WHILST the US and allied forces are still reeling from the damaging blabbing of Bob Woodward in his new book captioned “Obama’s Wars”, another severe blow to the basic objective of defeating al Qaeda & Taliban operatives has been caused by a controversy surrounding Headley’s alleged role in ‘Mumbai Terrorist Attacks-2008’.
According to reports, two of the wives of American-Pakistan terror operative David Coleman Headley (who scouted targets for the Mumbai attacks), disclosed that they had passed on information about his links with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and his growing interest in India to FBI in 2005. In addition to a detailed account of his activity with LeT, they showed audio cassettes and ideological material and described his e-mails and calls from Pakistan and to individuals whom they thought to be extremists. The wives also told agents that Headley had bragged of working as a paid US informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Nevertheless, the FBI did not act on the tip-offs. The FBI admitted about the wives’ tip offs to US embassy in Pakistan, but denied the warnings were ignored. Federal officials say the FBI "looked into" the tip, but they declined to say what, if any, action was taken.
Before unraveling the mystery shrouded around dubious activities of Headley’s association with al Qaeda, it is pertinent to refresh the episode of ‘Mumbai Terrorist Attacks-2008’. In November 26-29, 2008, Mumbai was rocked by more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks, killing at least 173 people and wounding at least 308. Eight of the attacks occurred in South Mumbai: at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital (a women and children's hospital), Nariman House, the Metro Cinema, and a lane behind the Times of India building and St. Xavier's College. The Indian government said that the attackers came from Pakistan, and their controllers were in Pakistan. While condemning the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan denied involvement of any of its agencies hinting that it may be the handiwork of some “non-state actors” from its soil acting upon their own wish. Ever since Mumbai carnage, India has stalled peace talks that were started between two countries in 2004.
What is the role of Headley in Mumbai terrorist attacks-2008? David Coleman Headley, formerly known as Daood Sayed Gilani, (born June 30, 1960) is a Chicago-based Pakistani American, who allegedly conspired with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to launch the 2008 Mumbai attacks and other terrorist activity. Daood Gilani was born in Washington, DC, where his father, Sayed Salim Gilani, worked for the Voice of America. His Maryland-born mother, (Alice) Serrill Headley (1939–2008), worked as a secretary at the Pakistani embassy in Washington at the time of his birth and was the daughter of former University of Maryland football star L. Coleman Headley. In 1997 he was one of two men arrested for smuggling heroin into the country from Pakistan, but was discharged in November 2001. Headley traveled to Pakistan multiple times to conduct undercover surveillance operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2002 and three times in 2003, he attended Lashkar-e-Taiba training camps in Pakistan. He changed his Muslim name to a Christian name to hide his Muslim identity to make travel to India easier. Between 2002 and 2005, Headley made several trips to Pakistan for terror training, and was in fact working as a Drug Enforcement Administration informant at the same time. Between 2006 and 2008, he did five spying missions in Mumbai scouting targets for the 2008 Mumbai attacks on behalf of LeT. In 2009, Headley traveled to Britain to help plan an attack against a Danish newspaper that had published cartoons of the prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He was arrested in October 2009 on his way to Pakistan. Since his arrest, Headley has been yielding much information about his associates to US & Indian authorities. Indian media gave intense coverage and blew the issue out of proportion, as it is the latest ploy in implicating Pakistan for the devastating Mumbai attacks.
Headley pleaded guilty to all charges on March 18, 2010. He faces life in prison and a three million dollar fine when he is sentenced. As soon as Headley was arrested in Chicago, Indian investigators wanted the FBI to share its tapes of Headley's communications with his Pakistani handlers to match with the voices taped on cell phones during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. However, in June 2010, US National Security Adviser James Jones announced that India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been given access to Headley. India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case against Headley for allegedly plotting the 2008 Mumbai attacks in India. As expected the single-tracked NIA has confirmed that Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists carried out the Mumbai attack under the "guidance" of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). According to NIA, Headley stated that the ISI was engaged with the Lashkar commanders responsible for the Mumbai carnage at each and every stage of the plot. NIA disclosed that during his visits to Mumbai, Headley gathered video footage and GPS coordinates. After each visit, Headley returned to Pakistan and provided Lashkar operatives with videotapes of the potential targets and seaborne landing locations nearby. This information was used to execute the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
In an in-depth analysis on Mumbai attackers, Ms Christine Fair - a political scientist at the RAND Corporation analyzed that the attacks though attributed largely to Pakistan LeT, doesn't mean that India's internal challenges are less dire. There are numerous internal insurgent Organisations who are already angered over Indian atrocities on Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, etc. It is very worrisome that marginalization of Indian dissatisfied and underprivileged community is directly proportional to the increase in radicalism leading to the incident such as Mumbai attacks and Punne blast. Apart from the rise of Muslims radicalism in India, Hindu extremist organizations and its leader are proliferating hatred propaganda against Pakistan, Islam or Muslim. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Shive Sena (SS) are the Xenophobic and fundamentalist party that implicated “official Pakistan” in the macabre Mumbai attacks of Nov 26, and then stalled the composite dialogues process featuring Pakistan. The so-called Headley’s confessions were intended to trigger a military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbours - India & Pakistan. With their jingoistic policies, they have been raising frivolous and obscurantist issues at a synchronized time to stall a planned rapprochement between the two neighbourly countries. India media disclosed that serving Indian Lt Col Purohit along with others army officers have accepted the responsibility of destroying Samjhota Express that took the toll of 300 innocent Pakistani lives. The murder of police officer Hemant Karkare, who was probing the Malegaon blasts, was the doing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or Bajrang Dal. New Delhi averts attention from home-grown terrorism when it brings in Pakistan. India must put its house in order before placing any allegation on others for its own misdoing.
In the wake of President Obama’s visit to India, airing the case of David Headley is aimed to please India and to tarnish the image of Pakistan. There are many hazy spots in David Headley’s story. Headley drama cannot be seen in isolation, as it is part of conspiracy to isolate Pakistan from the international community. In this respect, Headley’s guilty plea is part of a plot against Pakistan. As interpreted from Headley’s statements, it is revealed that Mumbai terrorist attacks-2008 were a well-coordinated scheme between RAW, CIA and Hindu terrorist outfits. In this respect, David Headley was used in connection with that catastrophe. He was supposed to infiltrate the RAW-trained fundamentalists and CIA-instructed groups so as to promote attacks that could then be blamed on Pakistan. Additionally, western countries would have a reason to take stock of Muslims population living in their communities. In nutshell, David Headley who has been used to implicate Pakistan had, in fact, his real connections with Indian RAW and American CIA.
According to reports, two of the wives of American-Pakistan terror operative David Coleman Headley (who scouted targets for the Mumbai attacks), disclosed that they had passed on information about his links with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and his growing interest in India to FBI in 2005. In addition to a detailed account of his activity with LeT, they showed audio cassettes and ideological material and described his e-mails and calls from Pakistan and to individuals whom they thought to be extremists. The wives also told agents that Headley had bragged of working as a paid US informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Nevertheless, the FBI did not act on the tip-offs. The FBI admitted about the wives’ tip offs to US embassy in Pakistan, but denied the warnings were ignored. Federal officials say the FBI "looked into" the tip, but they declined to say what, if any, action was taken.
Before unraveling the mystery shrouded around dubious activities of Headley’s association with al Qaeda, it is pertinent to refresh the episode of ‘Mumbai Terrorist Attacks-2008’. In November 26-29, 2008, Mumbai was rocked by more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks, killing at least 173 people and wounding at least 308. Eight of the attacks occurred in South Mumbai: at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital (a women and children's hospital), Nariman House, the Metro Cinema, and a lane behind the Times of India building and St. Xavier's College. The Indian government said that the attackers came from Pakistan, and their controllers were in Pakistan. While condemning the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan denied involvement of any of its agencies hinting that it may be the handiwork of some “non-state actors” from its soil acting upon their own wish. Ever since Mumbai carnage, India has stalled peace talks that were started between two countries in 2004.
What is the role of Headley in Mumbai terrorist attacks-2008? David Coleman Headley, formerly known as Daood Sayed Gilani, (born June 30, 1960) is a Chicago-based Pakistani American, who allegedly conspired with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to launch the 2008 Mumbai attacks and other terrorist activity. Daood Gilani was born in Washington, DC, where his father, Sayed Salim Gilani, worked for the Voice of America. His Maryland-born mother, (Alice) Serrill Headley (1939–2008), worked as a secretary at the Pakistani embassy in Washington at the time of his birth and was the daughter of former University of Maryland football star L. Coleman Headley. In 1997 he was one of two men arrested for smuggling heroin into the country from Pakistan, but was discharged in November 2001. Headley traveled to Pakistan multiple times to conduct undercover surveillance operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2002 and three times in 2003, he attended Lashkar-e-Taiba training camps in Pakistan. He changed his Muslim name to a Christian name to hide his Muslim identity to make travel to India easier. Between 2002 and 2005, Headley made several trips to Pakistan for terror training, and was in fact working as a Drug Enforcement Administration informant at the same time. Between 2006 and 2008, he did five spying missions in Mumbai scouting targets for the 2008 Mumbai attacks on behalf of LeT. In 2009, Headley traveled to Britain to help plan an attack against a Danish newspaper that had published cartoons of the prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He was arrested in October 2009 on his way to Pakistan. Since his arrest, Headley has been yielding much information about his associates to US & Indian authorities. Indian media gave intense coverage and blew the issue out of proportion, as it is the latest ploy in implicating Pakistan for the devastating Mumbai attacks.
Headley pleaded guilty to all charges on March 18, 2010. He faces life in prison and a three million dollar fine when he is sentenced. As soon as Headley was arrested in Chicago, Indian investigators wanted the FBI to share its tapes of Headley's communications with his Pakistani handlers to match with the voices taped on cell phones during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. However, in June 2010, US National Security Adviser James Jones announced that India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been given access to Headley. India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case against Headley for allegedly plotting the 2008 Mumbai attacks in India. As expected the single-tracked NIA has confirmed that Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists carried out the Mumbai attack under the "guidance" of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). According to NIA, Headley stated that the ISI was engaged with the Lashkar commanders responsible for the Mumbai carnage at each and every stage of the plot. NIA disclosed that during his visits to Mumbai, Headley gathered video footage and GPS coordinates. After each visit, Headley returned to Pakistan and provided Lashkar operatives with videotapes of the potential targets and seaborne landing locations nearby. This information was used to execute the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
In an in-depth analysis on Mumbai attackers, Ms Christine Fair - a political scientist at the RAND Corporation analyzed that the attacks though attributed largely to Pakistan LeT, doesn't mean that India's internal challenges are less dire. There are numerous internal insurgent Organisations who are already angered over Indian atrocities on Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, etc. It is very worrisome that marginalization of Indian dissatisfied and underprivileged community is directly proportional to the increase in radicalism leading to the incident such as Mumbai attacks and Punne blast. Apart from the rise of Muslims radicalism in India, Hindu extremist organizations and its leader are proliferating hatred propaganda against Pakistan, Islam or Muslim. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Shive Sena (SS) are the Xenophobic and fundamentalist party that implicated “official Pakistan” in the macabre Mumbai attacks of Nov 26, and then stalled the composite dialogues process featuring Pakistan. The so-called Headley’s confessions were intended to trigger a military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbours - India & Pakistan. With their jingoistic policies, they have been raising frivolous and obscurantist issues at a synchronized time to stall a planned rapprochement between the two neighbourly countries. India media disclosed that serving Indian Lt Col Purohit along with others army officers have accepted the responsibility of destroying Samjhota Express that took the toll of 300 innocent Pakistani lives. The murder of police officer Hemant Karkare, who was probing the Malegaon blasts, was the doing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or Bajrang Dal. New Delhi averts attention from home-grown terrorism when it brings in Pakistan. India must put its house in order before placing any allegation on others for its own misdoing.
In the wake of President Obama’s visit to India, airing the case of David Headley is aimed to please India and to tarnish the image of Pakistan. There are many hazy spots in David Headley’s story. Headley drama cannot be seen in isolation, as it is part of conspiracy to isolate Pakistan from the international community. In this respect, Headley’s guilty plea is part of a plot against Pakistan. As interpreted from Headley’s statements, it is revealed that Mumbai terrorist attacks-2008 were a well-coordinated scheme between RAW, CIA and Hindu terrorist outfits. In this respect, David Headley was used in connection with that catastrophe. He was supposed to infiltrate the RAW-trained fundamentalists and CIA-instructed groups so as to promote attacks that could then be blamed on Pakistan. Additionally, western countries would have a reason to take stock of Muslims population living in their communities. In nutshell, David Headley who has been used to implicate Pakistan had, in fact, his real connections with Indian RAW and American CIA.
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