Today, we are all Indians
Posted by Richard on July 12, 2006
According to New Delhi Television (NDTV), Indian government sources said the Mumbai (Bombay) train attack was the work of Lashkar-e-Toiba, a Kashmiri Islamist terror organization with ties to al-Qaeda, working with the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The toll in the series of blasts now stands at 183 killed and 714 injured. (UPDATE: The Breaking News page linked above has changed. The referenced story is now here.)
Obviously, this attack wasn’t about Iraq. But it wasn’t just about Kashmir, either. It was part of the jihadist quest for world domination. A Washington Times editorial said it well:
Years ago, before the onset of the war on terror, Lashkar-e-Taiba enjoyed an undeserved reputation for focusing on Indian targets in Kashmir, which allowed some to conclude that the group should be of secondary interest to outsiders. The reputation was not deserved because the group had in fact begun striking targets outside Kashmir, and because its ideological affinities to al Qaeda, its direct ties to the global jihad and its hatred of Israel, India and the United States were well known. But it allowed the group to hold on to the nominal perception that its aims and purview were primarily regional, and thus primarily a problem for India.
No more. That was all but assured with the nuclearization of the subcontinent, confirmed by the parliamentary attack in 2001 and then by the destabilizing effects of subsequent attacks in Delhi and Bombay, which shattered whatever was left of the "Kashmir-only" image. Today the tragic Bombay bombings — designed to demoralize one democracy’s hub of finance and culture — underscore that fact, illustrating how fully the group has converged with the international jihad.
This attack must not be allowed to ratchet up tensions between India and Pakistan, which many Indians accuse of secret support for the terrorists. One early positive step was the Pakistani Foreign Ministry’s strong condemnation late on Tuesday. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf augmented the message: "Terrorism is a bane of our times and it must be condemned, rejected and countered effectively and comprehensively." Pakistan must help India identify and apprehend the terrorists.
It might even take a cue from Europe. "We are all Americans now," some said after the September 11 attacks. Today, we are all Indians.
That NDTV page has a place where you can post a message of support or condolence for the people of Mumbai. (UPDATE: When the Breaking News page updated, the comments posted to the previous story went away, and I don’t see any archive or other way to access them now.)
I was heartened to see that a number of the commenters "got it" regarding the global war against the Islamists, and invoked Israel and the U.S. as examples to emulate. Here’s a sampling:
Terrorism is greatest threat to humankind in this era. We all collectively should stamp out this evil from society.
My heartfelt condolences for the breaved families. This is the high time INDIA should adopt ISRAEL policy. Eye for an eye.If you kill innocent people we will kill you. …
It’s sad that in a country which always supports peace against violence ,these sort of attacks keep happening again & again.The only way to solve this problem, is the american way of fighting against the terrorism. …
Ours soft state policy towards terrorist has proved fatal. … Can we learn from US and Jews ? Just kill the killer wherever they are.
Why India doesn’t retaliate to these as US did. It became annual act in mumbai, it seems terrosists are making annual function in mumbai by bombing the cityIts time now for Indian government to follow the path of ISRAEL. … Its time now for INDIA to change its ANTI-TERRORISM policy & therefore its foreign policy too. …
… We should learn from Israel and take stern action against them.
… Its high time we gave up being pussy cats and became like Israel.
Hmm. Maybe all of us who take the threat of Islamofascism seriously should adopt the slogan, "We are all Israelis now."
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