Pakistan and the Mumbai Attacks: The Untold Story (Kindle Single) [Kindle Edition]

Sebastian Rotella (Author)

Book Description

The 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai offer a rare picture of the ties between Pakistan’s intelligence service and the militant group Lashkar-i-Taiba. The trail of two key figures, an accused Pakistani mastermind and his American operative, traces the rise of a complex, international threat.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Based on sworn testimony, interrogation reports, and official sources from the United States, India, Pakistan, France, Britain, Australia, and Israel, Sebastian Rotella and the ProPublica newsroom present a compelling new look at the people, relationships, and events that led to the gruesome 2008 terror attack on Mumbai. If you've never heard of Lashkar-i-Taiba, chances are, you will. The organization behind the attacks was long treated as "merely" a threat to India, though the case for the group's international ambitions and its relationship to Pakistan's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have become nearly impossible to ignore. For shear cloak-and-dagger value alone, this extended piece of journalism offers a gripping read (no less so due to the part played by one particularly surprising conspirator, an American named David Coleman Headley), but its being regrettably true only raises the stakes. So what? In the words of Charles Faddis, a retired CIA chief of regional counterterrorism operations, "It's a classic problem in the U.S. intelligence community: failing to anticipate new threats and focusing completely on the one that already hit us." --Jason Kirk

Product Details

• File Size: 127 KB
• Print Length: 38 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: ProPublica; 1 edition (January 18, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004JU0QIS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,668 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #11 in Kindle Store > Kindle Singles > The World Stage
  • #16 in Kindle Store > Kindle Singles > Reporting
  • #19 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > National & International Security

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Short, Gripping, Informative February 1, 2011

By Dr. Bojan Tunguz HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Mumbai terrorist attacks that occurred on 26th of November 2008 have often been characterized as India's own version of "9/11" attacks. The brazenness of the attacks, the high level of planning and organization that went into them, and the tragic loss of over 160 lives shocked India and the entire World. From the very outset of the attacks it was clear that they originated in Pakistan. In subsequent years many of the details of the planning phases of the attacks had become clear, but there is still a lot that remains unclear. In particular, the exact nature of involvement (if any) of the Pakistani intelligence services has not been publicly clarified. It is the aim of this brief "Kindle single" to shed some more light on those connection based on the best available evidence.

Based on the testimony of one surviving attacker and several other sources it became clear very early on in the investigation that the group responsible for the attacks was Lashkar-i-Taiba, a Pakistani militant Islamist organization. The organization was probably formed or supported by the Pakistani secret service (ISI) as a covert organization that mostly operated inside Kashmir and Afghanistan. The man who was in charge of Lashkar goes by the name Sajid Mir, although it is not certain that is his real name. He masterminded the attacks and through cell phones was in direct control of the events as they enfolded. He had given direct orders for the assassination of several civilians that had been held hostage, and the details of those executions are chilling. Since the attacks Mir has been implicated in several other plots against Western targets, which have thankfully been foiled. Nonetheless, to this day Mir remains at large....

This short "single" goes into quite a bit of detail about the attacks and their possible connection to ISI. Although there is a lot of circumstantial evidence that ISI has been at least been supportive of Lashkar in the past, there is no conclusive evidence that it had any part in the Mumbai attacks. Nonetheless, the involvement of some of the highest Pakistani military and security organizations with as radical of an organization as Lashkar is embarrassing to say the least. This is probably the main reason why individuals like Sajid Mir remain at large - their capture and interrogation would probably reveal too many dirty secrets. It is also clear from this single that treating terrorism exclusively within the framework of law enforcement is naďve and does not correspond to the facts on the ground.

This is a very readable short single, filled with facts and valuable information. It reads like a spy novel, which is a bit unsettling - it would be comforting to think that some of the worst-case scenarios involving dangerous paramilitary organizations would only be confined to fiction. Unfortunately, we live in a dangerous World and this Kindle single serves as a useful reminder of this fact. Read more ›

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very well written account of the Mumbai attacks January 31, 2011

By C. Daniele

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I just recently purchased a Kindle 3 and was eager to jump in and read a good story. I came across this and after getting hooked on the free sample, I downloaded the full text. At 99 cents and 38 pages, it's a no brainer. I really enjoyed how much detail the author went into and the way he presented his facts.

Before reading this, I had no idea the attackers were on cell phones getting orders the entire time. Nor did I know anything about the terrorist group called Lashkar. I also learned a thing or two more about Pakistan and our relationship with India.

It's was nice to see the author's attempt at keeping bias to a minimum, by highlighting and comparing the new reports from Europe, USA, and India. I'll be keeping an eye on this author because i truly enjoyed his writing style and I hope to read more works by him in the near future. :)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant journalism, wonderful read, can't recommend highly enough February 27, 2011

By Steven Lewis, Author

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Like Lifted (Kindle Single), this is a wonderful piece of journalistic storytelling that's a perfect use of the Kindle Singles format. If you're interested in investigative journalism and the light it can shed on stories you think you know something about, this is a must-buy.

It's a particularly fascinating read against today's situation in Pakistan with the CIA operative under arrest for killing two men.

We live in frightening and interesting times.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Packs a Punch February 12, 2011

By Rajeev Rajagopalan

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

For a short report this does pack a lot of punch and understandably this sticks to facts and very little in terms of either any significant historical backdrop as well as any inferences. The report retraces the planning and execution of the audacious Mumbai attacks on 26/11/2008 by a Lashkar e Tayyiba unit. Thanks to the arrest of David Headley who was a part of the planning team as well as the capture of an attacker, a lot of characters step out of the shadows. The kingpin behind all of this was Sajid Mir who planned and executed the entire mission with dollops of help from the Pakistani Intelligence. Ten gunmen attacked and held hostage the city of Mumbai for 3 days with the world attention riveted on a shocked Indian governments response. The attack largely put paid to years of rapprochement between the Indian and Pakistani government. The report covers the duplicity that the ISI engages in while dealing with the US government, modalities of training that the gunmen used and sketches of the personalities that were key to the planning. Its a sobering tale of an ideology shaped by hate that has the potential of triggering a nuclear war in the near future

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative but incomplete February 6, 2011

By Vinoth Balu Gunasekaran

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a good, informative narrative of the Mumbai attacks, except for one glaring omission, the Indian angle. But for a single reference to the number of Indian victims, the narrative is totally silent on that aspect, leading one to mistakenly conclude that American Jewish Rabbis were the only victims. Granted that this is targeted at American audience but even then the omission makes it incomplete. Imagine a book on 9-11 attacks, focusing entirely on, let us say, the 4 Uruguayan victims (I`m making it up). If you set aside that, then this is certainly well-compiled, informative, gripping short-read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mumbai Terror March 14, 2011

By Thomas J. Mcgrath

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Excellent article that is well written about the Mumbai terror attacks of Nov 2008. The author lays out in great detail all the facts behind this vicious act of terrorism. Quick and fast read...well done!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Why Pakistan poses the biggest threat to Western civilization December 8, 2011

By Sagar Jethani

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Some damning evidence that the government of Pakistan was behind the deadly 2008 Bombay attacks which left 126 people (including 6 Americans) dead. American officials were warned about one of the leaders of the attack (a US citizen) no less than six times before he helped lead the massacre. He was later arrested in Chicago.

With the discovery and execution of Osama bin Laden a few miles outside of Pakistan's West Point, the world finally sees Pakistan for what it is: a terrorist-state which cynically funnels US foreign aid to Islamic militants while proclaiming its good intentions. To simply cut-and-run ignores the heart of the problem: Pakistan is also a nuclear power. Islamic militants have already come close in the past to seizing Pakistan's nuclear weapons. A foreign presence is therefore required to ensure the safety of this stockpile, lest it fall into the hands of same people who committed the cowardly attacks in Bombay.

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.