The attack was aimed to stop Mumbai's international commerce, also. They wanted businessmen to think twice or thrice before coming to Mumbai. Lastly, I strongly found Al Qaeda here because I have been following Al Qaeda's Web site for several years. Often India, not just Kashmir, is mentioned.
Al Qaeda knows that India has a kind of soft underbelly, a soft spot, a weak spot unlike America, unlike Europe and other places like Saudi Arabia where many of the targets have been hardened and made difficult to attack.
India remains a soft target.
I thought this would be a major victory for the ideologues of Al Qaeda. Even if Al Qaeda itself has not commanded this act, it had all the hallmarks of it. At the end of 60 hours, when we were told that there were only 10 people and they were able to capture the media's attention for three days, I find it very worrying. Because, this will become a template, a model for future attacks that would be very spectacular on one hand and very cheap on other.
Al Qaeda has been very worried and troubled that they could not do any attack after 9/11, 2001 that was spectacular. It requires huge energy and resources. I feel Mumbai allowed them to find a cheap way to do something spectacular, again. For all these reasons it is a bad omen for the world. It is a terrible tragedy.
India will have to prepare for many more attacks like this. India will have to do something to prevent something like this from happening again. Or at least India should try to minimise the impact of such attacks.
Why do you say that many more attacks are possible?
Because, you have remained unprepared.
There is a friend who belongs to British intelligence. He told me a year ago when the attacks happened in London and Glasgow they found that Indians were involved in it. This officer follows British connection to Al Qaeda, its sympathisers and followers. He follows also what is going on within India.
He came to New Delhi this year. He told the authorities here that 'You have a real problem with young, radicalised, highly educated middle class people'. They are not just in India but they are also in other places in Europe.
India should be careful about the possibility of big attacks. At that time, according to him, the Indian authorities didn't take his warning seriously. I see definitely a trend. Muslims youth who are radicalised in India, in Pakistan, in the Middle East or in Europe, they see India as a soft target.
Image: Cafe Leopold in Colaba, one of the sites hit by the terrorists in last month's attacks on Mumbai, reopened on December 1. Photograph: Jayanta Shaw/Reuters.
Also read: India's lack of preparedness 'pathetic'
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