26/11 – The Maldives connection

Is it true that the Maldives is looking for radars from India to improve its coastal security?
Yes, we would like to safeguard our fishing grounds and prevent terrorist attacks.
Meaning?
Any terrorist attack through the underbelly of India, that is peninsular India, would have to go through Maldivian waters. We will be the first to see what is happening. For example, if we had this equipment, we would have been much more vigilant about what was going to happen in the Mumbai attacks…that is why it is essential to safeguard Maldives’ territorial waters and defend our coastline.
Is it true that the Maldives has a serious issue with Islamic fundamentalists?
Yes, we have a serious issue with Islamist radicals, we know that many are being trained by the Al Qaeda in the northern reaches of Pakistan.
How do you know?
Because several Maldivians have been arrested by Pakistani authorities after they crossed into Pakistan from India. The recruitment of Islamist radicals takes place in the Maldives and their channel of movement is all the way up to Pakistan.
Are you saying that the Maldivians are being trained by the Al Qaeda in Pakistan, in Waziristan?
Yes, they are getting trained there by the Al Qaeda to fight the war in Afghanistan.
You talked about the Mumbai attacks and of being more vigilant about your territorial waters…what did you mean by that?
I believe that the identity of all the dead terrorists in the Mumbai attacks has not been broken down into nationalities. I feel there is a Maldivian connection to the Mumbai attacks.
In what way?
Well, we have information from the families of terrorists who are still in the Maldives about this. (‘There is a Maldivian link to 26/11’; Q&A: Mohamed Nasheed, the president of the Maldives
Jyoti Malhotra / New Delhi October 25, 2009, 0:00 IST http://is.gd/kpoeO)

Another story some 15 months later.

a Maldivian connection to the Mumbai attack. One, possibly two, of the ten terrorists who spew mayhem was from the Maldives. In its zeal to nail Pakistan, did India ignore leads on the mysterious Maldivian.

Forty-eight hours before 26/11, a family in the Maldives got a phone call. A familiar voice said, “I have good news for you.” It was their son, calling from Pakistan. He said he was “bound for heaven… in two days’ time.”
The full import of his words did not dawn on the family then. But they got a vague scent of his looming participation in something sinister—which turned out to be the terror attack in Mumbai on November 26, 2008. The family later claimed that he was among the nine slain terrorists.
Investigations by THE WEEK revealed that the claim had made the Maldivian government institute an “in-house” investigation. But the probe hit a stonewall thanks to India’s lack of interest in exploring any latent Maldivian links in 26/11 (This report by Anupam Dasgupta, Principal Correspondent appears in the issue of THE WEEK; Jan. 16 – http://is.gd/kpolF )

Indian foreign policy, a hostage to the The Pakistan Fixation, cannot see a problem, after they are told. Mohammed Nasheed gave this interview last year.

Last train out

EXULTANT Militants waiting to cheer an assassin threw rose petals. (Picture courtesy - nytimes.com; picture by B. K. Bangash/Associated Press)

In Pakistan,

the ruling elite cannot be expected to change things because the majority already has one foot out of the door. Most members of the ruling elite have dual nationality, which means that if the situation deteriorates further they can always leave, along with their capital. This saves them from taking responsibility for improving social conditions and the country’s politics for the benefit of all. http://is.gd/krkPC

Who cares …

On 4th January, 2011, Salman Taseer died. Shot dead by his own body guard. His support for non-Islamic minorities in Pakistan coupled with his support for removal of blasphemy laws from statute books angered extremists. Leading to this killing. Salmaan Taseer’s other bodyguards did nothing against the killer. Many ‘powerful people’, afraid, did not attend Taseer’s funeral.

Like this author points out, the State of Pakistan is in the hands of people who have interests, capital, and a life outside Pakistan. Pakistan needs complete, total commitment.

Anybody home?

Another hate crime

On the other side of the world, on Saturday 8th January, 2011, in the advanced world, there was a similar incident. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, during a public event at a Safeway grocery store on the north side of Tucson, was shot.

Call to arms! Against Gabrielle Giffords. What is the difference between USA and Pakistan!

Giffords — who in 2006 became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, at 36 — has, for more than a year, been the target of violence-tinged rhetoric from political opponents and of threats that appear to have come from right-wing activists.

Sarah Palin’s political action committee posted a map of the US, showing the locations of the 20 Democratic members of Congress, including Giffords, it was targeting for defeat. Each location was marked by an image of a gun crosshairs.

Palin’s camp dismissed charges that she was encouraging acts of violence, saying she had spoken out against violence. But Giffords herself was one of many who spoke out against the image, telling MSNBC: “When people do that, they’ve gotta realize there’s consequences to that action.”

In June, the campaign of Giffords’ Republican opponent in this year’s midterms, Jesse Kelly, placed an ad that read: “Get on target for victory in November/ Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office/ Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly.”

The website for Kelly, a former US Marine, depicted him with holding an automatic weapon.

Today, Kelly said in a tweet: “We are all deeply saddened by this morning’s shooting. Gabrielle Giffords, the other victims, and their families are in our prayers.”

It is unclear why Gabrielle Giffords was shot. Was is it because she ‘approached the immigration debate in a nuanced fashion, mixing requests for more Border Patrol agents with calls to increase the number of work visas granted to foreigners.’ Or was because she was the first Jewish woman to be elected Congresswoman from Arizona.

Sarah Palin's and the vicious right wing agenda. Chickens come home to roost.

Desert Bloc parallels

Gabrielle Gifford and Salman Taseer were ‘marked’ for supporting ‘Others’. Christian intolerance, Islamic extremism. Any difference. Sympathy for ‘kaffirs‘ killed Salman Taseer; supporting ‘aliens’ hurt Gabrielle Gifford. USA & Pakistan-Siamese twins?

Pakistan is evading the blasphemy issue. USA will ‘investigate’ if xenophobia behind Gabrielle Gifford attack. Christian intolerance + Islamic extremism = Desert Bloc behavior. Proof  – Attacks on Gabrielle Gifford & Salman Taseer.Last train out

After putting Gabrielle Giffords in the cross-hairs, the job of pulling the trigger was left to some 'radical'.

Related Articles

• Family of slain Pakistani politician feels for Giffords (cnn.com)
• Political violence in the US and Pakistan (blogs.ft.com)
• Gabrielle Giffords a Champion of Green Causes (treehugger.com)
• Gabrielle Giffords, update on her brain injury (actionforbetterhealthcare.com)
• Gabrielle Giffords shot in Arizona – Sarah Palin ‘has blood on her hands’ (archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com)
• Bhutto pledges to defend minorities in Pakistan (reuters.com)
• Salman Taseer assassination – BBC News (news.google.com)
• Global worry: Tucson attack augur more violent US? (foxnews.com)
• Pope Asks Pakistan To Repeal Blasphemy Law (video) (nowpublic.com)
• Taseer Murder Reveals Depth of Pakistan’s Extremist Drift (time.com)
• Pakistan slaying divides nation – Washington Post (news.google.com)