Security Forces Upgrade Needed

AK-47

Security forces ill-prepared to face terrorists

Rhys Blakely, Mumbai | November 29, 2008

Article from: The Australian

THE death of Mumbai's most senior anti-terrorist officer is a devastating blow to a police force struggling to confine the burgeoning Islamist threat.

Hemant Karkare, the chief of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, was shot three times in the chest as he led his men at the Taj Mahal, one of the two luxury hotels overrun by heavily armed terrorists.

Armed police officers patrol through Heathrow airport's new Terminal 5 in London, Britain, 14 March 2008.

Mr Karkare's decision to lead his troops from the front was typical of India's anti-terrorism commanders. The country has a tradition of promoting police officers who specialise in "encounter killings" -- a controversial form of extra-judicial justice used against suspected criminals.

However, while Mr Karkare's bravery is not at issue, the ability of India to stamp out terrorism is.

Critics say the country's under-resourced security forces are being pressured by politicians to produce quick -- but not necessarily effective -- results.

In September, the Government admitted fallibility when it announced measures designed to plug what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called vast gaps in its intelligence network, which relies on individual states to manage their own anti-terrorism operations without the support of a national body. The plans include the recruitment of thousands more police and the formation of a new nationwide counter-terrorism centre. But the overhaul did not come quickly enough to save Mumbai, a city that has grown used to mass murder.

India's commercial capital has been hit repeatedly by terrorist attacks since March 1993, when Islamist bombers, allegedly linked to Pakistani militants, attacked the stock exchange, trains, hotels and petrol stations. They killed 257 people. On July 11, 2006, 200 died in seven train blasts.

Wednesday's terrorist spectacular is being seen by security analysts as the product of a logical -- if terrible -- evolution. They say the sophistication of the strikes carried out by Islamist extremists on Indian soil has rapidly increased this year.

Long before Wednesday's events, according to experts, Indian terrorist groups had begun to borrow tactics pioneered by al-Qa'ida, including choosing soft foreign and economically sensitive targets such as hotels.

The new generation of Indian militants first showed themselves on May 13, when seven blasts in 15 minutes in a tourist area of the northern city of Jaipur killed 63 people. Responsibility was claimed by the Indian Mujahedeen, then an unknown group.

What's Needed:

HK G36C 'Compact' or 'Commando' assault rifle
Image: Heckler-Koch

In Mumbai, residents complain that the police are corrupt and ill-motivated. Officers often have guns that resemble the arms used in World War I.

On Wednesday, pitted against a well-organised and heavily armed militant force, they offered little resistance. By the time the more disciplined and better-resourced army was called in, the terrorists already had a grip on the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels.

And even while the Taj Mahal was under a lock-down as militants kept hundreds of hostages captive in the hotel, tourists and reporters were able to pass through the security cordon around the building.

A decision to relax security standards at the Taj Mahal days before the terrorist strike made the gunmen's task easier. That the gunmen knew this, and struck just as the guard was lowered, suggests the site was being reconnoitred daily.

Indian intelligence sources have said a "foreign hand" was behind the Mumbai attacks -- code for involvement by Pakistan. However, many fear that India's security forces, pressured to produce quick results, have cut corners and could be culpable.

The Times