Mumbai Terrorism Update
[Guest post by DRJ]
The Indian government claims that up to 7 of the Mumbai terrorists were British-born Pakistanis from the same area as the 7/7 attackers:
“British-born Pakistanis were among the Mumbai terrorists, Indian government sources claimed today, as the death toll rose to at least 155.
As many as seven of the terrorists may have British connections and some could be from Leeds and Bradford where London’s July 7 bombers lived, one source said.
Two Britons were among eight gunmen being held, according to Mumbai’s chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. At least nine others are reportedly dead.”
British PM Gordon Brown urged caution while the reports are investigated.
Meanwhile, there are continued reports of explosions in Mumbai and of a resumption of gunfire at the Taj Mahal Hotel where “officers were still locked in combat with up to six militants believed to be holed up in the ballroom.” (Other reports say there may be a lone gunman.) There are also stories of heroism by the hotel staff who put their own lives at risk to save innocent guests.
Sadly, there was tragic news from a Mumbai Jewish Center where 5 Jewish hostages were killed including Brooklyn NY Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivkah. Their 2-year-old son Moshe survived.
It’s too early to know with certainty but it appears terrorists came ashore from boats and moved to pre-designated targets where they used small arms and explosives to terrorize the city. It reminds me of a terrorist version of the Luby’s shooting in Killeen, Texas. If so, it could happen anywhere.
UPDATE: The terror is over after 60 hours and it appears there may have only been 10 terrorists, most or all of whom were from Pakistan. The sole surviving terror suspect (photo at this link) claims they were trying to recreate 9/11 in India.
One photographer claims the police were ineffective at killing or capturing the terrorists. If this is true, I don’t think it would happen in the U.S.
— DRJ
What circumstances result in obtaining the label “British-born Pakistani”?
cboldt (3d73dd) — 11/28/2008 @ 12:58 pm.
Not much matter. Watch for tightening of domestic security in the so-called “free world.”
True. The British have already taken steps to ban happy hours in their pubs.
Jack Klompus (b0e238) — 11/28/2008 @ 1:29 pmThe Religion of Peace strikes again.
daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 11/28/2008 @ 1:30 pmOur world has gone completely insane. Since 9-11 not one attack against the U.S. Thank you George W. Bush, for keeping us safe.
J. Raymond Wright (0440ef) — 11/28/2008 @ 1:48 pmThank our forfathers for the Second Amendment. If these scumbags were to try this in Texas, or any other State with “shall issue” concealed carry laws, the citizens would have opened up on the terrorists and quickly, or at least more quickly, would have taken the Bad Guys out.
Now Chicago on the other hand, would be an ideal target for such terrorists. Chicago bans handguns, Cook County bans “assault weapons” and the State of Illinois prohibits concealed carry of a loaded weapon. So victims would have to first run home, get their bolt-action rifles, lock them in a case in the trunk of the car, run back to the scene of the attack, then load the weapon and then fire at bolt-action speed at terrorists armed with fully automatic weapons. (And they would still probably beat the Police to the scene — I shit you not!) Sitting frigging ducks we are, sitting fg ducks. Aren’t our leaders wonderful?
J. Raymond Wright (0440ef) — 11/28/2008 @ 1:58 pmThere were two excellent articles in the WSJ today, detailing the longstanding security lapses within India over the past two decades:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122783260486063039.html
You’d have to think that at some point tourism is going to be seriously disrupted, and that they’ll finally begin taking action on a more substantial level.
Dmac (e30284) — 11/28/2008 @ 2:06 pmThe circumstances that result in being labeled a British born Pakistani, are probably the same as in USA being labeled a Kenyan American, your parentage would be from Pakistan, but you were natural born in Great Britain. I’m just surprised that the media used the term “Pakistani” since they usually use the pc label for muslim immigrants and/or muslim native born:’Asians’, and they are thus lumped together with immigrants who actually assimilate: Ukrainians, Georgians, Israelis, Tibetans, etc.
eaglewingz08 (c46606) — 11/28/2008 @ 2:08 pmThank you George Bush. Obama missed it seven years ago, he blew the Iraq War and surge, and I’m sure he’ll miss it this time around:
“We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.
–Barack Obama, Hyde Park Herald, Sept. 19, 2001.”
daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 11/28/2008 @ 2:11 pmThanks Bush for bankrupting our country to protect us from a few ignorant, poorly-armed goatherders.
Somewhere, bin Laden is laughing his ass off.
parsnip (1e884c) — 11/28/2008 @ 2:30 pmI think Mumbai holds a slightly different opinion as to what those “ignorant, poorly-armed goatherders” can acomplish…
As would a few thousand people who used to work in the World Trade Center…
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 11/28/2008 @ 2:42 pmThanks Bush for bankrupting our country to protect us from a few ignorant, poorly-armed goatherders.
1) Many of the 9/11 terrorists had college degrees, living on the dole in Europe.
Perfect Sense (9d1b08) — 11/28/2008 @ 2:42 pm2) Bush didn’t (but maybe Barry Frank did), make sub-prime loans to goat herders.
“Somewhere, bin Laden is laughing his ass off.”
Bloated plutocrat that he is, right parsnip?
daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 11/28/2008 @ 2:56 pmThanks Bush for bankrupting our country to protect us from a few ignorant, poorly-armed goatherders.
You know, you’re being way too hard on yourself these days.
Dmac (e30284) — 11/28/2008 @ 2:56 pm“a few ignorant, poorly-armed goatherders”
******MUST PROTECT THE FALSE MEME******
daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 11/28/2008 @ 2:59 pmCall me selfish, but I’d rather all the money spent on the GWOT went instead to fighting cancer and heart disease, the two things Americans are most likely to die from.
parsnip (1e884c) — 11/28/2008 @ 3:01 pm“Call me selfish, but I’d rather all the money spent on the GWOT went instead to fighting cancer and heart disease, the two things Americans are most likely to die from.”
Terrorism *is* a cancer which if not addressed will end life as all of us currently know it in the United States.
Best wishes,
Laura (d8da01) — 11/28/2008 @ 3:23 pmLaura
Laura,
I don’t mind your characterization as long as money spend on our defense is divvied up proportionally.
Number of deaths for leading causes of death:
-Heart disease: 652,091
-Cancer: 559,312
-Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 143,579
bullet graphicChronic lower respiratory diseases: 130,933
-Accidents (unintentional injuries): 117,809
-Diabetes: 75,119
-Alzheimer’s disease: 71,599
-Influenza/Pneumonia: 63,001
-Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 43,901
-Septicemia: 34,136
Done right, terrorism fighting should get about $1.50 year, which I wouldn’t object to.
parsnip (1e884c) — 11/28/2008 @ 3:30 pmUsing that logic, what basis did Clinton have to order US troops into Kosovo? There weren’t any US lives at stake there.
DRJ (a50047) — 11/28/2008 @ 3:40 pmYou’ll have to ask him, DRJ.
I don’t know.
parsnip (1e884c) — 11/28/2008 @ 3:46 pmYes, throwing money at diseases would surely find cures for everything. Afterall we keep throwing big bucks at public schools and they suck all the more. Let’s pay Congressmen and Governors bigger bucks and it will ensure honesty and better approval ratings as highre quality people are elected. jajaja.
madmax333 (0c6cfc) — 11/28/2008 @ 3:53 pmAs far as GWOT terror goes, I’d be ok with turning Mecca, those caves on Pakistani/Afghani border or Iran’s nuke facilities to radioactive dust. If Allah is so potent, won’t he prevent it or is he already showing his power through our PC nonsense?
Oh man, quick freeze the budget and switch gears! Maybe someone might actually build a hospital or a research university in the U.S.
Jack Klompus (b0e238) — 11/28/2008 @ 3:56 pmparsnip – People also die from getting old. How do you fix that.
I hadn’t seen that fight disease not terror dodge in a while. I thought the left had retired it.
daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 11/28/2008 @ 3:59 pmYou’ll have to ask him, DRJ.
I don’t know.
Cop-out.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (b63e53) — 11/28/2008 @ 3:59 pmRevenge fantasies are expensive, max.
Private entertainment should be paid for by the people like yourself who are into collective punishment (which would also include terrorists, of course).
parsnip (1e884c) — 11/28/2008 @ 4:00 pmI thought the left had retired it.
Oh, come on, daleyrocks, it’s PC to recycle!
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (b63e53) — 11/28/2008 @ 4:03 pmI don’t mind your characterization as long as money spend on our defense is divvied up proportionally.
So, parsnip, did you did you object similarly to Bill Clinton speading the US Military all over the globe?
Did you object similarly to Obama’s statement about invading Pakistan?
If not, you are nothing but a partisan hack.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (b63e53) — 11/28/2008 @ 4:06 pmactus/parsnip or whatever your name is today, where in the constitution does it specifically say that it is the Federal Government’s charge to fund any social program.
I do believe it specifically spells out that the Feds are to “provide for the common defense”.
rls (14b9d3) — 11/28/2008 @ 4:35 pmparsnip wrote: Somewhere, bin Laden is laughing his ass off.
And wherever you are, you’re thinking with yours.
L.N. Smithee (d1de1b) — 11/28/2008 @ 4:54 pmDRJ – Is parsnip alphie/sniffles/actus?
Regardless, it is exceptionally mendoucheous today.
JD (5f0e11) — 11/28/2008 @ 5:11 pm“Provide for the general welfare” rls.
And I don’t think optional wars fought against countries that are no thrat to America count as “defense.”
Radical right revenge fantasy is more like it.
parsnip (1e884c) — 11/28/2008 @ 5:15 pmComment by parsnip — 11/28/2008 @ 2:30 pm
ASSHOLE!
Another Drew (5a0f73) — 11/28/2008 @ 5:19 pmDRJ wrote:
parsnip responded:
Uh huh.
What you really mean, parsnip, is that you’ve been caught talking out of yo’ wass, which isn’t surprising since that’s where your head is (Yeah, I know it contradicts my previous post about your the location of your brains, but the truth is down there somewhere).
Of course you don’t know, ‘snippy, because you didn’t consider the thought that one of those vaunted scholarly Dems would do something like send troops overseas if it didn’t have to do with OUR national security. Well, the record shows that while a pogrom against Kosovars was impeded by US/NATO interference, it was just as “illegal” an act of war as the likes of you say about the Iraq war. Clinton didn’t even SEEK UN approval, he just DID it. And while it took less than a year to get Saddam Hussein after the invasion of Iraq, it took well over a decade to even locate Radovan Karadzic, the architect of Serbian ethnic cleansing attempts. Turns out he was hiding in plain sight, having grown a bushy mustache and beard, but making a living as a famous holistic health guru!
On top of that, the incursion into Kosovo and the bombing of Belgrade created ill will among the crowd that is now running things in Russia. Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev (Putin’s puppet) cited Clinton and NATO’s invasion of Kosovo — NOT IRAQ — when justifying rolling troops and tanks into the Republic of Georgia on the opening night of the Olympics.
Stop letting Markos Moulitsas and Daily POS do your thinking for you. It’s so sad to see perfect good human beings turned into left-wing parrots!
L.N. Smithee (e1f2bf) — 11/28/2008 @ 5:21 pmBTW, parsnip — since you are so keen on fighting diseases, what about the billions spent on AIDS research over the past quarter-century? If the government wanted to deal with it in a fiscally efficient manner, it would have taken the Cuban approach: Quarantining practitioners of anal sex.
Is that what you would like?
L.N. Smithee (e1f2bf) — 11/28/2008 @ 5:37 pmLocking up Republican Congressmen like Larry Craig and Mark Foley is unconstitutional, L.N.
Ditto Republican witch doctors like Ted Haggard.
Guess we’ll have to cure it the old fashioned way.
parsnip (1e884c) — 11/28/2008 @ 5:48 pmLocking up Republican Congressmen like Larry Craig and Mark Foley is unconstitutional, L.N.
Didja forget Barney Frank, partisan hack?
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (b63e53) — 11/28/2008 @ 5:51 pmRevenge fantasies
Oh my, the root vegetable is spamming the same mendacious nonsense at protein wisdom.
Darleen (187edc) — 11/28/2008 @ 5:53 pmIs parsnip in the running for stupidest troll to inhabit this blog? I’m almost a tad nostalgic for the acidic rantings of Levi. Could you possibly address one single factual or historical counter to any of the pointless gibberish that you excrete and call “thought” or are you only capable of rehashing tired, cliche non-sequiturs that reveal what a shallow, pointless non-entity you are?
Jack Klompus (b0e238) — 11/28/2008 @ 5:54 pmComment by parsnip — 11/28/2008 @ 5:48 pm
Not being a fan of either Foley or Craig, I have to point out that neither individual was accussed of committing “homosexual” sex-acts.
IIRC, Craig pleaded guilty to either solicitation, or a disturbing the peace charge.
Foley, was only guilty of some gross displays of bad judgement in his use of IM.
But, then, you rarely have ever been accurate in anything that you spout –
Another Drew (5a0f73) — 11/28/2008 @ 5:55 pmsort of like expecting the “blow” from a breaching whale to be directed at a specific target.
And I don’t think optional wars fought against countries that are no thrat to America count as “defense.”
Did you did you object similarly to Bill Clinton attacking Kosovo, since that was an “optional war” fought against a country that was “no threat to America,” partisnip hack?
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (b63e53) — 11/28/2008 @ 5:58 pmI’m almost a tad nostalgic for the acidic rantings of Levi.
What, are you looking for a sparring partner, Jack?
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (b63e53) — 11/28/2008 @ 6:00 pmMore human sacrifices for Allah.
Perfect Sense (9d1b08) — 11/28/2008 @ 6:00 pmHow many must die before Allah is happy?
Parsnip,
There is an inverse relationship between money spent on security and casualties. Spend little to nothing on security, and your casualties will climb horribly. Spend adequately on security, and you will have no casualties. That is why we have the old Roman maxim “If you want peace, prepare for war”.
I’m sure that even during WW II, more Americans deaths were non-war rather than the actual war itself. Should we have spent more to stop those other causes of death than fighting WW II?
The optional “war” in Iraq, which is actually just a front in the war against anti-American extremists who like to use terror as a tactic, was great. We got rid of Saddam and his anti-American regime. We smoked out terrorists from all over the world that came to fight us on ground of our own choosing, and we killed and captured them by the ton. The terrorists were so busy fighting us in Iraq that they didn’t have time to try to kill us here at home. And I think that was a great thing.
Bob S (cd0a9a) — 11/28/2008 @ 6:01 pmparsnip is so Glass Joe. At least Levi was in the Soda Popinksi – Don Flamenco range.
Jack Klompus (b0e238) — 11/28/2008 @ 6:02 pmBut Bob all that money wasted could have been spent on curing athlete’s foot and creating public service announcements warning against the hidden dangers of locker room towel snapping.
Jack Klompus (b0e238) — 11/28/2008 @ 6:04 pmparsnip is so Glass Joe.
All right, a Punch-Out reference!
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (b63e53) — 11/28/2008 @ 6:09 pmPaul (creator of “Staunch Brayer”) wrote:
Not to say Barney Frank should have been quarantined, but one positive effect might have been proper regulation of Fannie and Freddie.
L.N. Smithee (b048eb) — 11/28/2008 @ 6:23 pmWhen was the last time we saw proof of life on Bin Laden? Aside from the comical old video-purported new audio splices that is.
I’m long sick of that video of Bin Laden coming down the mountain. I’m sure he’s going to trip over one of those rocks and I start to fear for his safety and then I think “it’s just Bin Laden” so I stop worrying.
Jack Handy (802704) — 11/28/2008 @ 8:55 pmI like the constantly recycled footage of the mujaheddin camp recruits going across the monkey bars. I’m surprised they don’t play audio footage of some imam railing against disco, cocaine and the decadence of Studio 54 and saying “Foolish infidels! This team you call “Red Sox” will never win World Series!”
Jack Klompus (b0e238) — 11/28/2008 @ 9:00 pmI’ll be interested to see how Israel retaliates. They usually do in instances such as this.
Hunter/killer teams?
daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 11/28/2008 @ 9:05 pmMendoucheity at its finest.
JD (5f0e11) — 11/28/2008 @ 9:40 pmThe siege at Mumbai is over
The Intellectual Redneck (2c07a1) — 11/29/2008 @ 5:08 amThis terrorist attack took sixty hours to end and cost the lives of over 150 innocent civilians.
I shudder to imagine this happening in the downtown area of one of our largest cities. How would Obama(a man who has never fired a gun) respond? Would he treat it as a criminal act and try to apprehend the killers. Then, their lawyers could get them off on a technicality. Would he treat them as enemy combatants and let them rot in Guantanamo until we could arrange their execution? You know the answer and it should make you angry.
http://bloggingredneck.blogspot.com/
Me too. Also, the vid of the black-pajamed recruits on the overhead bars.
Now that we have a new president, can’t AQ at least come up with some new video?
Patricia (ee5c9d) — 11/29/2008 @ 12:40 pm“Now that we have a new president, can’t AQ at least come up with some new video?”
Patricia – They’re apparently having a hard time air brushing the Obama transition team members out of the frames. The videos should hopefully be done soon.
daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 11/29/2008 @ 12:45 pmI’ve updated the post to reflect the latest news.
DRJ (a50047) — 11/29/2008 @ 3:13 pmI agree. They might be hampered by a multi-site attack, but they have a different (and superior IMO) ethic. In some countries, these jobs are little more than patronage, sadly.
Patricia (ee5c9d) — 11/29/2008 @ 10:22 pm“And I don’t think optional wars fought against countries that are no thrat to America count as “defense.”
Radical right revenge fantasy is more like it.”
Comment by parsnip — 11/28/2008 @ 5:15 pm
We will wait here for your denunciations of the optional wars fought by Democratic Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt.
SPQR (26be8b) — 11/29/2008 @ 10:28 pmLets not forget the one that Kennedy got us into… And Nixon got us out of…
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 11/29/2008 @ 11:01 pmCouldn’t it be said that Britain is exporting terrorism? Or would the British government be allowed to say “it’s not our fault, we can’t do anything about it”? If they can say that, why can’t Pakistan?
jcurtis (524ed8) — 11/30/2008 @ 9:26 amI’m an Anglophile and it sickens me how the Brits kowtow to Islamic terrorism. An imam can arrive there with his many wives and kids who will be future malcontents and spew murderous venom. The British govt. will reward him with a large home and big welfare payments. I agree that Guantanamo should be closed. Send them back from whence they came, but first cripple them so they have trouble returning to jihad activities. Really insane that we provided one former Guantanamo detainee with a $75,000 artificial leg before releasing him to continue his murderous ways.
madmax333 (0c6cfc) — 11/30/2008 @ 9:55 amUS State Dept. and CIA don’t care to admit that Pakistani Intelligence Service is not rogue element at all, but rather part of the ruling government.
Hopefully our own local security services will not behave like the dunces in Bombay. One does hope that any domestic attacks would be met by men with the courageous attitudes of men like the 9-11 NYC Fire Dept. and not the way NOLA after Katrina or the LA cops during the Rodney King riots.
Religion sucks. Judism brought them there. Islam killed them. Jeez.
will (db45ec) — 12/1/2008 @ 4:10 pmthis is rubbish.
cicelia (69d993) — 12/1/2008 @ 6:28 pm