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The attack on multiple targets in Mumbai, India in November 2008 by ten terrorists of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) organization ranks among the most significant acts of international terrorism since 9/11. Not only did the terrorists put a city of twelve million people under siege, they captured the attention of the global media for sixty hours. This fulfilled the first objective of any terrorist attack - terrorize your target authence. The attack is certain to be a model for terrorists around the world to copy.
The events in Mumbai were meticulously planned, and the terrorists were well-trained and equipped. During the attack, communication with the operation's masterminds in Pakistan was maintained via cell phone. The attack severely disrupted a budding rapprochement between India and Pakistan - likely one of its major goals - and highlighted the emergence of LeT as a major player in the global Islamic jihadist movement. Indeed, the killers' targets - Indians, Europeans, Americans, Israelis, and Jews - are the targets of the global Islamic jihad and Al Qaeda, of which LeT has long been a close ally and confederate.
Since the attack, LeT, which has had a longstanding and intimate relationship with Pakistan's army and intelligence service, has not been dismantled. While a few leaders have been arrested, the organization's infrastructure in Pakistan and elsewhere remains intact. Thus another LeT mass casualty attack on India could come at any time.
India displayed remarkable restraint after the Mumbai attacks, primarily because it lacks good military options for retaliation against Pakistani targets. But such restraint is unlikely to survive many more such horrific attacks. With this in mind, New Delhi is working on options to respond to the next Pakistan-based terror attack on its interests.
American interests in South Asia, including the NATO war in Afghanistan, would be set back considerably by another attack similar to Mumbai, especially if it results in a major Indian military response. The United States should make shutting down the operational capability of LeT a major diplomatic objective. To do so, it will have to subtly address the underlying issues that shape Pakistani behavior toward terror in order to ease Indian-Pakistani tensions. This will involve encouraging a continuation of the Indian-Pakistani dialogue that the Mumbai attacks sought to...