The Siege Within and Without - India Today Conclave 2014

'We are better prepared after 26/11'

Session – The Siege Within and Without

The 26/11 attack was a failure of the imagination rather than of intelligence, Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad chief Himanshu Roy told the audience at a session titled 'The Session Within and Without—What India Needs to Win the War against Terror' at India Today Conclave 2014. "The world, not just India, is better prepared in its aftermath," he added, noting how the attack prompted authorities to establish a much more structured intelligence, acquire better weaponry and improve the monitoring of India's coastline. "We operate in a cynical environment. The scoreline in terrorism is like the score in a football match. The scoreboard only has goals scored, not the ones saved," he said while urging more support for India's counter-terrorism effort.

Author Adrian Levy called for more honesty on the part of the state in accepting realities, saying an honest, wide-ranging inquiry into 26/11 would have yielded more actionable information. Acknowledging that the Mumbai attack was symptomatic of how the nature of war has changed, author and journalist Hooman Majd said asymmetrical warfare is a challenge nation states will have to constantly confront. "A war on terror is unwinnable because terror is a strategy. Addressing the roots of terrorism is important," he concluded.

Source : Equity Bulls

Keywords