Friday Night News & Notes

How y'all doing?

Here's what's new:

-I knew that if I stuck to my ways science would eventually catch up with me:

Drinking alcohol every day cuts the risk of heart disease in men by more than a third, a major study suggests.

The Spanish research involving more than 15,500 men and 26,000 women found large quantities of alcohol could be even more beneficial for men.

Hey, the liver might fall out but I'll be healthier. Via Instapundit.

-The leading global warming swindle purveyors have been busted fudging the data.

-Irony. It took the most liberal administration with the most socialist economic policies in years to get Berkeley radicals to take over buildings again.

-Obama alienates another long-time ally. Is there anyone we want to be friends with he hasn't pissed off?

-It's fish in a barrel easy but busting on Harry Reid is always fun:

New and Notes

Happy Monday.

CNN blamed by couple for nearly getting them killed in Mumbai.

Time to revamp the Indian intel apparatus.

Hope and change? No, same old, same old.

It's always Americas fault, even when it isn't.

Mumbai Aftermath

Only ten men caused all that carnage? That's the word from Indian intel. Scary as hell to think a small operation could lay siege to an entire city bigger than NY. The operational security was easy to maintain by the terrorists while the actions of intel, security and police forces was evidently appalling.

It may have been stopped as it started if the Indian police acted as they should have according to this piece.

Always targeting the Jews: "were sent specifically to kill Israelis to avenge "atrocities" against the Palestinians..." The UN will condemn the killing but not even mention this inconvenient fact.

Pakistan is pulling the US into this by threatening to divert troops from the Waziristan area and redeploy them to the Indian border region. We've been quite active of late including getting a big fish last week so this is a serious concern.

Both India and Pakistan are gearing up for war and India has mentioned ending the current cease-fire condition. Pakistanis are protesting in Lahore about India's insistence of blaming them (picture right). Amazingly, and conveniently for both regimes, this will increase Pakistani nationalism helping Zardari and will divert attention on the Indian government for the monumental failure of allowing this to occur.

Mumbai Update

It's not over yet. Video from the Taj is here.

The attacks left a still unknown amount of people dead and injured but latest estimates have it at 168 dead and 283 wounded including 16 foreign nationals.

The Indian government is going hard after Pakistan--in part to cover up their incredible incompetence. Pakistan vehemently denies but it will fall on deaf ears. (Update: Incompetence was an understatement)

The Pakistani ISI chief will not be going to "assist" in the investigation as tensions mount.

The terrorists were amped up on what was probably amphetamines.

Two traitors equivocate about the murders perpetrated by their co-religionists.

The role of al-Qaeda will become more known the more we learn. They have close ties with LeT.

In other WoT news, US rockets took out three in North Waziristan, Pakistan. The military has stepped up efforts and seem to be eradicating all eschelons of al-Qaeda leadership systematically.

Why Aren't Left-Wing Blogs Reporting on Mumbai Story?

I find it intriguing that very few left-of-center blogs are reporting on the terror attacks in India. This is a story with world-wide implications and people from myriad nations were killed or injured.

It goes to reason that this is a story that should capture their attention as I'm presuming that those targeted and killed were intellectuals and probably liberal-minded. Conservatives from Britain, Australia and America would generally not be the people I would think of as residing or visiting India. I may be wrong but details I've read seem to show this is the case.

In scanning the lefty blogs, I found a blurb from Taylor Marsh sandwiched between a story about Rosie O'Donnell and shopping. Sullivan posts a cut and paste about the Indian/Muslim "divide" and the effect it may have on Obama and Talk Left has a cut and paste post as well with no comment. The only lefty who has run more than one or two posts is TPM.

Maybe it's because they can't quite grasp the violence of the attacks or that they have no concept of weapons, tactics or the military in general so they don't feel comfortable writing about such things. But this is the present and the future, terror attacks are not going away because Obama is inaugurated. The Pakistanis and the Indians are not going to shake hands and sing Imagine just because Obama is sitting in the Oval Office (update: He's already pissed off the Indians). Obama will have to deal with terrorism and odds are that those who wish us harm will get lucky and hit us once again at home.

Liberals are going to have to realize that you can't just puts you fingers in your ears and scream "la la la" while keeping your eyes closed every time terrorists hit. This is a real problem with no clear solutions. You can't throw money at the problem or negotiate with those who have no feelings when executing children. The way to negotiate is from the trigger side of a gun, they understand force and nothing else.

My guess is if they could pin this on President Bush, we'd be hearing a lot more from the liberal blogosphere. Otherwise, we hear nothing but silence.

Mumbai Attack: Pakistan Connection Firming Up

Regardless of who was responsible for the Mumbai attacks, the Indian government was going to blame Pakistan for several reasons: a) it's plausible and b) they failed miserably in protecting the citizens of the country and need a scapegoat.

That said, it appears more and more likely that there is a Pakistani connection:

An arrested terrorist has revealed that the Mumbai terror attack operation was planned about six months ago.

Investigators are examining satellite phone and GPS found on trawler seized in Arabian Sea.

Sources have told NDTV that data from GPS revealed terrorists sailed from Karachi harbour on November 12 or 13. Their phone was used to call Lashkar commander Yusuf Muzamil in Muzaffarabad.

The group of terrorists stayed in Karachi for about four days. The mobile phone found on a dead terrorist was used to make calls to Pakistan.

On November 18, Coast Guard had warned of possibility of infiltration by sea route.

Again, take it with a shovel of salt but if it were proven that the operation did originate in Karachi and the terrorists did contact Muzamil, why would the Indians request the head of ISI to aid in the investigation? ISI has had associations with Lashkar in the past.

If it also plays out that the Coast Guard did indeed warn of infiltration by sea, I would imagine the Indian intelligence apparatus will be ripped apart and rebuilt.

Update: It's being reported that the culprits were part of LeT and hijacked a Vietnam-bound ship from which they entered Indian waters. They're saying twelve were involved with help from Indian Muslims. Scary to think what just twelve 25 men with the proper planning and ammunition can accomplish. Well, we saw what 19 could do here in the states...

Updates and other info here including the report that a security force plane was held up awaiting politicians. Plus, this must-read piece in the Hindustan Times.

Mumbai Update

15 foreigners are known to be dead at this point including two Americans, two French citizens and an Aussie citizen. 17 Russian nationals (including defense contractors) were let go after a review of their passports, either because the terrorists fear Russian reprisal or perhaps they had another reason that I won't speculate on yet.

This looks as if it may continue for some time and it will take weeks to sort out the details.

Barcepundit is all over this story and is the go-to source for all the info as it becomes available.

5 Hostages Murdered at Jewish Nariman House

The Mumbai terrorists targeted Americans, Britons and of course, the Jews:

Mumbai: Five hostages have been killed by terrorists holed up inside Nariman House, a Jewish centre, in Colaba (Mumbai) even as National Security Guard commandos have secured major parts of the building.

""We had taken over the second floor of the house when grenade was launched from above. Three hostages were killed by terrorists before they moved upstairs. NSG commandos moved upstairs to kill two terrorists on the fourth floor. Terrorists killed two hostages in this floor," NSG Director General Jyoti Krishan Dutt said.

"Nariman House charge will be given to CRPF and Mumabi (sic) Police after the operation is over," Dutt said. "We are on the last floor and any time we will finish this operation," he said.

The fate of terrorists is still unclear.

This is just the latest battle in the Global war on Terror and one that we most-assuredly had better be taking notes from. A small army accessed the coastal city, had pre-planned locations to launch the assault from, were armed to the teeth and went about murdering everyone from high-ranking police authorities to innocent civilians and foreigners. It could happen in the US if Obama administration lessens our vigilance from current levels, plus it would take little money to execute such a plan.

Mumbai Update (Update: Two Terrorists Brit-born, Two Americans dead)

The Taj Hotel is supposedly cleared. The Jewish Center has been stormed and details are sketchy:


Captured terrorists revealed that the attackers entered on a boat and utilized smaller trawlers to get to shore. LeT is being blamed by nearly everyone now:



This was a monumental security failure by Indian authorities (not unusual) who have been subjected to massive terror attacks in the past. Pakistani involvement is not known but if there was assistance, it would make things very dicey in the region.

I had missed this, but in a significant move, President Zardari of Pakistan disbanded the political wing of their intelligence service ISI earlier this week. That group was believed to have assisted the various terror groups throughout Pakistan, including LeT. Maybe I'm grasping at straws, but could the political wing of ISI have known what was planned in Mumbai (or assisted in procuring weapons, etc) and allowed it to go forward even after they were excised from the government?

Streaming Mumbai video here.

Responsibility for the attacks has not been completely established, however, India has its share of domestic insurgents. I guess we can add the previously unheard of Deccan Mujahideen to the list.

Update: The borders on the embedded IBN video are off due to weird tags.

Update: Shocka! Two of the attackers were British-born Pakistanis. Also, the rhetoric is starting to ratchet up between India and Pakistan.

Update: Those killed were executed by garrote (strangled with wire or other means) according to this radio report from London paper The Guardian. More from The Guardian here in very detailed fashion.

Update: A father and daughter from Viginia are confirmed dead.

Indian Terror Incidents Not Over (Update: Military Official Say From Pakistan)

The battle still rages.

It will be days before we know who attacked numerous locations in Mumbai, India. This was a coordinated attack and the terrorists were well armed:

The wave of terror began after small groups of militants, armed with automatic weapons and grenades, entered the city by boat and fanned out.

They burst into two hotels, a hospital and a railway station as well as a cafe popular with foreign tourists, firing indiscriminately and throwing grenades.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the attacks were well-planned and probably had "external linkages".

The terrorists singled out Americans and Britons, which makews me believe there was indeed a foreign connection meaning Pakistan.

The cowards even went after kids:



This is why we need a man as president who is experienced, terrorists will not wait for our President-elect to get up to speed just as they didn't allow President Bush to get all his people in place in 2001.

Update: Tim Blair has much more including reports of Aussie injuries and sadly, a death.

Update: This from an unnamed Indian military official via AFP:

Militants who staged multiple attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai, killing at least 125 people and injuring hundreds more, came from Pakistan, a senior military official said on Thursday.

"They are from across the border and perhaps from Faridkot, Pakistan. They tried to pretend that they were from Hyderabad," Major General R.K. Hooda, leading the military operation to flush out the extremists, told reporters.

Who Cares if Mumbai Attacks Were al-Qaeda?

A strange headline in the NY Times:

Sophisticated Attacks, but Al Qaeda Link Disputed

It doesn't matter if it was al-Qaeda or any other terror group, it was Islamic militants using violence against civilians once again to try to attain their goal of a global caliphate. It doesn't matter if it was Lashkar-e-Taiba, Ansar al-islam or Hezbollah, the simple fact is they are targets that must be hunted and liquidated.

Just as the US military did in Iraq and is currently doing in Afghanistan, we now must do elsewhere, infiltrate these groups if possible, monitor chatter, gain intel and hit them hard, quickly and with extreme violence.

I'm guessing the Times is trying to lessen the gravitas of al-Qaeda or show that Islamo-fascism is increasing in some back-handed stab at President Bush but if it were not al-Qaeda, wouldn't that show that Bush's War on terror has been a success on that front being as al-Qaeda has been substantially weakened by US, Brit and Aussie actions?

The War on Terror Continues: 90 Dead, Hundreds Wounded in India

And on it goes:

Mumbai: In one of the most violent terror attacks on Indian soil, Mumbai came under an unprecedented night attack as terrorists used heavy machine guns, including AK-47s, and grenades to strike at the city's most high-profile targets -- the hyper-busy CST (formerly VT) rail terminus; the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex and Mazgaon Dockyard -- killing at least 80 and sending more than 900 to hospital, according to latest reports.

The attacks have taken a tragic toll on the city's top police brass: The high-profile chief of the anti-terror squad Hemant Karkare was killed; Mumbai's additional commissioner of police (east) Ashok Kamte was gunned down outside the Metro; and celebrated encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar was also killed.

Allah mentions that the Pakistani intel service ISI may be involved and if so, that would mean a return to a state of war between two atomic powers. Allah also linked to a story at Fox that Indian troops are attempting to rescue hostages.

Add to this the fact that DHS released a warning citing intel indicating a possible attack in NYC specifically targeting the subway system and we may well be entering the next phase of the WoT whereby AQ and others will test our new, inexperienced president-elect.

Exit thought: Judging by the way this was carried out today in India, I find it astounding that we have not been hit since 9/11 and most of the credit for that goes to George W. Bush, our military and the intelligence agencies.

Update: The worst thing to ever happen to TSA--an agency with some of the brightest intel people in the world--was making the screeners federal employees (soon to be unionized with Obama's blessing). These people are a damned embarrassment.