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| India-Pakistan |
| Fareed Zakaria(Mumbai native) take on Mumbai attacks |
| 2008-11-28 |
| NEWSWEEK: The events on the ground are unfolding rapidly. But knowing the country as well as you do, what strikes you about the reports we've heard so far? FAREED ZAKARIA: I think one of the misconceptions we're seeing so far is the assumption that these attacks were aimed primarily at foreigners. Look at their targets. The two hotels they attacked—the Taj and the Oberoi—are old, iconic Indian hotels. It used to be true that these places were affordable only by Westerners. But this is no longer true, and it's one of the big changes over the last ten years in India. The five-star hotels today are filled with Indians. Businessmen, wedding receptions, parties…these are real meeting places now, and even those who cannot afford to stay there often pass through the lobby. So you think if the aim was to hit Americans, Brits or other Westerners, there would be more target-rich environments? Absolutely. There's a Marriott, and a Hilton, a Four Seasons….The big American chains all have hotels there, and there are many more distinctly American targets. The Taj and the Oberoi are owned by Indians. My guess is that there will be a lot of Indians involved, and that this will generate a lot of domestic outrage. More at source. |
| Posted by:Uleck Ghibelline9225 |
| #8 Fareed, what do you say about the attack on the Jewish Center? Nothing to say? Hmmmmm ... |
| Posted by: WilliamMarcyTweed 2008-11-28 13:15 |
| #7 Sunna Va Beeeeech.... I never realized that. Now, it is all diamond like in the cyrstalness. |
| Posted by: .5MT 2008-11-28 12:19 |
| #6 Agree with several comments above. Only interesting thing about Zakaria is his wine collection. His commentary and "analysis" define the highly educated cluelessness that passes for sophistication in the Beltway/NYT/MSM axis these days. And don't forget - this sort mindset and smug incompetence just got handed the keys to the US (oh, that's not til January 20, but what with all the bizarre goings-on surrounding the P-E, I keep forgetting). I'm guessing hammerhead's nailed it here - the two targets were the most vulnerable. Attacking iconic Indian establishments while asking who's American or British certainly is consistent with that. |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2008-11-28 12:00 |
| #5 Zakaria does work for Newsweak right? Let's all vote to change the name of his magazine...I like NewsFeeble, myself. |
| Posted by: Emerz 2008-11-28 11:17 |
| #4 I gave up on Zakaria after reading that terrible book of his about the coming Iraq war. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2008-11-28 11:14 |
| #3 My gut says its Muslims of all nationalities involved and local shock troops trained for this mission. Did they want to send a message or were like Die Hard, trying to get into the Nakitomi building vault? Anything is possible? We don't clearly know who or what exactly they wanted at this time. |
| Posted by: Omomomble Tojo8809 2008-11-28 11:13 |
| #2 so why did the jilhadists ask for Brit and American passports Zakaria is trying to avoid the obvious here (and he has also been trying to avoid the obvious problem with Islam too - he was a big proponent of sending lots of aid to Pakistan after their earthquake - I'll bet a lot of this aid ended up in the hands of jihadists) |
| Posted by: mhw 2008-11-28 11:05 |
| #1 Zakaria, thanks for the taqiyya version...why then were the attackers asking for the nationalities of the guests and releasing non UK and US citizens and why attack the Jewish house? They probably conducted surveillance of a number of potential targets and selected the most vulnerable. |
| Posted by: Hammerhead 2008-11-28 11:02 |