How should India Retaliate?
Many things are very clear from the Mumbai attacks:
1. Terrorists came from International waters
2. They were prepared like commandos of an Army
3. 30-40 of them is like a platoon (with sophisticated equipment) of a foreign Army attacking Bombay in broad daylight
4. They FIRST asked for US and UK nationals.
5. When asked about their “demands” during their interview with the TV station.. they clearly FUMBLE despite having hostages!!
6. They are unmistake-ably Punjabis… with clear Lahori accent and vocabulary
7. When interviewed they have started talking of India’s internal religious tensions as the “reason” for their “taking to arms”.
What needs to be done CLEARLY:
1. Stay away from it being characterized as a religious attack.. although by bring Babri Masjid and Gujarat .. that is precisely what these terrorists want us to do.
2. Not get into the endless loop of the counter arguments of terrorist laws or otherwise in India. They are required.. but this is FAR MORE than that!!
3. Remain calm and not raise the religious tension and temperature – that is precisely what they want us to do.
4. Involve Israelis and US officials to discuss what could be ways of joint collaboration and also finding out what is the SOURCE of it all?!
But these are tactical and short term things… what would be INDIA’S RESPONSE?? How should India retaliate and HIT BACK?? And most importantly WHERE and WHOM? Because the least we want is India doing an “Iraq”!! It should be a decision taken by the brain and not by the dick as Iraq was!