Editorial: After Mumbai
Boston Globe, July 14, 2006

THE CALLER to an Indian news agency who praised Tuesday's bombings of Mumbai commuter trains in the name of an Al Qaeda branch in Kashmir might have been an impostor. But there is no denying that elements of Tuesday's atrocity bear a disturbing resemblance to past attacks mounted or inspired by Osama bin Laden's network.

For India, it is crucial to determine if Mumbai was hit in the same way as New York, Madrid, and London, in pursuance of the same grandiose goals, or by a more parochial local group, perhaps one of the Kashmir-oriented terrorist outfits originating in Pakistan.

The planning and operational sophistication needed to detonate seven bombs within 11 minutes at the height of rush hour suggest an Al Qaeda-type operation. Even the date, 7/11, echoes earlier jihadi bombings associated with Al Qaeda, as does the selection of a target at the nexus of a commercial and transportation system in a great city. Mumbai, formerly Bombay, is India's center for finance and movie-making.

The timing of the Mumbai attack also coincides with two significant developments in India's foreign policy. One is the recent nuclear deal with the Bush administration that is meant to become the cornerstone of a strategic partnership between the world's two biggest pluralistic democracies. It would be consistent with bin Laden's concept of a global war against non-Muslim ``crusader" powers if he were to punish India for entering into a strategic alliance with the United States.

The other development that may have provoked the Mumbai atrocity is an imminent renewal of India-Pakistan peace talks. Based on their past performances, extremist groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba or the Students Islamic Movement of India might well have planted the explosives in the Mumbai commuter trains to derail those talks.

Thus far, Indians and their government have reacted to the bombings with admirable resiliency and sangfroid. Within hours, the trains were running again in Mumbai, and the city had resumed its vibrant life. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India called for calm, sagely avoiding any temptation to fan fears or point fingers before the perpetrators could be identified. And Pakistan's foreign ministry issued an emphatic denunciation of the train bombing and of all terrorism.

But both nations are engaged in stoking separatist or oppositional movements in each other's backyard. These operations are pursued in shadow by their security services. They extend not only to Kashmir but also to Afghanistan and the region of Pakistan known as Baluchistan. These practices destabilize a large swath of south Asia, and they nourish terrorism. The best antidote to this syndrome would be a comprehensive peace accord between India and Pakistan.

Should it turn out that Al Qaeda was behind the Mumbai bombing, the geopolitical effect could be to accelerate movement toward a resolution of the 60-year quarrel between India and Pakistan. Al Qaeda leaders have called for the assassination of President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and have tried to kill him at least twice. The two nations share a profound interest in resisting the tide of jihadi terrorism.