A divided Pakistan, a bleeding Pakistan, a Pakistan ever on the verge of collapse without actually collapsing -- that should be our objective till it stops using terrorism against India.
Expert on internal security B Raman offers a lit of things the government needs to do to prevent terror attacks
The strategic significance of the attacks on the two hotels from the Al Qaeda's point of view arise from the fact that these hotels are the approved hotels of the US and Israeli governments for their visiting public servants and for the temporary stay of their consular officials posted in Mumbai till a regular house is found for them, says B Raman
Till now, we were greeting with glee Pakistan's incompetence in dealing with terrorism. We can no longer do so. We have become as clueless as Pakistan. I wanted to write much more, but my mind doesn't work. As I watch on the TV what is happening in Mumbai, I shiver and sweat at the thought of what is waiting to happen tomorrow and where, says B Raman
The Mumbai ATS should investigate the blasts thoroughly and need not hesitate to have a second look at the Samjhauta Express explosions, but they should do it in a professional manner, not in a manner that adds to suspicions that the investigation has taken a pre-election political turn -- with the objective being to fix the Hindu nationalists and not to fix the terrorists, says B Raman
Obama's entourage and Gen David H Petraeus, former commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, who took over as commander of the US Central Command on October 31 and is currently on a visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan, have one thing in common -- they listen a lot to the assessments and recommendations of Ahmed Rashid, the Pakistani analyst who has written extensively on the Taliban and the war against terrorism, says B Raman
In the face of the inaction by the government, the Indian Mujahideen is growing, like the Internet, organically -- with nobody knowing where is the beginning of this Jihadi Net, where is its end, how the various jihadi cells are connected with each other and who is facilitating their connectivity. It is a frightening scenario.
To instill confidence in our Muslim community, the ATS should see that the investigation against these Hindus and any others associated with them is carried out thoroughly irrespective of their organisational affiliation. Religion is not a mitigating factor in deciding the culpability of a person suspected of involvement in a criminal act, says B Raman
Pakistan's efforts to have the two Chinese engineers kidnapped by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan on August 29, 2008, released before Zardari's visit have not succeeded. This incident, coming in the wake three other instances last year of targeted attacks on Chinese nationals working in Pakistan, have added to the concerns of the Chinese authorities . This is one of the subjects the Chinese are expected to take up with Zardari
Cyber terror is the new danger that haunts cops, says security analyst B Raman
If the Bajrang Dal comes to be viewed as a suspected terrorist organisation, the first to feel the pressure and adverse effect will be the supporters of the organisation in the Hindu diaspora abroad. It is in their interest to exercise pressure on the Bajrang Dal and drive some sense into it
B Raman on the situation in Pakistan after the death of Baitullah.
Security analsyst abd rediff columnist B Raman on why a new ISI chief was anointed in Pakistan.
It is important to have a common investigation cell for the whole of India to identify the various elements involved in this wide area network and neutralise them. Piecemeal investigation in different states ruled by different political parties each with its own partisan perception and agenda will result in our continuing to bleed at the hands of this network.
Anger is the basic root cause of all terrorism. The anger is often caused by domestic or external factors. While India may not have much control over the external factors, it should be able to detect in time signs of anger due to domestic reasons and take action to address them. Unaddressed anger at the domestic level drives the angry into the arms of trans-national organisations such as al Qaeda in course of time.
For the Lankan army, there are two questions involved -- defeating the LTTE conventionally, and destroying its capability for continuing its struggle for Tamil Eelam through acts of terrorism. The achievement of both these objectives will depend upon a critical weakening of the morale and motivation of the LTTE officers and cadres, leading to increasing desertions and splits in the organisation
The e-mail identity of the originator has also been changed to al-arbi-al-Hind. In this context, al-Arbi could mean only 'The Arab' and not Wednesday. Thus, the e-mail identity used means 'The Arab of India'. Why so, since the IM claims to be an organisation totally of Indian Muslims with no external links? Why the originator projects himself as 'The Arab'? Is it a reference to one of the two Indian Muslims operating from Saudi Arabia for many years?
After the US occupation of Iraq, Fallujah became the launching pad of terrorist strikes in the rest of Iraq. Only after the US ruthlessly pacified Fallujah and destroyed the terrorist launching pads there, did it start making progress in its counter-insurgency operations in the rest of the Sunni areas of Iraq. The NATO forces will continue to bleed in Afghanistan and the jihadi virus will continue to spread in Pakistan unless FATA is similarly quelled
For causing explosions, terrorists have now been increasingly using peroxide-based liquids which could be converted into an explosive material. Many articles of common use such as certain items of cosmetics and cleaning solutions have a peroxide component. It is easy to procure them in any supermarket or drugstore without causing suspicion. It is difficult to detect. They could be easily carried into an aircraft and other modes of transport. They are light and easy to carry
According to the Gujarat police, Muufi Abu Bashir was present in Ahmedabad on the day of the blasts. It is not yet known where he was from January 2007 to March 2008, when he allegedly took over as the head of the SIMI network after the arrest of Safdar Nagori, the general secretary of SIMI, and his brother Karimuddin by the Indore police in March this year
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