Mumbai

Mumbai was attacked last night, India time. A group of terrorists targeted 8 different locations -- hotels, hospitals, and transportation centers. Over 80 are currently reported dead with another 900 injured. The Army and NSG have been brought in to help the police.

The media is linking the attacks to Lashkar-e-Toiba, an Islamist organization based in Pakistan. Apparently, this group has attacked India before in an attempt to free Kashmir from Indian rule.

Not to say that this group isn't responsible. But, I haven't seen the papers give any actual evidence that would show that this group is to blame. It kind of reminds me of being in Spain when Madrid was attacked. The initial reaction was to blame ETA, mostly because of historical precedence. It turned out to be a Moroccan national who carried out that attack. There was a lot of speculation then that ETA was blamed because it would be more favorable to the PP getting reelected -- the attacks happened 3 days before elections -- while an Islamist attack would be perceived as due to Spain's association with America following 9/11. There are some elections going on in India right now, but I'm not necessarily sure how this would tie into it.

People are starting to come into the office now. Hopefully I'll get some interesting perspectives from them. Will report back later...