Bush's India visit angered Osama
MUMBAI: Do the 11/7 train blasts in Mumbai resemble the 2004 terror
attacks in Madrid? Yes, say experts in foreign relations. Former
intelligence authorities feel the fact that the Intelligence Bureau is
still clueless is not a surprise.
Since the attacks were masterminded with such precision, and the
resemblance to international terror attack is so close, it is no wonder
that the faces behind the attacks are not yet known.
Experts attribute the cause to the change in international
geo-political dynamics. It has made India a target of al-Qaida: the
primary cause is New Delhi opting for a pro-American foreign policy.
"US President George Bush's visit to India in April 2006 is the
turning point. On April 23, Osama bin Laden beamed a message declaring a
global jihad against Jews, Christians and Hindus. He has been waging
terror against India since then," says former joint IB director B Raman.
Raman says that it is not the first time that India has faced terror
attack. Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayiba and other smaller Pakistani
outfits have been continually targeting it.
"However, this is the first time that these terror groups have joined
forces with al-Qaida," says Raman.
He, however, cautions that India and other countries, which are on
the spectrum of international terror attacks, should learn from the
mistakes of other countries.
He says that a detailed inquiry report was circulated after the
attacks on Madrid, which highlighted alert on mass transport system.
"After the Madrid attacks, a detailed inquiry report with alerts were
circulated. It speaks of three major points: Intelligence required to
stave off global terror attacks, the physical security and crisis
management to deal with such attacks," says Raman.
He adds, "The report on physical security said that there would be
attacks on mass transport in future, and hence the security required for
handling these attacks was also explained in it.
We lack people to read and analyse such reports and learn from the
mistakes that are being made elsewhere in the world. But it has become
clear that India is very much a part of this spectrum, and henceforth,
it should be prepared.
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