India to answer Mumbai attacks with talk not troops

[Ohio Joe]

Source: Reuters

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will not respond to attacks in Mumbai by sending troops to the border with Pakistan, but will instead mobilize global pressure for its neighbor to act decisively against Islamist militants, analysts say.

The military strategy was tried in 2001 and 2002 after an attack on India's parliament, but achieved little.

The crucial difference this time is that India is dealing with a civilian, democratically elected government in Islamabad -- a reasonably friendly government which does not have full control over a much more hostile, hawkish military establishment.

Military confrontation, however tempting as Indian elections loom ever closer, would only empower the hawks across the border.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSTRE4B23B720081203

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I hope this turns out to be true.

[stillcool]

1. I wonder if this might have something to do..

with the response. Why is it that no one is talking about these bomb blasts from September 29?

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JK22Df03.html

South Asia
Nov 22, 2008

Faith in India's army shaken by blasts
By Sudha Ramachandran

BANGALORE
- Investigations into recent bomb blasts in India have led to the arrest of several Hindus and for the first time ever, a serving officer of the Indian army.

The arrests have triggered heated debate on whether the arrests indicate the existence of "Hindu terrorism". More worryingly, the probes point to the possibility of the hitherto secular and apolitical Indian army being infected by the communal virus.

Six people were killed and over 80 injured in blasts on September 29 in the Muslim-dominated town of Malegaon, about 260 kilometers from Mumbai. A few hours later, a bomb went off near a mosque in Modasa town in Gujarat, where Muslims were offering special Ramadan prayers, killing two people.

Investigations have led to the arrest of about 10 people, including Ajay Rahirkar, Sameer Kulkarni, Rakesh Dhawade (all members of the Hindu extremist organization, the Abhinav Bharat), Dayanand Pandey (a self-styled Hindu "guru") Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur (an "ascetic" who is a member of the Durga Vahini - the women's wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad - and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad - the students' wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party - BJP).
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But even as Indians are heatedly debating whether "Hindu terrorism" exists, another worrying issue has been thrown up by the investigations. Three men arrested in connection with the Malegaon blasts are from the armed forces. They include one serving officer, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit, and two retired officers, Major Ramesh Upadhyay and Colonel Shailesh Raikar.