TERROR'S NEW FACE

INDIAN THUGS' BROAD GOALS, SHIFTING TACTICS

by Amir Taheri

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11292008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/terrors_new_face_141348.htm
Last updated: 2:47 am
November 29, 2008
Posted: 1:49 am
November 29, 2008
[NOTE: I prefer to call them "'Supposedly Indian' Moslem Jihadists" instead of "Indian thugs" which harkens back to a historical group that did not operate in the name of an ideology promoting world domination and subjugation of all who do not believe in it as does Islam. Leslie White]

THE world confronted a new face of terror this week - operating with brand new tactics and a host of goals.

Earlier this week, for example, Pakistan President Assif Ali Zardari announced his readiness to settle the dispute with India over Kashmir, promising an end to a conflict that has led to four wars and countless terrorist campaigns over the past 50 years.

On Wednesday, terror organizations that do not wish the Kashmir problem to be solved offered their opinion of such a shift, in the form of a series of coordinated attacks against sensitive targets in Bombay (Mumbai), India's business capital and the engine of its recent economic takeoff.

The message was clear: Even if Pakistan scales back its old policy of backing terrorist groups in the name of liberating the Muslims of Kashmir, radical Islamists are capable of continuing the low-intensity war that has cost India billions of dollars and thousands of lives.

The attacks in Bombay likely were carried out by Hindi-speaking, homegrown Islamists with possible links to elements within the Pakistani intelligence community who have built their careers and personal fortunes around the Kashmir issue. These elements are serving notice that they would resist Zardari's dramatic departure from a long-established policy of enmity against India.

While the attacks, which claimed more than 100 lives, may have been addressed to Zardari, their primary target was India.

India is home to nearly 200 million Muslims, making it one of the world's largest "Muslim" countries. Until recently, however, a majority of Indian Muslims have steered clear of radical politics. Apart from the issue of Kashmir, which has at times turned them against the authorities in New Delhi, most Indian Muslims have been loyal to the Indian republic, appreciating its secular and democratic nature. India is the only country that allows its Muslim minority to apply the rules of Sharia (Islamic cannon law) to a range of issues of private life.

That India may now face a homegrown Islamist terror movement operating far beyond Kashmir is certainly bad news. This may be an indication that pan-Islamism is gaining ground among the younger generation of Indian Muslims. The key feature of pan-Islamism is its goal of "liberating" all lands that once were ruled by Muslims - from India to Spain and southern France, passing by parts of China and Russia, as well as the Balkans.

That the Bombay attackers wish to advertise their Indian identity is indicated by the name of the group that has claimed responsibility. Unless it is a cover for other groups, the name Mujahedeen (Holy Warriors) of Deccan is clearly designed to underline the group's ambition to strike throughout India. Deccan, a region in south-central India, has been the cultural heart of Indian Islam for centuries.

India is targeted for a number of reasons. Its recent close ties to the United States, symbolized by a nuclear-cooperation accord signed in Washington recently, has angered the Islamist movement all over the world. Jihadists also hate India for the financial support it provides to the government of President Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan, while also helping train the new Afghan army and police.

The Bombay attacks had two other messages. The first was that India's recent economic boom is fragile and vulnerable to pressure from radical elements. The second was that India is no longer hospitable for Western citizens, especially Jews and other non-Muslims. The fact that US and British citizens were specifically targeted to be taken as hostages and that one group of the terrorists raided Bombay's largest Jewish center was meant to discourage non-Indians from visiting, let alone working, in the mega-city of 12 million.

One reason that Islamists may be looking for bases within their own homelands is the loss of training sites and safe havens in Afghanistan, while Pakistan has also become inhospitable territory.

Meanwhile, part of the media has tried to link the Bombay attacks to al Qaeda. This may be saying too much or too little. As an organization capable of exercising operational control over any group, al Qaeda is all but dead. The best information available, plus the buzz in Jihadi circles, indicates that al Qaeda is still collecting some funds, especially in the Persian Gulf, and funneling part of it to militant groups across the globe. Beyond that, however, al Qaeda is more of a brand, a kind of franchise, and a source of inspiration rather than command and control.

In Bombay, the Jihadis used a new style of attack, consisting of a range of operations that are traditionally used one by one. They have seized control of territory, carried out suicide operations, conducted military-style attacks and seized hostages, all in the context of a single multiform campaign of terror.

This new style, a kind of smorgasbord of terrorist tactics served at one go, confused the Indian counterterrorist units and army elite. Terrorism is a mutating monster, and Bombay's experience could be repeated in other big cities across the globe. Counterterrorism doctrine needs to readjust itself for what is a major tactical change in the way Jihadism works.

COMMENTS (15)

I'm appending a couple of COMMENTS to this article here:

Lenny Waller wrote:
Bombay (Mumbai), Yesterday. Tomorrow they will be in Main Street U.S.A.We must show ZERO Tolerance to them. They Must be made along with the rest of the world, To see that acts of terrorism against Americans, will be dealt with by an Extreme force in return.An act of terrorism against US citizens abroad or at home by anyone group, country, government, will be taken as an act against the United States & will get the same response.Lenny Waller Bronx, NY
11/29/2008 6:31 PM EST
Recommend (1)

AndyinPhoenix wrote:
Hidden in the article is THE CLUE to stopping the Islamofascist's effectiveness. "The key feature of pan-Islamism is its goal of "liberating" all lands that once were ruled by Muslims - from India to Spain and southern France, passing by parts of China and Russia, as well as the Balkans."The Clue is the reason why the militants WILL avoid these territories: the Islamo-fascists know the Chinese, Russians and the Balkins will snuff their sorry butts in a New York minute, and forgettabout the Geneva Conventions. These countries are not about to let foreignors take over their countries and shove a religion down their throats, unlike the obliging French, the English, and possibly a gullible America if the voting public doesn't wake up and push back. A key tenet of Islam is their agenda to conqueror the world and place everyone under Sharia law, where all survivors are Muslim converts. You may not agree with my assessment, but your disagreement doesn't change the evidence (the Koran).
11/29/2008 3:55 PM EST
Recommend

proudinfidel wrote:
When are people going to get it through their thick skulls that the way to fight terror in Western societies is to stop all immigration from Islamic countries. There is no such thing as a "moderate" muslim. They only lay low until the time is right and then their hate and radicalism comes out. They want slaves and they think they are entitled to slaves. My advice to India is give up on Kasmir and make it a giant reservation or dumping ground for the 200 mil muslims that are in your country now. Put them in Kashmir and then seal this border off any way you can, even if you have to put millions of your troops there and use the threat of the nuke option. Don't let western style cowardice and political correctness ruin your country too.
11/29/2008 3:04 PM EST
Recommended (3)

Lots more Comments! Read them all at http://www.nypost.com/seven/11292008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/terrors_new_face_141348.htm