Mumbai: Who did it and why

It’s still speculative, but most fingers are pointing toward Pakistan and such terrorist groups as Lashkar e Tayyiba (LeT) and Jaish e Mohammed (JeM).

Yes, the attacks could’ve been homegrown. India is home to more than 150 million Muslims, including several active Islamist terror groups — one of which claimed responsibility for the attack early on. But few believe these indigenous groups could’ve pulled off such a well-coordinated, sustained assault without outside assistance from a highly capable foreign organization.

Some have mentioned al Qaeda because of the attack’s relative sophistication — and the simultaneity of the numerous strikes across Mumbai, India’s financial and (Bollywood) entertainment center.

The Indians claim al Qaeda doesn’t exist in their country, and the lack of suicide bombers lends credence to the idea it wasn’t Osama’s cronies. Yet his direction or inspiration for an attack can’t be ruled out — many of the suspect groups have al Qaeda ties.

Which leads us back to the notion the attacks were orchestrated by the likes of LeT and JeM.

In fact, the early investigation in Mumbai is focusing on a ship that may have carried the attackers from Pakistan to the waterfront near the Taj Mahal Hotel, one of their targets.

If it’s a pack of Pakistanis, their likeliest motive was the disputed territory of Kashmir, which India has held but Pakistan has also laid claim to since the two nations divided on gaining independence from Britain in 1947.

Kashmir has driven Islamabad and New Delhi to become enemies, leading to three wars and propelling both to become nuclear-weapons states in 1998.

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