Friends, in the wash up of Mumbai, there is a rather puzzling and disturbing aspect. I don’t know about you but I thought there must have been at least a hundred, maybe up to a 1,000 terrorists to have held a city of millions to ransom and killed 180 plus and injured so many. After all, constant reports told of terrorists being killed here, terrorists being captured there, terrorists playing hide and seek floor to floor, terrorists being interrogated, etc.
The truth is that it appears that there were ten (10) terrorists.
The attack began on Wednesday and didn’t finish until early Saturday morning. During that time, ten men attacked the main Railway station, A Jewish Centre, two fashionable hotels, Leopold’s Restaurent, the Cama and G.T. hospitals, the Bombay Municipal Corporation (Council) and the Vidhan Sabha which is the legislative assembly. This was despite the presence of thousands of Indian police, Indian troops, pick Indian commandos, and multitudes of excited, gibbering representatives of the world media. The terrorists then settled into residence at the two hotels and the Jewish Centre and held the fuming authorities at bay for days.
Surely, even a Hollywood epic, you know one of those one that show a handful of Americans including Bruce Willis opposing and beating large, superior, evil enemy forces, wouldn’t make a movie with such a plot! I mean it defies probability.
And what is more, according to some reports, the ten men intended to kill 5,000 people including Hindus, Americans, Britons and Jews. That works out to be 500 each. Fortunately they fell far short of their objective (or is it that the Indian authorities, with American advice, exaggerated their ambitions for purely political reasons?).
No matter, let’s cut to the chase! What are the real implications of this dastardly attack?
Surely if ten determined terrorists with only small arms can put an entire city of millions under siege for three days despite the best efforts of a large nation’s police and military, then what could a hundred such terrorists achieve? Or a thousand? London, Paris, Tokyo, New York, Sydney, where would you be safe?
Perhaps it’s time to run up the white flag while there’s still time rather than follow the ridiculous, mindless mantra that: “We have to fight and kill all terrorists wherever they may be!” You can’t kill terrorists. They are too sneaky, too smart! They don’t wear uniforms. They hide in the shadows. They have no borders. And they are driven by legitimate anger and frustration.
Perhaps it’s time to find out what grievances terrorists have and address them. Perhaps it’s time to stop invading and occupying poor nations and killing their people. Perhaps we in the West should feed people in starving nations, try to bring them better health care, stop taking their resources and exploiting them economically.
Perhaps we from the West have to change our elitist ways, accept our many faults, get rid of our greedy corporations, our warmongering politicians, our immoral armament industries, our militant armed forces, our lavishly robed, paunchy religious fanatics, our slavering imperialists, even admit that our vaunted political system called democracy is far from perfect, etc.
If we don’t, ten terrorists will multiply infinitely and what happened in Mumbai will become commonplace, even chickenfeed by comparison!
David and here’s me thinking I was the only one confused by the reporting.
But forget about all that, the responce by the Indian police and military, was an unmitigated disaster.I mean it’s fine to play General in your own home sipping back hot tea and Tim Tams watching it all unfiold on the BBC..But what will they do if a more serious threat comes? Some of the responces of the of the Indian brass to this diaster sounded like they were talking to first day recruits in the scouting movement.
But my worst fear is, my God both the Indians and the Pakistani’s and the latter being the likely country to cop the blame have the bomb.
And did you hear some of the ordinary folks on the ground in Mumbai reponces?Screaming for war with Pakistan no less.
We are moving closer to a final showdown of that I am sure..
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Perhaps we should appoint America as peacemakers, Phill? After all they’ve done such an evenhanded job arbitrating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Perhaps Rice or Clinton could bring about peace between Pakistan and India. Perhaps, more likely, they might back one side or the other and advantage themselves, build a few more military bases, extend America’s imperialist stranglehold.
Blessed are the Peacemakers!
Cheers.
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Perhaps we should ask people who have actually produced a baby and given birth and walked around with a sick baby at night or tried to keep calm under chaotic circumstances to preserve a milk supply…. ask these people what the value of human live is and whether terrorism of this sort is the way to go.
I read a report about women of Irian jaya who are killing baby boys in order to stop the fighting:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24732391-663,00.html
I don’t believe that women have any greater moral authority, but they do have a greater physical input ( and more at stake) to these wars and terrorist situations and will eventually do something about it. There are even stories of the ancients where women “went on strike” after long battles… the Aristophanes play, Lysistrata described this well. This is not a new idea. I don’t know if it has ever really happened, but it gives room for thought
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The reporting was indeed bizarre. I heard today that one of the Indian security people had resigned as a result of this disaster.
How only ten people could do this much damage is beyond me.
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We have identical thoughts on this matter,
that we in the west by our actions over the past few years, have been the best recruting tool the jihadists and religious extremists could wish for. With what we are doing in the Middle East, with what Israel is doing in Palestine and India in doing to Pakistanis in Kashmir, it was always going to blow and it will again.
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Jane, perhaps women are our salvation. It’s an interesting comment!
If only ten terrorists is true, Patricia, it doesn’t bode well for the future. Great to hear from you again!
Lucy, the lesson of Vietnam was surely enough. The world’s military superpower had their butts kicks by a determined people armed only with small arms. Yet the same power is still talking about destroying terrorism. Some people never learn.
Cheers to all!
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Terror is a tactic. How can there be a war on terror? What does that mean? A misnomer such as this creates such havoc and no one says anything!
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But mention the word ‘terror’ to the sheeple and the result is spectacular, Nancy.
Trying to ‘unsheeple’ the ‘sheeple’ is a real challenge.
Cheers!
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“Perhaps it’s time to find out what grievances terrorists have and address them”
Ron Paul has been saying for ages: “Talk to your enemies and stop stomping around their countries as if it’s your own backyard…” and look how much support has he got from the American people? Virtually zilch!
“Perhaps we from the West have to change our elitist ways…”
Yes, tell that to Hillary…as for Obama he has long wiped out of his mind the fact that originally two of his grandparents were Kenyan poverty stricken peasants…but should Kenya for some reason rear its head and ‘challenge’ USA power, he would not hesitate to order it bombed to rubble…
So much for one’s root recognition !
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Old habits die hard, Giorgio! We have so much to unlearn if the world is to have any chance of changing.
Cheers.
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David a cure for the problem just might be the U.S. and NATO bomb the shit out of Pakistan! No not with 500 lb bombs, but with medicine,food,money,portable generators,water drilling equipment,blankets,etc,etc,etc.
I guarantee after about a months saturation of the more isolated areas of Pakistan, the mad mullahs and all the other retarded religious nut jobs, talk of Jihad, would possibly get them tied to a stake and burnt.
So much cheaper than guided missiles and all the other killing equipment.
Sorry my wife just woke me up I was dreaming as usual.
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Phill, the West works on the premise that if there’s not a dollar in it, it isn’t worth doing!
Giving away food and essentials is for mugs. Making missiles, weapons and nukes and selling them to facilitate killing people well…now you’re talking!
Keep on dreaming, Phill!
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Don t worry, they ll give the poor people the melamine contaminated milk, and they ll pat eachother on the shoulder: look how smart we are, we look good, and we kicked the toxic stuff out without too much big deal, as some humanitarian organization pays for it, cheap, but still money..
ehehhehehehhe.
this is how the world goes. It happened before, shitty Nestle products shipped to Africa.
I m silent these days, but I read you all. The plan goes ahead, the terrorist attacks are so obviously going in the direction prepared for the sheeple.
I hate this world.
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Adina, please don’t hate the world. We need you to help change it, we need your happiness and sense of humour to lift us when we get discouraged!
Take care. Our thoughts are with you and Phill!
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You are, as always, amazing, David.
Even in these sombre periods, all the chaos unraveling in the world and at a much lesser degree, in my microcosmos as well, you manage to bring hope in my heart, and remind me of the power of help, care, sense of belonging and sense of purpose.
You are helping me more than you imagine.
THANK YOU, David!
THANK YOU.
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Adina, we may be in a sinking ship but we can join together and offer support to each other and help make those low times less severe.
I need support too sometimes and I get it from great people just like you!
Cheer up and keep smiling.
Hugs.
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If something doesn’t make sense, then we aren’t being told the truth.
Why would 900 people kill themselves and their babies and children with poison Koolaid?
Why would the Iranians let the hostages go the day Reagan was inaguarated?
Why would 110 story skyscrapers blow themselves into powder and collapse in 9 seconds from fire and gravity?
Because Jonestown was a CIA mind control experiment and when Leo Ryan investigated, the people were murdered.
Because the Reaganites cut a treasonous deal with the Iranians to keep the hostages.
Because the towers were brought down with explosives, not airplanes.
How can ten terrorists take over 9 targets and kill 200 people?
I don’t know, but I know what they are telling us is not the truth.
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Big HUG back to you, David. And to all good people who struggle to make an understanding and a decent existence in this freaking world. It is true, the company and the comforting thoughts and shared ideas, what gives me hope, and bring me back to my old self.
wagelaborer: How can ten terrorists take over 9 targets and kill 200 people?
I don’t know, but I know what they are telling us is not the truth?
Good question. They got 6 months training according to BBC.. what? 6 months training? and they re only in their 20ies… Again. what a comforting “truth”.
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