Dawood -- Did Criminal Mastermind Stage Mumbai Nightmare?
New
Commentary
By Yoichi Shimatsu,
November 28, 2008
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=050dc87c7cffe019c7177175cefe1ad8
The coordinated nighttime assault against seven major
targets in Mumbai is reminiscent of the 1993 bombings
that devastated the
attack bears the fingerprints of the same criminal
mastermind - meticulous preparation, ruthless execution
and the absence of claims or demands.
The eerie silence that accompanied the blasts are the
very signature of Ibrahim Dawood, now a multi-
millionaire owner of a construction company in
world like Osama bin Laden. Across
Dawood is held in awe and, in a twist on morals,
admired for his belated conversion from crime boss to
self-styled avenger.
His rise to the highest rungs of
began from the most unlikely position as the diligent
son of a police constable in the populous commercial
capital then known as
His childhood familiarity with police routine and inner
workings of the justice system gave the ambitious
teenager an unmatched ability to outwit the authorities
with evermore clever criminal designs. Among the
unschooled ranks of
the coherent leader of a multi-religious mafia, not
just due to his ability to organize extortion campaigns
and meet payrolls, but also because of his merciless
extermination of rivals.
Dawood, always the professional problem-solver, gained
the friendship of aspiring officers in
intelligence service known as Research and Analysis
Wing (RAW). He soon attracted the attention of American
secret agents, then supporting the Islamic mujahideen
in their battle against the Soviet occupiers of
deep-cover operation funneling money to Afghan rebels
via American-operated casinos in
Eager to please all comers, Dawood occasionally got his
wires crossed, providing travel documents and other
amenities to Islamist airplane hijackers. In response,
his investment in the Nepalese casinos. Dawood's fury
is legendary among locals. An honorable businessman, he
held to the strict belief that a deal is a deal and
there can be no reneging for any reason.
As
cities - hotel rates and apartment rentals are the
highest in the region - Dawood could have led a
comfortable life as top dog. Instead he suffered a
spasm of conscience, a newfound moral outrage, when
rightwing Hindu nationalists destroyed a mosque in
northern
worshippers, mostly women and children.
One a day in the following May, his henchmen set off
bombs across
personal convictions had - uncharacteristically -
overcome his dispassionate business ethics. Reeling in
shock, his top lieutenant, a Hindu, attempted to
assassinate Dawood. A bloody intra-gang war followed,
but as always Dawood triumphed, even while away in
exile in
In the ensuing decade, at the height of violence in
by boat from
beaches. This same method was used in the Mumbai
assault with more boats, seven craft according to
initial navy reports.
Why the timing of this raid, on the dawn of
Thanksgiving in
opposition and former deputy Prime Minister L. K.
Advani had long sought Dawood's extradition from
government in
civilian rule, the new Pakistani prime minister
(Gillani) consented to
legal claim and removed the longstanding "official
protection" accorded for his past services to Western
intelligence agencies. U.S. diplomats, however, could
never allow Dawood's return. He simply knows too much
about
Gulf, disclosure of which could scuttle U.S.-India
relations. Dawood was whisked away in late June to a
safe house in
the
As in the case of
bin Laden, the blowback to
suddenly, this time with spectacular effects in Mumbai.
The assault on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel will probably
go down as the first lethal blow to the incoming Obama
administration. The assailants, who spoke Punjabi and
not the
torch the prestigious hotel, which is owned by the Tata
Group. This industrial giant is the largest business
supporter of the U.S.-India nuclear cooperation
agreement, and Tata is now planning to become a nuclear
power supplier. The
were the first to suggest the nuclear deal with New
before he takes office.
Dawood, ranks fourth on Forbes' list of the world's 10
most wanted fugitives from the law. After the new round
of attacks that killed more than 100 people and laid
waste top five-star hotels, Dawood can now contend for
the No.1 spot in the coming months and years. In
contrast to the fanatic and often ineffective bin
Laden, Dawood is professional on all counts and
therefore a far more formidable adversary. Yet some in
is dead, killed in July. This version of events is much
the same as a variation of the bin Laden story. If
true, then his underlings are carrying on the mission
of an outlaw transfigured into a legend.
___________
Yoichi Shimatsu. Former editor of The
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