The violence of the Mumbai terror attacks may have ended, but the fallout is just beginning.
Bollywood actress Maninee Misra is scared and angry. I want to ask how much more we are expected to take in the name of religious separatism and hatred. I want to ask our leaders: how long are you going to put us in the line of fire? How long are you going to sacrifice innocent lives? Why are the voices, so loud when asking for our votes, silent now? — Guardian
What’s behind the rise of terrorism in India? With an Indian election approaching, a natural time for militants to make a statement, there’s little reason to believe the Mumbai killings were the last attack. The first foreign-policy crisis of the Obama administration may have arrived early. — Joshua Kurlantzick, The New Republic
Mumbai: The perils of blaming Pakistan. Most Pakistanis reacted with horror to news of the Mumbai killing spree starting Wednesday, having lived through equally devastating attacks on their own soil. But that initial sympathy quickly gave way to hostility as the focus of blame landed on Pakistan — a knee-jerk first reaction, rather than one based on any solid evidence. — Aryn Baker, Time
Applying the lessons of 9/11 to Mumbai. Perhaps the Mumbai gunmen will, like some of the Afghan Taliban, also turn out to be members of a homegrown, locally based, ad hoc organization, with its own eccentric goals and training methods. Or perhaps they really will turn out to belong to a definite group with a clear ideology, which would of course be easier all around. Surely the point, though, is that we should be well-prepared to deal with either—and wary of mistaking one for the other. — Anne Applebaum, Slate
Mumbai attacks are a call to arms. The problems of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are now bleeding into one another, and any purely national approach is not going to work. The best outcome of these attacks would be if they spurred cooperation and reform. If instead they feed rivalry, bitterness and finger-pointing, the victims will have died in vain, and there will be more victims and an insecure neighborhood. — Newsweek
Bombay burning. The spirit of Bombay is a cliché — I have used it in the past, but I mean it as a compliment — and its citizens have earned it, and deserve to wear that medal. The shame is its politicians’. — Far Eastern Economic Review
This is an Indian atrocity – not the West’s. As the drama unfolded, Indian TV commentators veered towards the sensational, frequently invoking “9/11”. Whereas attacks in the past mostly hit the marketplaces and trains of the lower middle class and poor – the “overcrowded parts” of the country, as one news anchor indelicately put it – never before have the more genteel climes of Indian society been so brutally assaulted. — Kanishk Tharoor, Independent
Go to the source. Even if one presumes that elements in the Pakistani government are not involved in the attacks, evidence points to Pakistani soil being used to mount these attacks on India. Islamabad can’t escape without accounting for this. — editorial, Times of India
The propoganda machine is in full swing. Paul Sheehan had his predictable piece in this morning’s SMH about Islamic terrorism. No doubt in short order we will be told that this hitherto unknown group are “linked to al qaeda”.
The truth is more prosaic but don’t expect to read it in an Australian mainstream newspaper. Virtually the first casualty of this episode was Hemant Karkare. Mr Karkare just happens to be the Indian anti-terrorism chief who exposed the links between the Indian military and Hindu extremist groups. He exposed the fact that the Malegaon attacks, initially attributed to Muslim extremists were in fact the work of Hindu extremists.
If there is ever a genuine investigation of this particular incident I predict that the BJP will be found to one of the prime instigators using what Stalin called the “useful idiots” to be killed and hence not interrogated.
Already there are calls for stricter security laws in India which is precisely what the BJP wants and will utilise to further undermine Mr Singh’s government.
In short what we are seeing in Mumbai is a repetition of what is constantly occuring around the world at the moment: a series of false flag attacks designed to foment anti-Muslim hatred and serve the purposes of those whose interests do not lie in openness and democracy.
What is needed in what passes for Australian journalism is (a) some knowledge of history; (b) a willingness to look beyond the self-serving propaganda; and (c) ask the obvious question, whether it is 9/11, Bali, Baghdad, Mumbai and elsewhere: cui bono?