Horrible article in the Daily Telegraph today containing transcripts from the calls the terrorists were making back to the L-e-T leadership in Pakistan during the attack. Very, very chilling.
Transcripts of their conversations and a confession statement of the lone surviving gunman reveal how Lashkar e Taiba leaders, a group which was once sponsored by Pakistan's intelligence services, carefully managed the slaughter from afar.
The transcripts are part of an Indian government dossier which claims the plot was planned and remotely controlled from Pakistan by LeT chiefs using live television news coverage and continuous satellite phone conversation with the gunmen.
In one section, the gunmen are told to kill all but two Muslim guests in the Oberoi hotel.
"Everything is being recorded by the media. Inflict the maximum damage, keep fighting, don't be taken alive," says one handler.
"Kill all the hostages except the two Muslims. Keep your phone switched on so we can hear the gunfire," says another.
When one of the gunmen says "we have three foreigners, including women, from Singapore and China," his handler orders "Kill them".
The transcript then records the voices of the two gunmen lining up the hostages, ordering the two Muslims to stand aside, and the sound of gunfire followed by cheering from the handlers.
But within seconds of the killings, the gunmen are quickly ordered to move downstairs to continue their attack.
. . . . .
In one conversation, just before the Chinese women were murdered, the handlers told one gunman:"Brother Abdul, the media is comparing your action to 9/11."
In a conversation with one of the four gunmen stalking the corridors of the Taj Mahal Hotel, one of the handlers orders him to search for several government ministers they believed were staying there and says they should "set the place on fire".
When he is told four rooms had been set ablaze, the handler replies:"People shall run helter skelter when they see the flames. Keep throwing a grenade every 15 minutes or so. It will terrorise."
In a conversation with their gunmen at the Nariman house Jewish centre, Chabad Lubavitch, the handlers said they wanted to seriously damage India's relations with Israel by killing Israelis being held hostage.
"Keep in mind the hostages are of use only as long as you do not come under fire because of their safety. If you are still threatened do not saddle yourself with the burden of the hostages – immediately kill them.
"Israel has made a request through diplomatic channels to save the hostages. If the hostages are killed, it will spoil relations between India and Israel," one said.
Later, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his pregnant wife Rivkah were murdered along with other hostages.
According to the confession of Mohammad Amir Qasab, the sole surviving gunman, he was first told of the target in September, two months before the attack, but his training had begun shortly after he joined the LeT in 2007 in Muridke, Pakistan.
He told interrogators he was selected for a military training programme run by LeT leader Abdul Rahman which included weapons training for AK47 machine guns and Uzi submachine guns.
Two months later he was selected for an advanced combat course in Pakistan-administered Kashmir where he learned to handle explosives and grenades and fire rockets and mortars.
Of 32 volunteers, 16 were hand-picked by Zaqi ur Rehmnan, the LeT's military commander, for a confidential mission, which required new specialist training in seamanship. "During the training we were given lectures on India, and its security agencies. We were also given training on how to evade the chase by security personnel. We were strictly instructed not to make calls to Pakistan after reaching India," Qasab told his interrogators.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dodo
Well money changes people and some people are getting rich and even very rich in India and that's when the "nationalistic endeavours" kick in. We don't have to go far to see some examples. Can't say it won't happen ... the gap between these powerful people and those trying to survive is getting bigger and even in a democratic country , things can change.
Yes, they can. With that argument, "anything" can happen, so no point formulating a policy or an opinion.
We are talking about likelihood. HIndus and Muslims have lived together for hundreds of years in India, as well as in Pakistan. But the fact that India, inspite of probems in the east, the naxalites, the Telengana movement, and communal riots, India has managed to stumble along in relative peace, political stability and now, some prosperity, while Pakistan is now standing on a precipice of disaster, despite billions of dollars in economic and defense aid pumped into it. Why is that? Indians and Pakistanis are the smae sort of people. In the 1970's, I would never have imagined the kind of prosperity seen in some parts of India. Although the prosperity has not filtered down uniformly, it has reached to greater depths than it ever did under the British. The inequality you refer to exists in Pakistan and even the U.S. There is more religious fanaticism in Pakistan than India. Why would the Indians choose the path to disaster when they are already ahead economically, as well as politically, and have more to lose if they get distracted from the road to economic progress? I think there is little danger of that happening in India. The two main reasons why I feel optism for India is, wider spread of education in India, and the nature of Indians. Through the ages, there have been many competing schools of thought and dogma within the Hindu fold and without, such as Buddhism, Janism, Sikhism, Christians, Jews and Parsis, each influencing the others in subtle ways and yet maintain their individual identity. They have all survived. India is till home to 150 million Muslims. How many Hindus, Buddhists, or Jews live in Pakistan? You should read Amartya Sen's "The Argumentative Indian". I haven't but I have heard about it.
While anything can happen, somethings are less likely to happen than others. I am, sure you know your statistical mechanics.
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