Is this the high profile terrorist attack many of us were expecting before Barak Obama moved into the White House? As time progresses and more information is revealed, it sure is beginning to feel like it. Regarding the terrorists: there were no political demands, there were no attempts at negotiations, there was no one taking responsibility... There was just spectacular bloodshed; coming at a time when most Americans were home preparing to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, coming at a time when the "war on terror" may be shifting its mode of operations and priorities.

The well organized terrorist attacks in Mumbai India, which exhibits characteristics of a false flag operation, is unmistakably an action that aims to alter the political character of the Indian subcontinent for a specific geostrategic purpose. I have no doubt that this operation will have significant geopolitical implications not only for Indian-Pakistani relations but for the entire region as well. One thing that has astounded me was the non-stop, well organized in-depth news coverage the attack was receiving by mainstream news media in the US right from the start which, curiously enough began during the Thanksgiving holiday in America (when many Americans are home watching television programs); which leads me to believe that somebody-somewhere is planning to do something big with this incident.

Several days after the event, all forms of news media (television, internet, radio and print) are still saturated by stories of the attacks and government officials and "experts" in the US are again sounding the alarm over an imminent attack on the US by Islamists wielding WMDs. Without a doubt, this is preparing the playing field for the Obama administration as it also conditions the public's mindset. Regarding Islamabad, I can confidently state that the government of Pakistan would not be foolish or suicidal enough to have had a hand in this operation especially at a volatile time like this. For some reason Pakistan is being set up. The real question is: was this operation carried out to prepare the field for an Indian-American invasion of Pakistan in the near future?

Incidentally, such a military action against Pakistan would actually be a war of choice for the Obama administration. For yet unverified reasons, the government of Pakistan, a longtime US ally and terror culprit, may be falling out of Washington's favor. As we have seen, cross-border attacks from Afghanistan into Pakistan by NATO forces have been increasing in number as of late, so have bloody bombings by militants throughout Pakistan. Interesting to mention here is that Indian news sources have said some of the individuals involved in the terrorist operation may have been "British citizens" and that the physical appearance of some did not look native to the region. Moreover, the high profile Jewish factor in all this may also suggest some kind of a Mossad link in my opinion. One particular individual that got my attention was a middle-aged man named Jonathan Ehrlich making several appearances on CNN with his story of how he escaped the terrorists. The interesting part about this well composed, well spoken and self-proclaimed Jew was his very clear and oft heard political message echoing the Bush administration's "war on terror" rhetoric.

It will be a good idea to pay attention to the actions/rhetoric coming out of Washington, Tel Aviv and London in the aftermath of this incident. Anyway, questions regarding who carried out this operation and why was it done won't be known for some time, if ever. Russian officials were quick, however, to claim that the terror operation was linked to "Al-Qaeda." Russian officials have also claimed in the past that Al-Qaeda have links to the CIA...

Regarding Pakistan:

Much of what occurs in Pakistan remains a mystery. Pakistan is perhaps the most volatile nation on earth at this time. The nation is a melting pot of many different armed tribes, paramilitary groups and Islamic militants, some of whom seem to be under foreign control. As the region's closest US ally, Pakistan has been for many years a criminal state and a major sponsor of global terrorism. Most "Islamic" terrorist activity on earth today can be directly traced to Pakistan. And it is no secret that Pakistan has been for many years a tool for western intelligence services and, as a result, it has had a bloody hand in terrorist activities that have primarily targeted Russian interests. This is why we saw direct Pakistani involvement in Afghanistan, in Bosnia/Kosovo, in Chechnya and in Nagorno Karabagh.

Needless to say, Pakistan is also the home of the CIA linked organization called Al-Qaeda. Nevertheless, something has been occurring between Washington and Islamabad for the past few years. There seems to be a serious schism developing between the two as of late. I don't know what their contentious issue are, however, Musharaf's fall from power, Butho's assassination and the increasing number of military strikes by NATO forces inside Pakistani territory are definitely related. The issue here must be very serious because Pakistan is a major regional power that also happens to be a nuclear power. Basing my view on developments between US-Pakistan relations since the 9/11 attacks on America, it seems as if Washington may have lost control over the vicious monster they created in the 1980s. And since Pakistan is a nuclear power and has connections to a vast array of terror groups worldwide, they have decided to do something to remedy this serious problem. India, being Pakistan's natural foe, is more than willing to eliminate the threat posed by Islamabad. As a result, India is more than willing to join the agenda regardless of who has prepared it.

Nonetheless, the worst thing that can come out of this action is an alliance between an American led West and India at the expense of Russia's regional interests. It now seems as if there are forces attempting to recruit the world's "largest democracy" into their agenda.

Islamabad has not been able to control its armed factions. For some time now Washington has been publicly blaming Islamabad for its failures in Afghanistan.

I have no doubt the recent terror attacks in Mumbai were orchestrated by forces outside of Pakistan towards a specific political objective. This was a classic false flag operation, complete with a confessing young militant (who is also said to be the only surviving terrorist), bountiful of evidence found on a lifeless boat, western media working overtime to cover every detail of the unfolding events, well spoken witnesses with political messages, and of course "Islamists" again bringing the wrath of the world upon them by their actions...

Arevordi

*************

Terrorists Who Attacked Mumbai Linked to Al-Qaeda - source

Pakistan blames 'stateless actors': http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/wor...ari.actors.cnn

November, 2008

The terrorist groups who attacked the Indian city of Mumbai are closely linked to al-Qaeda, a high-ranking Russian secret service source said Thursday. "Russian secret services have information suggesting that the groups that attacked Mumbai had had contact with al-Qaeda," the source said. "In particular, the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. This group's militants undergo special training in al-Qaeda camps on the border between Pakistan and India." The source also said that the Indian authorities had earlier considered the group an ordinary "criminal" gang. He also said that Russian secret services had not so far received any request to assist their Indian colleagues in the investigation into the attacks. Lashkar-e-Taiba has denied involvement in the attacks. A series of terrorist attacks were carried out in Mumbai on Wednesday, killing over 100 people and leaving over 100 injured. Terrorists armed with submachine guns and grenades attacked hotels, the railway station, a cinema, and a hospital. Indian authorities have said 125 people died and 327 were injured in the attacks. People who escaped from the hotels described the militants as young men speaking Hindi or Urdu, and said they had attempted to round up all the British and American guests. Hostages are still being held at the Oberoi-Trident hotel and a nearby Jewish centre and Indian commandoes have launched an operation to free them. A previously unknown Islamist group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20081127/118578537.html

Mumbai Terrorists Used Chechen Tactics

Mumbai terrorists used Chechen tactics: http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/...echen-tactics/

The terrorists in the Indian city of Mumbai, who killed more than 150 people and injured over 300, used the same tactics that Chechen field militants employed in the Northern Caucasus, says Russian counter terrorism presidential envoy Anatoly Safonov. In towns of the Northern Cauasus in 1990s, terrorists seized homes and hospitals and took numerous hostages. "These tactics were used during raids by militant Chechen field commanders Shamil Basayev and Salman Raduyev against the towns of Buddyonnovsk and Pervomaiskoye. For the first time in history the entire towns were terrorized, with homes and hospitals seized. The Mumbai terrorists have learned these tactics well," Safonov told Russian news agency Interfax on Thursday. Safonov says that the terror in Mumbai is proof that the anti-terror measures on a regional level are insufficient. “The world is spending enormous resources to fight nonexistent threats and to support the military adventures of the leaders of certain countries. And it turns out that a big city may be unprotected against the raid of a handful of terrorists. This is another warning that in the global world terrorism truly remains the greatest challenge," Safonov said to Interfax. He also pointed out that now it’s the task of Indian special services to track down the terrorist group behind the attack on Mumbai. Safonov said they would need to determine whether it was “a subsidiary of some prominent terrorist organization”. The presidential aide expressed hope that the Russian-Indian working group for combating terrorism will meet in the near future. "We express our support and condolences to the people of India and sympathize with the families that lost relatives and dear ones in the terrorist attack in Mumbai," Safonov said. On Thursday terrorists attacked 10 targets in Mumbai, including several five star hotels, a cafe and a railway station. Police say they have regained full control over the city.

Source: http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/33921

Pakistan: Assessing Military Options

Summary

Despite demands from India in the wake of the Nov. 26 militant attacks on Mumbai, Pakistan is unlikely to be able to shift troops around to please New Delhi (or Washington, for that matter). Islamabad’s military capacity was already extremely constrained before the attacks and has only become more limited.

Analysis

Pakistani daily The News reported Dec. 1 that Pakistan’s military is monitoring the border with India closely and has not detected any mobilization of Indian troops in the wake of the Nov. 26 attacks in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Press Trust of India quoted an Indian army official saying no orders for mobilization have been given, and the Indian External Affairs Ministry rebutted television reports that said the Indian-Pakistani cease-fire was being suspended. As tensions mount between India and Pakistan over the Mumbai attacks — in which at least some of the attackers apparently arrived by boat from Karachi — the possibility has loomed of increased troop deployments along the border shared by the two South Asian rivals. Meanwhile, an assertive New Delhi, with little choice but to react strongly to the attacks, appears likely to demand increased Pakistani operations in Kashmir to control militancy there, while the incoming U.S. administration will be placing even more demands on Islamabad in the war against jihadists along the Afghan-Pakistani border. Pakistan, however, is in a military bind. It is already stretched thin and does not have the resources to fulfill its core mission while also taking on other operations to placate India and the United States — meaning New Delhi and Washington are likely to be disappointed. Before the attacks in Mumbai, the Pakistani military was already overwhelmed with four major operational demands, none of which has gone away:

* Defend the border with India, being prepared for possible conventional Indian military aggression.
* Combat the home-grown Taliban insurgency raging across the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the Pashtun districts of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).
* Combat a much lower-intensity — but nonetheless very real — mounting insurgency in the southwestern province of Baluchistan.
* Provide heightened military security in Islamabad and other major urban centers in order to defend against an uptick in radical Islamist suicide bombings domestically.

(Further compounding things, ethnic clashes and rioting broke out in Karachi on Nov. 28, with scores of people being killed on a daily basis. Though the army itself has not yet been called in — paramilitary units are currently attempting to rein in the situation — Karachi-based V Corps is closely monitoring the potential need for military force.)

Strategically, defending the border with India is the military’s paramount objective because it represents the most direct existential threat. Pakistan’s 550,000-strong force is only half the size of the active Indian army, and New Delhi also fields technologically superior hardware, from the latest Russian T-90 main battle tanks to the modern Su-30MKI “Flanker” fighter. As such, Pakistan is very hesitant to pull away military units from this mission. (Islamabad has committed resources to the jihadist fight along the western border only under immense U.S. pressure. Currently centered around Swat in the NWFP, this mission has been complicated as U.S. airstrikes by unmanned aerial vehicles have inched ever deeper into Pakistani territory.) Looking at the Indian border, Pakistan is most vulnerable in the open lowlands of Punjab. Not only does this region offer little in the way of terrain features that would impede the movement of large mechanized formations, there is little distance at this point between the Indian border and the Pakistani heartland — where most of the population resides along with Pakistan’s core industrial and agricultural sectors. The more barren terrain of the southern border along Sindh province is also vulnerable, but it is also more distant from the core population areas that Pakistan needs to defend. The mountainous Kashmir region, while it is the most disputed area of the border, is also extremely difficult terrain that favors the defense.

With almost no strategic depth to insulate its core from any potential Indian attack, Pakistan maintains six of its nine Corps formations in Punjab. This includes offensive “Strike” Corps (I and II) designed to make pre-emptive thrusts into Indian territory in the event of war in an attempt to acquire breathing room and leverage for subsequent negotiations. At times of increasing tension with India, the overarching military imperative for Islamabad becomes the conventional reinforcement of these six corps. This would have to come at the expense of other missions such as those that Washington and New Delhi would like to see. Indeed, Pakistan already suggested as much when it told commanders in Afghanistan that it would have to withdraw forces from the western theater in the event of a crisis with India. But Pakistan’s problems run deeper than its military’s myriad and conflicting responsibilities. The civilian government is weak at an extremely challenging point in the country’s history — when an undercurrent of radical Islamist leanings is on the rise and the country’s intelligence service, the ISI, is infiltrated by both jihadist and Taliban elements. Even if it had more freedom of action, the military could hope to do little more than keep a lid on these deepening crises. If the Pakistani army was unable to muster the resources for the demands being placed on it before the Mumbai attacks, it is unlikely to be able to meet the demands of a hostile India and a new U.S. administration.

Source: http://www.stratfor.com/analysis20081201_pakistan_assessing_military_options