This came via Long War Journal. And, while I suggest that all such claims early on are taken with a huge grain of salt, I think the details it provides is interesting.
Al Qaeda 'Hi-Jack' Led to Mumbai Attack
Of interest, would also be the continuing refining of the confession from the lone captured terrorist. the Times of UK now indicates that the training was provided by a "former" Pakistani army officer.
Whether there was actual ISI involvement or not, whether AQ was involved or not, I would say that the planning, training and targeting certainly had a military and AQ flavor. Which, should not come as any surprise since AQ and other terrorist groups have had either official support or drawn any number of former military officers into their organizations.
Al Qaeda 'Hi-Jack' Led to Mumbai Attack
A plan by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) that had been in the pipelines for several months - even though official policy was to ditch it - saw what was to be a low-profile attack in Kashmir turn into the massive attacks on Mumbai last week. [snip]Read all the details in between about how certain actions of the Pakistani goverment allegedly drove some of their pet organizations closer to AQ. And, then...
A plan goes wrong
Asia Times Online investigations reveal that several things went wrong within the ISI, which resulted in the Mumbai attacks.
Meanwhile, a major reshuffle in the ISI two months ago officially shelved this low-key plan as the country's whole focus had shifted towards Pakistan's tribal areas. The director of the external wing was also changed, placing the "game" in the hands of a low-level ISI forward section head (a major) and the LET's commander-in-chief, Zakiur Rahman.So, basically, this was "rogue elements" of the ISI along with some LeT and AQ compromised elements that happened to "change" the plan.
Zakiur was in Karachi for two months to personally oversee the plan. However, the militant networks in India and Bangladesh comprising the Harkat, which were now in al-Qaeda's hands, tailored some changes. Instead of Kashmir, they planned to attack Mumbai, using their existent local networks, with Westerners and the Jewish community center as targets.
Zakiur and the ISI's forward section in Karachi, completely disconnected from the top brass, approved the plan under which more than 10 men took Mumbai hostage for nearly three days and successfully established a reign of terror.
Of interest, would also be the continuing refining of the confession from the lone captured terrorist. the Times of UK now indicates that the training was provided by a "former" Pakistani army officer.
Kasab, the captured gunman, told police that he had undergone months of commando-style training in an Islamist militant camp in Pakistan. The training was organised by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group that Indian officials are convinced is behind the Mumbai attacks, and conducted by a former member of the Pakistani army, a police officer close to the interrogation claimed.Which reminded me of this recent piece from the Belmont Club in which a Marine Officer wrote to Richard that the "buddy" shooting pairs seemed to have some basis in military training and this note that all is not as kopacetic between the Pakistan Military and its government. In fact, that the military may have been the source that over-ruled sending the top ISI guy to India to help with the investigations.
The training covered topics from how to handle sophisticated weaponry to what to eat to maintain energy levels during a siege.
The terrorist recruits were also placed on a rigorous physical training regime, running and swimming large distances. The account tallies with that of the elite Indian commandos that hunted the gunmen down in the two hotels they had occupied. The troops said that the terrorists must have been given military training, such was their bearing and effectiveness.
Whether there was actual ISI involvement or not, whether AQ was involved or not, I would say that the planning, training and targeting certainly had a military and AQ flavor. Which, should not come as any surprise since AQ and other terrorist groups have had either official support or drawn any number of former military officers into their organizations.
