The Planning of Mumbai

The UK Telegraph has a story about the information gleaned from the surviving terrorist on the planning and execution of the Mumbai attack.  The ten men involved were fighting for an independent Kasmir.  Their plan was to kill as many civilians as possible before settling on their eventual targets.  They were recruited knowing that this would probably be a suicide mission.

Let's take a look at this.  Targeting Americans, Brits, and Jews has no relation whatsoever to Kasmir.  Torturing civilians as documented on Power Line Blog was also part of the attack.  There was no consideration given to women and children--they were gunned down too.  According to Melanie Phillips (author of Londonistan) in the UK Spectator--

"The atrocities demonstrated with crystal clarity what the Islamist war is all about - and the western commentariat didn't understand because it simply refuses to acknowledge, even now, what that war actually is. It does not arise from particular grievances. It is not rooted in "despair" over Palestine. It is not a reaction to the war in Iraq. It is a war waged in the name of Islam against America, Britain, Hindus, Jews and all who refuse to submit to Islamic conquest.

What of the Islamists treatment of their Jewish targets? Phillips writes:

They went to some lengths in addition to single out a centre for observant Jews. Rabbi Holtzberg and his wife Rivka were murdered not because of Palestine but simply because they were Jews. That is because hatred of Jews as Jews is fundamental to the Islamists' hatred of the west - and of Israel."

 

The people who planned and committed these atrocities are no different than the people who planned and carried out 9/11.  In fact, they may be some of the same people or talking to some of the same people.  They have used young men who were unhappy about India having control of Kasmir and convinced them to take part in something that would cost them their lives and have no actual impact on the problem they were upset about.  It makes no sense.

One side effect of this episode is the fact that Pakistan now fears an attack from India in retribution.  Pakistan is moving forces away from the areas bordering Afghanistan over to its India border in order to be prepared.  This means that the pressure from Pakistan is off Al Qaeda in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.  Hmm.  This means that due to ten men who were unhappy about Kasmir, Osama Bin Laden is under a little less threat.  It is a shame that these ten men were manipulated into doing what they did, but it is a bigger shame that they were at a point where they were willing to do it.  I don't know the cure for that kind of hate.  It concerns me that many (not all) muslim schools are teaching that kind of hate to future generations.  We may reach a point where the only answer is to lock up anyone suspected of being or communicating with terrorists indefinitely.