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| 2008 Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai |
Need another reason why the US should carry on with the War on Terrorism in Afghanistan? Well here you go. This past week, the CIA and other European intelligence officials foiled another terrorist plot that was set to unfold simultaneously in several cities throughout Europe. Officials have said that this commando style terrorist plot was allegedly modeled after the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, where over 160 people were killed in coordinated attacks against hotels and other popular tourist locations. This foiled terrorist plot was set to take place in Britain, France and Germany and was planned by terrorist groups based in the tribal regions of the Pakistani-Afghani border region.[i] In addition, US officials also now claim that Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden were involved in planning this attack.
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| Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Region |
This foiled attack plot and the Mumbai attacks signify a changed strategy in the style of attacks that Al-Qaeda and other Islamic terrorist groups are planning.
“Because of the U.S.-led crackdown on Al Qaeda and other terror groups, Bin Laden and his allies have changed strategy -- abandoning their earlier preference for big spectacular attacks like the one on the World Trade Center in 2001 in favor of using low-impact technology, as they did two years ago in Mumbai in an attack that devastated India.”[ii]
This new strategy of attacks requires new tactics in finding and thwarting these attacks. Luckily, because of our presence in Afghanistan and in the border/tribal regions of Pakistan, the CIA and other European Intelligence officials have been able to adapt to this new strategy and stop an attack on Europe that could have killed hundreds, if not thousands. The CIA has adapted to this new threat by increasing its use of Drone missile strikes against militants in the border regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. These Drone missile strikes are essential in preventing more terrorist attacks throughout the globe. A counterterrorism official explains the importance of these strikes further here; “We've been hitting targets that pose a threat to our troops in Afghanistan and terrorists plotting attacks in South Asia and beyond." [iii]
These crucial drone strikes and other intelligence efforts that foiled this potentially deadly terrorist attack would not have been possible if it weren’t for our strong military presence in Afghanistan and other strategic areas throughout the Middle East. Our military presence provides a secure and stable platform for us to engage in strategic intelligence gathering so that we can stop these terrorist attacks before they start. Isn’t this the reason why we are fighting a war on terrorism in Afghanistan? Is it not our mission to provide security to the region and gather intelligence to stop future terrorist attacks against innocent civilians? I believe it is and that is exactly what we are doing in Afghanistan and elsewhere. For people who doubt the importance of our presence in Afghanistan, you need to look no further than these recent events that have unfolded in the past week. What would have happened to the people of Britain, France and Germany if the US decided to pull out of Afghanistan last summer and leave a highly unstable and war torn region on their own? I think we all know the answer to that question.
Wake up America. The threat of extremist terrorists coming from those situated in Afghanistan and Pakistan is not going away time soon and it certainly will not become any better if we decide give in to them now and withdrawal our troops. Lets face it, for the safety of the citizens of the United States and the World we must continue to confront the threat of Terrorism in the Middle East. We are moving in the right direction after the foiling of this recent terrorist plot and we need to continue moving in that direction by maintaining a strategic military presence in the Middle East that can continue to uncover and stop these terrorist attacks from ever happening again.
God Bless Our Troops and God Bless America.
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