Attacks in Mumbai seek to create divide
Blame is difficult to assign, especially when the acts in question have resulted in at least 174 deaths and an additional 239 wounded. Of course, the 10 highly trained gunmen who wreaked havoc through Mumbai’s streets last Wednesday before holing up in two of the city’s poshest hotels until Saturday morning are not innocent. Their actions were extreme and despicable. Those who spread violence with guns or bombs or airplanes are seriously misguided in their desire to bring about social upheaval. Speculation has it that the attacks were perpetrated by Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Muhammad, both Pakistani groups that focus on the conflict in Kashmir. Before Sept. 11, the Pakistani intelligence community maintained a healthy relationship with the groups. And although the collusion has disappeared, the government has still not cracked down on either group. India, too, has helped fuel support for the groups by continuing human rights violations in Kashmir.
