Lifeline for GOP - the attempted bombing of NW Flight

I am so relieved that the attempted bombing of NW Flight (Amsterdam - Detroit) didnot materialize. I feel glad for the safety of travellers who had a ride of their life. There is no question that many pointers were missed which should have alerted the authorities. Still I feel the attacks on Obama are unfounded.

Just because Obama is focussing on issues like economy and healthcare, that doesnt mean that he is lax on security. The attacks are especially ridiculous in the light that the flight boarded from Amsterdam. I am surprised that democrats are not pointing out that it was a failure on Amsterdam's part. Yes, American bound flights are responsibility of US Govt too. But you cannot simply overtake control of airports all over the world.

One fact that absolutely needs to be addressed is that the suspect was on US terror watchlist! Still he was not subjected to special screening. This is a big loophole that can easily be fixed. You just need to run all the reservations against the terror watchlist. It is already happening in domestic flights. It needs to be implemented for US bound flights as well.

All this being said, I still think that Fox network and GOP establishment will do their best to milk this issue. Obama had a close call on this one. One only hopes that no other attack is successful in the future -- else I dont see how Obama can win a second term. And we do need Obama for full 8 years!!

Guantanamo Bay

I don't understand all this hoopla surrounding the closure of Guantanamo Bay. I say enough with the political posturing! GOP and even many democrats are against closing it down on the grounds that detainees pose security threat to US. While security is a legitimate concern, some of the concerns raised are pure ridiculous. I almost laugh anytime I read that senators don't want detainees to be held in US prisons. Since when is US afraid that it's current law enforcement and judicial system is sub standard?

Going by the same yardstick, suppose Osama Bin Laden is captured. Unarguably he is THE MOST dangerous terrorist, right? Would the same senators say that he should NOT be brought to US for justice?? Just think about it. They send soldiers to fight in foreign countries surrounded by terrorists. But they wont allow suspects to be held in high-security prisons in their state. How preposterous!

The issue is black and white. The detainees should be tried in US. If it is believed that a prisoner is dangerous, evidence should be provided! Else they should be released back to their home country. If the home country doesn't accept them, it is US responsibility to accept them. The allied countries should not even come into picture. On the other hand, prisoners found guilty should be held in US prisons.

In this Obama era, too many politicians are invoking our fear of danger to US. It is really pitiful that people who authorized wars against two COUNTRIES are now afraid of INDIVIDUALS.

In the wake of blasts

It angers me to see bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. Make no mistake, 8 bomb blasts in Bangalore and 17 in Ahmedabad represent colossal intelligence failure. There are so many shortcomings that are way too obvious. We don't have coordination between centre and state. This was made clear even in IISC shooting in Bangalore few years back. There is no central database that can track individuals with known criminal background. Even the police stations are horribly low tech. Just for example say a child gets lost in a city like Delhi, the poor parents can file a missing report. Now imagine, a few months later someone reports the same kid to some other police station, say in Gurgaon. Do you think, the child can ever make back to his parents? Now just imagine had this been computerized. A database that can record reports for missing children, and children who get reported. The possibilitis are amazing, right?

Still in a country where the funds never make to the ground level, such ideas remain a distant dream. Sometimes I feel like quitting whatever I am working on and heading back to India to implement such ideas. Then I am reminded of the politics and my horrid experience in police stations. Maybe someday I can rid myself of all the -ve fears and do something good for my country.

But I AM proud of how no communal violence broke out in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. It is easy for people like me who are sitting thousands of miles away to lecture that there should be no communal violence as that is exactly what the terrorists want. It is quite another thing for someone who has just lost some loved one. I applaud their courage. And I applaud the police and the army who kept extremist hindu/muslim outfits in control. I was surprised by the very sensible statement by Shivraj Patil. He was right on when he offered full help to Gujarat govt and refused to blame them for the failure to prevent attacks. Same cannot be said of the statements by Advani and Rajnath, who are bent on using the attacks to their political advantage. Shame on them. If they can remember, Karil war happened during their regime.

I pray for all those whose loved ones got killed/injured in these horrific attacks. I also hope Indian govt takes steps to improve its intelligence gathering. Centralization and computerization is the key. It is high time we went high tech on the war against terror.