islamists are terrorizing us to death, The iPINIONS Journal, July 2, 2007]

No doubt you’ve been overwhelmed in recent days by “experts” on terrorism expounding on the motivation of the terrorists who mounted daring al-Qaeda style attacks in Mumbai, India on Wednesday. Never mind that nobody had ever heard of the Muslim group, Deccan Mujahedeen, that initially claimed responsibility.

(Late reports are that the attackers belong to a well-known terrorist group called Lashkar-e-Taiba, which hails from the Himalayan region of Kashmir.)

But, as my opening quote suggests, I see no point in trying to understand the motivation of these religious (and political) fanatics. After all, it hardly matters if the clarion call for their jihad is to gain independence for Kashmir, burn India’s most prestigious hotel, the Taj Mahal, to the ground, or just kill a bunch of people.

Indeed, I suspect the masterminds behind the three-day siege of Mumbai (who, incidentally, are probably safely ensconced in a cave somewhere in the mountainous regions of Pakistan) would have been just as happy if the 183 dead and 273 wounded were all Americans or all Indians (or even all Pakistanis).

I have no regrets. (This is how the one captured terrorist (caught on tape here) reportedly answered when questioned by Indian authorities about the carnage and havoc he caused.)

Instead, it behooves us to appreciate that, but for the grace of God, the city in which we live could easily have been the target of their indiscriminate attacks. Moreover, we should be mindful that even turning government buildings and hotels into fortresses will not shield us from the wrath of these suicidal maniacs. The best we can hope for is that intelligence gathering and infiltrating terrorist groups will disrupt as many of their planned attacks as humanly possible.

Therefore, I find the criticism that Indian authorities should have been more prepared to prevent these attacks utterly specious – notwithstanding reports that US authorities warned them of a looming attack months ago.

The way the Indian government officials reacted, however, is a different matter. After all, admitting that they allowed only 10 terrorists to hold India’s security forces at bay for three days is what inspired the country’s most influential newspaper, The Times of India, to run this damning banner headline in its Sunday edition: “Our Politicians Fiddle as Innocents Die.”

And I’m sure headlines like this compelled India’s security chief (left) to resign – no doubt hoping that offering himself as a national sacrifice will quell the emotional and misguided bloodlust amongst Indians for someone to take the blame and for their government to avenge these attacks.

Meanwhile, it is unfortunate, if not reckless, that Indian authorities are using perennial tensions with Pakistan to deflect blame for failing to do what no government can do; i.e., insulate its citizens from terrorist attacks. After all, the government of Pakistan is no more responsible for the attacks on Wednesday simply because the terrorists were from Pakistan than the government of Saudi Arabia was for the attacks on 9/11 simply because those terrorists were from Saudi Arabia.

Not to mention that Indians pointing the finger at the Pakistani government would do well to consider that the Pakistani militants who trained and tasked these terrorists are probably the same ones who trained and tasked the terrorists who assassinated former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the wife of the current president of Pakistan.

We are not responsible. It is not in our interest to do so… I am mourning with you. And I am equally sad. What we are dealing with is a global phenomenon, neither local nor regional. (Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi)

Finally, despite India’s incendiary accusations and Pakistan’s determined denials, I am confident that this tragedy will not trigger open warfare between these two countries. In fact, India and Pakistan will continue to endure a Damoclean coexistence for the same reason the United States and Russia do: No matter how heated the political rhetoric or how deadly the military skirmish, the possession of nuclear weapons deters them from escalating any confrontation to the point of triggering their Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).

That said, my thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Mumbai and to all those who have been affected by this latest terrorist attack.

Until the next one, may God protect us all….