Combat terror
The Irish Republican Army, in a province of only 1.6 million people, still pulled off some successful attacks, despite being heavily penetrated. Then why can't India do the same?
Terrorists don't succeed because they are not necessarily good at what they do. Most are inept bunglers, often lacking adequate training or experience. The reason terrorism is the instrument of choice for those lacking an army but determined to impose their will on others through violence, or for states like Pakistan or Iran that want to inflict deniable damage, is that it is so hard to counter. Even in what is the most sophisticated and intensive security environment on the planet, commercial aviation, we see time and again how terrorists with a little low-tech ingenuity can dodge multimillion-pound high-tech detection systems.
Intelligence is the king of counterterrorism. In Britain, many plots of the terrorists were foiled as the British intelligence services, often working with allies, got their teeth deeper and deeper into their new home-grown Islamist target. In 2009 and 2010 alone, 650 people were arrested in the UK on suspicion of terrorism; over 200 were charged - mostly as a result of good intelligence work.
Intelligence is the highest priority as far as counterterrorism activity is concerned. It must be for India too.
Inadequate Information Technology can lead to terror attacks. Criminal tracking network systems are extremely important in countering the complex terrorist threat that India will face in the next few years
"Increased alertness" should be ever-present in cities that live under the shadow of terrorism like Mumbai.
What we actually need is precise point intelligence about individuals and their intentions, capabilities and locations that allow us to arrest, kill or otherwise disrupt them before they can attack. That is achieved by electronic interception of their communications and human agents penetrating their networks.
The question is whether the Indian government is really taking drastic steps to combat terror? If not, it is high time that such steps are taken in order to ensure safety of millions of innocent Indians.
The Irish Republican Army, in a province of only 1.6 million people, still pulled off some successful attacks, despite being heavily penetrated. Then why can't India do the same?
Terrorists don't succeed because they are not necessarily good at what they do. Most are inept bunglers, often lacking adequate training or experience. The reason terrorism is the instrument of choice for those lacking an army but determined to impose their will on others through violence, or for states like Pakistan or Iran that want to inflict deniable damage, is that it is so hard to counter. Even in what is the most sophisticated and intensive security environment on the planet, commercial aviation, we see time and again how terrorists with a little low-tech ingenuity can dodge multimillion-pound high-tech detection systems.
Intelligence is the king of counterterrorism. In Britain, many plots of the terrorists were foiled as the British intelligence services, often working with allies, got their teeth deeper and deeper into their new home-grown Islamist target. In 2009 and 2010 alone, 650 people were arrested in the UK on suspicion of terrorism; over 200 were charged - mostly as a result of good intelligence work.
Intelligence is the highest priority as far as counterterrorism activity is concerned. It must be for India too.
Inadequate Information Technology can lead to terror attacks. Criminal tracking network systems are extremely important in countering the complex terrorist threat that India will face in the next few years
"Increased alertness" should be ever-present in cities that live under the shadow of terrorism like Mumbai.
What we actually need is precise point intelligence about individuals and their intentions, capabilities and locations that allow us to arrest, kill or otherwise disrupt them before they can attack. That is achieved by electronic interception of their communications and human agents penetrating their networks.
The question is whether the Indian government is really taking drastic steps to combat terror? If not, it is high time that such steps are taken in order to ensure safety of millions of innocent Indians.
No comments:
Post a Comment