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The lessons range from how the attackers knew about the “vulnerabilities” of security forces to the need for police training in “heavy weapons,” a programme that has been incorporated into the NYPD after the Mumbai attack.
The testimonies were presented by senior officials of the FBI and the New York Police Department before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. And detail the steps taken in the aftermath of the Mumbai attack.
“Part of the reason the members of the Lashkar-e-Toiba were able to inflict severe casualties was that, for the most part, the local police did not engage them. Their weapons were not sufficiently powerful and they were not trained for that type of conflict. It took more than 12 hours for the Indian commandos to arrive,” said Police Commissioner Raymond W Kelly of NYPD in his statement on January 8. He also said that the “attackers appeared to know their targets better than the responding commandos”.
The testimonies reveal important information about the US response. An FBI team had landed in Mumbai on November 29 itself, followed by a team of three senior officials of NYPD on December 3, as first reported by The Indian Express. The seniormost of the NYPD officers was the one who had been flown into Mumbai from Amman in 2006 on a similar mission following the serial train bombings. “The relationships he forged during that trip proved helpful in November,” said Kelly.
Even while the operation in Mumbai was on, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) started issuing alerts to state and local offices with the latest updates. On December 3, an intelligence bulletin was issued to building owners and operators to alert them to preliminary findings regarding the techniques and tactics used by terrorists in Mumbai attacks.
“The bulletin indicated that the FBI and DHS had no credible or specific information that terrorists were planning similar operations against similar buildings in the United States, but urged local authorities and building owners and operators to be aware of potential attack tactics,” said Donald Van Duyn, Chief Intelligence Officer of FBI, during his testimony.
He added: “In Mumbai, the Indian government gave FBI unprecedented access to evidence and intelligence related to the attacks from the Mumbai Police and the Indian Intelligence Bureau. The FBI was provided access to most of the attack locations and technical evidence recovered from the scenes. The FBI was able to use advanced forensic and technical exploitation techniques to develop critical leads for both the Indian and US investigations. The FBI also conducted more than 60 interviews of individuals in Mumbai, including witnesses with first-hand accounts of the attacks and security personnel who were involved in responding to the attacks.”
On December 5, NYPD arranged a meeting of 3000 private security operators in New York and linked them through teleconference with its team in Mumbai.
“We posted photographs and maps to help them visualize locations. We also reviewed a list of best practices in hotel security,” Kelly said.
Kelly said NYPD had also initiated extensive checks at several major hotels immediately after the attack.
The inadequacy of the Indian response was also brought out by Charles Allen, Under Secretary for Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analyses.
“In Mumbai it was not immediately clear to authorities whether there were multiple attack groups or a single group. The attackers were able to exploit the initial confusion because of the indiscriminate firings to move on to new targets. While preparedness training for this type of attack may not have prevented it, the effects likely could have been mitigated and reduced if the authorities had been prepared and had exercised responses to terrorist attacks across all levels of government,” he said.
The three officials told the committee about the lessons that US agencies were drawing from the Mumbai attack. The salient ones:
Disrupted plots may resurface: In February 2008, Mumbai police had arrested a LeT operative who revealed that important landmarks were terror targets. But security was lowered to routine levels after some time
Security must be unpredictable for the adversary, but predictably responsive to those it is meant to protect; the attackers were able to ascertain “the routines and vulnerabilities of security forces at the primary targets during pre-operational phase.”
Unified command system is of paramount importance if governments are to respond to terrorist attacks quickly and effectively
Attack sites must be protected to collect intelligence and evidence to identify the perpetrators.
Relatively localised terrorist groups can have capabilities to strike in foreign lands
Small number of trained and determined attackers with relatively unsophisticated weapons can do a great deal of damage.
Shift in tactics from suicide bombs to a commando-style military assault
Sophisticated level of training, coordination and stamina of terrorists who clearly have extensive practice of their operations. Experienced in working together as a unit as exemplified in the use of hand signals to communicate across loud and crowded places.
Police need to train in heavy weapons. On December 15, 16, 17, NYPD gave its police recruits basic instruction in three types of heavy weapons. This training will now be made a routine part of police academy course.
When lives are at stake, law enforcement needs to find ways to disrupt cell phones and other communications in a pinpointed way against terrorists who are using them.
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Wise men learn from one mistake of others.Fools never learn from thousands of their own.
It is rather sad that Hindus are not wieldiing weapons and still think that elephant or a red beacon on the top of a car is a protection, this is part of the but- parasti whihc islamists found unacceptable. Only way out of the predicament is that the guns should be freely available and atleast 20-30 million indians should be able to shoot straight. On strictly man to man comparison more pakistanis may be able to shoot accurately than Indians ,this would be significant to back up the eeforts of indian army which too is likley to be brittle like other hindoo institutions in case of a prolonged conflict. Strict gun control and licence permit raj alongwith poor security appartus shall expose India to being Sone Ki Chiriya, not lion like China or America, nickname again and population shall see the holocaust nightmares repeated( Monglos,Taimur,Naidr Shah, Gauri, Gazni et al the guest appearances in this land of flaccid responses.)
Such findings and reports should be used to make our politicians and the Babus accountable in their in-actions. Mr. Home Minister, just by copying FBI and setting up new agency NIA India can not solve our problem. We need to change the attitude all together. India has been a victim of terror attacks so many times. So the need for review and a corrective actions should have been done long ago. People should ask for the accountibiity from all those concerned. Our attitude of "Chalta Hai" should be changed and for this people shoul start more demanding.
It is shame no such "lessons learnt" exercise has been done in India while the Americans have already gone to implement these lessons! India is a soft weak country where life is cheap because it is plentiful and largely poor. We will suffer from more such attacks as we will not coordinate our security and intelligence efforts. Even the "new" NIA is turning out to be one more bureaucratic outfit with no over riding powers to demand and enforce at the pain of severe punishment, total obedience from other intelligence and police outfits when dealing with terrorism. Th excuse that "law and order" being a State subject does not wash as in the US, anti terror measures are taken at the city level with backup support from the State and Federal forces. In India cities have ZERO power. Everything rests with the State Government which is in the hands of decrepit Chief Ministers more interested in pandering to Muslim sentiments than protecting their people!
It's sad but true Indan police force are corrupt execpt CRPF. It's the time retrain our police force to protect citizens not just the politicians.
Your news on the observations of security officials to U.S. Senate is not surprising. They have gently avoided to be blunt. Both in Pakistan and India democracy has ceased to function. The only difference between us is lack of political/religious violence in day to day life of India compared to that of Pakistan. Otherwise both the nations ar same and U.S. officials avoided to state bluntly that neither India has efficient and responsive administration nor able to save itself from corruption. While Satyam's Raju is arrested there is no worry in Indian society about a minister continuing his post inspite of spectrum allocation fraud, no one is worried how a jailed politician can hold a cabinet rank in the central ministry, no one was arrested even after BJP MPs showing currency bundles in front of TV Cameras, Mayavati is undisturbed about birthday collections even though there is a murder and well the corrupt cricketer is tipped for Hyderabad MP seat! Better US keeps mum !
US Agencies has painted the true picture ofthe failure of Inidan Intelligence agencies. If PM, Chairperson of the incumbent governmet has an an iota of shame, should resign owning responsibility for the massacre of innocent people and should sack the chief of all inte3lligence agencies and the Mumbai Police Commissioner as well. Political will is the main difference between American government and Indian government otherwise how such a drastic failure of Indian Intelligence could have taken place? Indian Intelligence agencies listen to the Political Masters than the conscience.
Great. This is where the core financial, marketting and business school should learn a lesson how to exploit the situation to sell the products. If you read the matter again , you will find that the US insistingly trying to tell about the weapons that we badly need, as if we are a just born country and we have no credibiity towards our own security. They want to make people understand that buying weapons from US or its KId Israel is inevtiable. We condemn it. They sould not misguilde the world that we are a weak nation. No. India Is capable and strong. It was the question of life of the hostages that took time or Our proud commandows cuold have killed them in minutes. We dont really need the weapons or support or anything from these Terror growing and Terror Cuasing countries.US and Israel are terror soultion selling nations. terror solution is their product and they need market for their product so they create the market around the world. CURVE BALL is a great example. JAI HIND.
Dear Ms Suzane (which is clearly not your real name!),people like you part of the problem!If you are Indian, the very fact that you couldn't come up with real name tells a lot about your loyalties OR you are a Pakistani trying to deflect from important lessons which India could learn from sophisticated agencies like FBI.
This should be eye opening for we Indians. How the corrupt govts and netas are not paying any attention to modernization of Army and the police. The terrorists are much better equipped with communication means and state-of-the-art weapons.
The irony of the entire episode is that US is using the episode as a learning experience from the failure of our authorities, while Indian Govt. is still confused about how to prevent such situations in future. Even the Govt. of India is wasting its time by making irratic statements, which Pakistan does not care about anyway. So goes the saying " jo baadal garajte hein woh baaraste nahin"
Good, see how they are learning from others mistake and making sure that it won't happen there. What we learn? what we are doing? are we waiting for the next to happen again? they are 100% right, lack of cordination and traning made the things worst.
Eposure of Indian 'law and security' system once again...
Ok Amithab Sinha, All that said was good and NYPD is learning a lesson from Mumbai attack. Is there a similar learning news from Mumabi police or any Indian authorities? If you are a god journalist dare to portray what our local authorities learned so far that would help