Interesting Times

by Salmah Umm Zainab

From NY Daily News, 21 December 2008:

U.S. intelligence was caught off-guard by Lashkar-e-Taiba's "highly sophisticated" Mumbai terror strikes last month, which top spies now consider the debut of a new "brand name" to rival Al Qaeda.

US intelligence was caught off guard? What happened to U.S. Warned India In October Of Potential Attack? The dubious high praise that has been lavished on the Mumbai terror strikes is obviously the involved intelligence agencies' way of patting themselves on the back - "highly sophisticated", "superb" - over the success of their "debut of a new 'brand name'" in terror. But what about it's initial creation and testmarketing?

The Islamist group was formed with Pakistani government help decades ago, but U.S. officials admit underestimating Lashkar's shift from waging a minor conflict in the Kashmir region to threatening Westerners and Jews.

Seems they are conveniently forgetting to mention US (and UK) involvement with LeT which, if we are reminded to think about at all, we are supposed to believe ended with the defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. And you have to love their feigned suprise as their product is taken from the "minor" Kashmiri test market (the unimportant people) to its introduction in the wider world market of Westerners and Jews (you know - the important people who will determine the success or failure of the product):

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Lashkar - which once focused on the India-Pakistan fight over Kashmir - hit a "new threshold" of terror by killing Americans, Brits and Jews.

"They specifically targeted a Jewish center that was off the main drag," Mullen recently told reporters. "It raises this outfit to a much higher level than where it was before."

There you have it: the testmarket of Pakistanis, Kashmiris and Indians was small-time. But introducing the product to the American, British and Jewish consumers took it to a whole "new threshold" - a "much higher level". It's important to know who you need to impress in matters such as this, if you want your product to be competitive and have real impact. Well, the LeT brand was well-received and shows great promise as an up-and-coming rival to al Qaeda -

Ex-CIA analyst Michael Scheuer declared it "a superb operation."

- but other market analysts are maintaining a wait and see attitude:

"There is real concern over the fact LeT has raised its profile," a U.S. counterterror official told the Daily News. "A lot of people are watching closely now to see if they're plotting new attacks."

New attacks that will again take those in the know by "suprise" as though they are just as unaware as are we consumers? I guess that is the secret of success in the terrorism business - making sure no one knows who owns the biggest shares in the companies. So how will they keep this new brand fresh and in the spotlight? Will there be a big export market for it or will it remain mainly for domestic consumption (with a minority of guest Americans, Brits and Jews whose 'targeted' importance far outweighs that of the majority around them, of course)?

Americans and Jews now face greater danger from Lashkar overseas, officials said.

"There are a lot of tourists in South Asia, and there's really not a lot we can do," Scheuer said.

"The question," said another intelligence official, "is whether Mumbai is a 'one-off' or if such operations could be sustained."

Reliable sources have it, however, that this is definitely the next big thing. If you liked al Qaeda, you'll love Lashkar-e-Taiba. So be prepared for a massive marketing offensive and a mushrooming of geo-strategic franchises. Then again, the corporate giants of terrorism who are behind these exciting brand names (the terrorists behind the terrorists or "double-terrorists") may go the more subtle route and tease us all for a while, keeping us on the edge of our seats and willing to give up more and more of the safeguards of our imagined democratic liberties; or maybe it will even be allowed to fizzle. It's anybody's guess for now.