India's Security Gaffes
The Real World Failures of India’s Well-Trained Security Forces
Dec 28, 2008
India has been a coveted partner in the war on terror, and the benefactor of counter-terrorism training from the U.S., Russia, and China. In January 2000, the U.S. established the U.S.–India Joint Working Group on Counterterrorism to oversee, and expand the Antiterrorism Training Assistance Program, which trained India’s police force in procedures for counter-terrorism operations. (1) In the wake of 9/11, the working group took on new significance, and U.S. sponsored anti-terrorism training and capacity building programs in India greatly expanded.
December 20-25 2007, India and China conducted "Hand in Hand 2007", a joint military counterterrorism training exercise, which was established by the May 2006 Sino-Indian Memorandum of Understanding that solidified the partnership of China and India in the war on terror. (2) In October 2005, India hosted a joint counterterrorism training exercise with Russia, India’s primary defense supplier, called INDRA-2005, which was expanded upon in 2007 to include India’s Navy. (3)
The Counter Insurgency Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) in India’s North East was hailed as, “the most amazing military training facility anywhere,” by a U.S. Green Beret sent to the school for a training program that included urban terrorism. CIJWS has emerged as a primer anti-terrorism training institute since its official establishment in 1970, and has trained over 159,000 soldiers, including 1,500 soldiers from 26 countries as diverse as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Uzbekistan. (4)
The sophistication of India’s training in anti-terrorism, however, did not prevent 10 militants from sailing undetected into Mumbai, and launching a coordinated attack against 10 targets that held the city in siege from Nov. 26-29 in 2008. India’s security forces were subjected to intense criticism following the siege for intelligence failures, and mishandling counter-terror operations. The ability of the militants to arrive by boat, and launch a well-planned attack with no forewarning indicated a lax maritime surveillance system, and an intelligence community with poor information on the terrorist groups that target India.
Israeli security officials have widely criticized India’s security forces for their handling of hostage situations in Mumbai, particularly at the Chabad House, a Jewish community center, where all hostages were killed. The failure of Indian security forces to secure the area, and gather appropriate information about the hostages before engaging in a firefight were cited as major breaches of procedure at the Taj Mahal Hotel and Oberoi Hotel. The 12 hour battle launched by Indian security forces on Nov. 27 to retake the Chabad House was viewed as a colossal error by Israeli security experts, because the captives had no possibility of surviving it. (5)
India’s security blunders reached comic proportions with the subsequent investigation into the Mumbai attacks. The December 5 2008 arrest of Mukhtar Ahmed and Tauseef Rahman by Indian police in Calcutta for illegally supplying the phone cards used by the militants in the attacks was initially touted as a success of Indian law enforcement, however, it resulted in a public feud with Indian police in the Kashmir region. Police in Indian Kashmir reportedly warned Calcutta police that Mukhtar Ahmed was a Special Police Officer who sold the cards as part of an undercover operation. Senior police officials in the Kashmir region are now demanding his release, however, Calcutta police have refused, stating that the claims about Ahmed are untrue. (6)
(1) Joint U.S.-India Statement on Counterterrorism Working Group. Dept. of State. June 26, 2001
(2) “India-China hold joint counterterrorism exercise” Middle East Times. Dec. 19, 2007.
(3) “Russia-India set to conduct counter-terrorism exercise in 2007” RIA Novosti. 1/20/07
(5) “Israeli experts: slow operation meant no chance for hostages at Mumbai’s Chabad house.” Amos Harel. Haaretz. 12/3/08
(6) “Indian police arrest 2 men in Mumbai investigation” by Aijaz Hussain. AP. 12/6/08
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