http://bengalunderattack.blogspot.com/2 ... india.html
This was a classic commando raid replete with beach landing et al. It had all the markings of a thorough Pakistani SSG trained operation – which makes it a Pakistani Army action.
This was not your ordinary terrorist operation – our NSG commandos can flush these “terrorists” out in 10 minutes flat – no more. What Mumbai saw, was a sophisticated assault by Pakistan on India.
The total number of terrorists who came to India are rumored to be 40, of which 29 are Pakistani and the rest from Bangladesh. About 20 came in a week before and the rest a few days back from sea. A couple of them were in India for some time, having found jobs in catering divisions of hotels that were attacked to facilitate arms storage and logistics through service areas. Not all, I expect, will be commando trained - neither will the majority be ex-army / commando embedded in LeT (Lashkar e Tayyiba). What is interesting this time - India has captured one terrorist alive and though badly injured, apparently he is being made to SING and SINGING he is.
Let’s look at the footprints of a classic commando raid : It had stealth “undetected” entry, speed, precision, accuracy, cohesion, ferocity and aggression, clarity of thought and action, planning and reconnoitering, dry runs and degree of resistance.
What gave them away too was weapons handling, the way to hold and fire assault rifles, the way to throw grenades etc. Like a good martial artist knows another good martial artist, our NSG and MARCOS commandos knew they were up against (mostly) SSG trained commandos.
Whatever our media tells us or puts a spin, make no mistake, this was an out and out classic commando raid.
They took down a NSG officer and a few commandos.
Hence these “terrorists” were not the ordinary terrorists one encounters around the world. They received 3 months standard high end commando training by SSG trainers. A few could have been terrorists drawn from the usual basket, but the best of the best to have to pass the gruelling commando course. Normally, these small groups of commando saboteurs are led by SSG Major and I will not be surprised to see one in this raid too.
These commando terrorists did not hide their faces, and it looks like they wanted to convey a message that they were commandos. Which gives rise to the question – Pakistan wanted to send a message to India – what could that be?
ISI Chief and Gen Kiyani are coming to India(NOW IT TRANSPIRES, THEY ARE NOT AND ARE SENDING "REPRESENTATIVES" (yawn !!). Expect nothing much out of this. The old story will be played out. India will offer “proof of Pakistani involvement” and Pakistan will deny it.
I am making a couple of brazen statement here.
1. Gen Kiyani was involved in the Indian embassy blast in Kabul. He is involved in the Mumbai blasts too. Captured Pakistani terrorists have sung praises of Gen Kiyani for being one of the best “teacher” and a “motivator”.
2. The lines have blurred between Al Qaeda, Taliban and Pakistan Army. The Pakistan Army is heavily embedded in both Al Qaeda and Taliban. Earlier Pakistan Army used to lead raids in other countries through the garb of these mujahideen fighters, now it leads as well as runs these from within. These soldiers have gone “native” and dress and move as Al Qaeda / Taliban.
3. A highly trained SSG commando killed Benazir Bhutto. Those in the know say that this tall lithe man stood and fired three steady shots, and after each shot unwaveringly brought the firing position back to same spot to fire again - hallmark of a commando trained for VVIP killings.
4. Killing of 10 French soldiers in Afghanistan and Samba infiltration in India bore all the hallmarks of a SSG commando operation.
Pakistan army is completely at odds with the US Agenda in Afghanistan and does not want to fight the tribals / Taliban in its north west. Because it is akin to fighting one Pakistan army regiment with another and Pakistan army cannot carry on the sham attacks on Taliban for too long. If attacks carry on any longer, these Tribal militias and Taliban operatives that are not drawn out from Pakistan army, will feel "betrayed" by Pakistan Army's offensive on its cadres (already being felt) and this will lead to disastrous destabilising consequences within Pakistan.
It wants to divert the army's attention back to its eastern borders with India - and the Mumbai attacks would increase the Indian threat perception which will entail Pakistan moving its army divisions from Afghanistan border to the Indian border. This will allow Taliban (aka Pakistan army embedded in Taliban) to freely move and mount operations in Afghanistan against NATO / ISAF forces. How convenient?
OPERATIONALLY HOW COULD THIS BE MOUNTED?
It has been a well thought of strategy of Pakistan Army to embed the Taliban and terrorist organizations like Lashkar e Taiyyba, Jaish e Mohammad, Lashkar e Jahagvi with its own soldiers and commandos. These army recruits blend in with Taliban and terror organizations, deemed to have gone "native", maybe without the knowledge of Taliban / terror organizations who are just happy to have received high class "recruits".
Pakistan Army, through ISI, now draws back its own cadres from Taliban and these terror organizations for special operations around the globe. For Mumbai attacks, Lashkar e Taiyyba was chosen - but the actual foot soldiers were ex-army soldiers including SSG commandos (leading the charge) already embedded in these organizations - as well as a few battle hardened fidayeen terrorists. These LeT "terrorists" were given rigourous training by either current or ex-SSG commando trainers (sufficiently bearded to evade detect) who will probably be known as Gen Saab or Gen Mohd (aka John Doe).
After training, the underworld network of Dawood Ibrahim takes over the logistics of ferrying these so called "terrorists" to India and within India. The arms shipment is taken care by a specialized unit of Pakistan Army that affords it complete deniability.
PAKISTAN MILITARY OBJECTIVES:
1. Stop Pakistan Army fight its own cadres in the Taliban along the Afghanistan border where it is actively engaged in destabilising Afghanistan.
2. Create sufficient terror in India to increase the threat to Pakistan from India
3. Shift the Pakistan Army regiments from Afghan border to the Indian border thereby facilitating active sabotage of Afghanistan and ensuring the defeat of NATO / ISAF forces.
4. That Kashmir elections are going on, gives it a perfect cover. People may mistake that this was a LeT operation for Kashmir. RED HERRING.
5. There could be some "terrorists" with foreign passports. Jews were targetted and killed. This to show that this was an Al Qaeda operation and create sound bytes for the media. Make no mistake - these people were trained in Pakistan, and they were part of Pakistani army operation.
MAKE NO MISTAKE: ATTACK ON MUMBAI WAS A PAKISTAN ARMY OPERATION WITH CLEAR MILITARY OBJECTIVES.
What next then?
PM Manmohan Singh is in a bind. He has to take a TOUGH stand (ELCTIONS on the horizon, and few state elections underway) and might have to request Gen Kiyani with folded hands to co-operate : in other words, to allow India a few cross-border hot pursuits, to bolster his party’s soft image before elections (which I DOUBT will be granted. Pakistan may ban LeT and place Hafiz Sayeed in a plush AC accomodation "house arrest" till the heat dies down and it will continue to feign ignorance about whereabouts of Dawood Ibrahim..
INDIA, as usual, will be shortchanged. Expect nothing more than that.
Pakistan has played its card well, and as usual India has NO answers to give.
We do not have national database of criminals, no digital imaging / fingerprinting recognition software, no video surveillance, no dedicated centralized terrorism fighting unit of an adequate size, no uniform “patriot act”, no dedicated helicopters / gunships for ATS, no regular training for ATS, not adequate body armour, antiquated weaponry, no bi-partisan electoral support wracked as it is with vote bank politics – and if we are not a soft target, then what are we?
On top of that, ISRAEL has slammed INDIA for ham handed approach towards rescue operations. I agree. The way media was given latitude to cover the events live was shocking to say the least, it could have given inputs to terrorist inside.
I wish to end with a text message I got from INDIAN ARMY:
“FORGIVING TERRORISTS IS LEFT TO GOD. BUT FIXING THEIR APPOINTMENT WITH GOD IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY.”
JAI HIND !
