compiled by Cem Ertür
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Dandelion Salad
Dec. 5, 2008
1) Al-Qaeda ‘threat to Indian resorts’
2) Airports on alert as authorities brace for ‘9/11 terrorist attack’
3) Terror alert at three big Indian airports
4) Remarks With Indian Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee
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excerpts from Al-Qaeda ‘threat to Indian resorts’
by Damien McElroy, Daily Telegraph, 4 December 2008
The [UK] Foreign Office is preparing to issue a travel warning amid fears that al-Qaeda is planning to attack Indian holiday resorts popular with Western tourists by the new year.
The news came as Indian officials said yesterday they were investigating links between al-Qaeda and last week’s attacks on Mumbai. Police believe that a senior al-Qaeda terrorist, who is said to have conceived and planned the 2002 Bali bombings in which 202 people died, may have been involved in the latest outrage.
The potential al-Qaeda involvement in the attacks on prominent locations in Mumbai, which were carried out by the Kashmiri group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has raised concerns that India will see more attacks targeting Westerners.
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Mumbai’s anti-terror squad said it had alerted the resorts of Goa and Pune that militants had infiltrated the area and could attack Western visitors at the end of the year.
British officials predicted that the Foreign Office travel advice would have to include a permanent warning against al-Qaeda-style attacks.
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excerpt from Airports on alert as authorities brace for ‘9/11 terrorist attack’
by Rhys Blakely, Times, 5 December 2008
India’s main airports were on a state of high alert last night amid fears that 14 terrorists given the same training as the Mumbai gunmen are preparing to mount 9/11-type attacks using hijacked passenger planes.
The Defence Minister, A.K. Antony, ordered the nation’s armed forces to be on guard against “terror strikes from the air” eight days after India suffered its worst terrorist attack in 15 years…
The India Bureau for Civil Aviation is thought to have been given warning of plans to capture one or more aircraft at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore or Madras airports, the country’s main transport hubs. Officials said that credible intelligence indicated a plan to attack a significant population centre using an airliner in an assault that would resemble those made on New York in 2001.
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excerpt from ‘Terror alert at three big Indian airports‘
by James Lamont, Financial Times, 5 December 2008
Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai airports were all put on alert after an e-mail threat by the Deccan Mujahideen, which claimed responsibility for the attack on India’s financial centre that left nearly 200 people dead.
The audacity of the Mumbai attack, in which terrorists arrived by sea, has made the Indian security forces worry about attacks from all sides, including the air.
Armed police were visible at airports yesterday, passengers were subjected to more rigorous searches and non-travellers barred from entry to terminals.
Measures were also being taken in Mumbai and New Delhi to improve protection of luxury hotels, international companies and foreign institutions. Some are turning to razor wire and armed guards.
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[emphasis added]
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2008/12/112622.htm
excerpts from ‘Remarks With Indian Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee’
by US Foreign Secretary Condoleezza Rice, Hyderabad House, New Delhi, 3 December 2008
We certainly understand too that there is a strong demand for bringing the perpetrators of such a crime to justice, and a deep desire to prevent any further attacks from taking place.
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It is also a matter of preventing these terrorists who continue to plot and plan from perpetrating further crimes and further attacks.
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In all responses, whether they are responses of governments around the world or the response of the Indian Government, the goal should be to make certain that the investigation gets to the bottom of what happened, that the perpetrators are brought to justice, and that there is enough information and a depth of understanding so that an effort can be made to prevent further attacks.
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And as I said, we’re focused with India on both bringing the perpetrators to justice and on preventing further attacks.
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But the response has to be the same, which is that the perpetrators have to be caught, they have to be brought to justice and they – and there has to be a maximal effort on preventing further attacks.
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see
Washington Arrogance has Fomented a Muslim Revolution By Paul Craig Roberts
Obama: The situation in South Asia represents the single most important threat
The Mumbai Attacks: More Than Meets the Eye By Jeremy R. Hammond
Dandelion Salad 