Operation Geronimo Learnings

It has been less than 10 days since the American forces carried out an audacious operation in the heartland of Pakistan to kill the most wanted terrorist in the world - Osama Bin Laden. 

Executed under the code name Operation Geronimo, this military campaign will go down in history as one of the most sucessfull anti-terror operations.

Under this context, it would be worthwhile to absorb and assimilate the learning's of this complex endeavour. Significantly, these learning's can be applied in different situations and facets.

Let us start with an overview of the operation itself.

• Three to four helicopters fly from Afghanistan into Abbottabad, Pakistan, with American Navy Seals on board. 

• They descend on Osama Bin Laden's compound in the dead of the night and engage in a massive fire fight.

• Osama Bin Laden is shot dead. He is identified and his body is flown out of Pakistan. The operation is completed in approximately 40 minutes. 

• The operation is controlled from The White House, America.

The importance from the operation can be gauged from the fact that America has spent close to a decade in pursing Osama Bin Laden. They spent close to a trillion dollars, just to get this one man.

So what are the learning's from the operation?

 

Persistence Is The Key.

 

You might have heard about the quote - “Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.” - by Bill Bradley. 

 

The Americans relentlessly pursued Bin Laden and it was the persistence of the efforts which finally got them to their man. Of course, they had to throw in a lot of money. Yet, the will was never lacking.

 

Mitigate Risks With Confidence.

Think about the way the operation is executed. The Americans did not know with certainty that Osama was in that compound in Abbottabad. 

 

The armed forces were to conduct an operation in a foreign land, without the permission of the country. The odds of executing this successfully without any collateral damage were high. 

 

Osama Bin Laden Abbottabad Compound

Under such circumstances, they beleived in this quote by the American car maganate - Henry Ford.

 

No one can really guarantee the future. The best thing we can do is calculate the risks involved, size up our chances, estimate our ability to deal with them, and then make our plans with confidence.

 

The Americans did just that. And they were successfull.

Preparation and Practice Are Equally Important.

Well, after tracking down Bin Laden to that compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad, just a few miles away from Pakistan's military academy, the Americans prepared a lot for the operation. They gathered huge amount of intelligence. They did the ground work. All of this formed the basis of the  sucessfull operation.

 

In an very important comment, John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counter terrorism, said that the operation was well practiced at undisclosed locations. This practice made sure that the forces were well aware of the compound, its surrounding etc. It ensured that they do not comes across a massive unforeseen situation which would derail the operation itself.

Share Information Only On A Need-to-know Basis.

The Americans violated the sovereignty of Pakistan as a nation by carrying out an independent operation on Pakistani soil. As per current information, no one from the Pakistani Government knew about this attack before hand. Why?

 

Barack Obama During Osama Operation - Code Named Operation Geronimo

Well, here are Barack Obama's words. 

 

"If I'm not revealing to some of my closest aides what we're doing, then I sure as heck am not going to be revealing it to folks who I don't know," he said. "I didn't tell my own family."

 

Well, this says it all. Only those people who mattered were informed. This ensured that the operation was not compromised.

 

Never Underestimate. 

 

Never ever underestimate the risks in any endeavour. This will ensure that adequate back up plans are available for any kind of situation. 

This did happen in Operation Geronimo when one of the copters crashed. The Americans are supposed to have switched onto the backup plan to execute it successfully.

 

Obama himself talked about it. He wondered, "If Murphy's Law applies and something happens, Can we still get our guys out?"

Set Clear And Precise Goals

The aims and goals of the operation was set forth clearly to the men on ground.

They were 

• If it's Osama who is in there, try to capture him alive only if he is naked. Else, take him off.

• If it's Osama who isn't there, just get the hell out of there.

Well, these clear goals ensured that the men on ground did not have to think hard on what to do when they came across Osama. The rules were set forth and they were to be executed. 

Well, there will be people who will support creativity in activities. Well, creativity is important - but it is to be done in the planning phase. The execution phase has to go on with mechanical precision. Nothing more, nothing less.

Engage People In Positions Of Authority And Responsibility.

 

A key highlight of this operation was the fact that this operation was controlled and monitored from The White House and the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. President Barack Obama and his closest aides watched the operation real time from the Situation (Control) Room in the White House.

 

Operation Geronimo White House Situation Room

This ensured two things. 

 

The people who had the responsibility to execute were involved. As stakeholders, it was their job to ensure that the operation is taken to a logical conclusion.This could either mean ensuring that Osama is taken out or the American forces are flown out of the country, safely.

Importantly, the people who had the powers to take the decision were involved. They could take decisions which could make the operation a success. They could take decisions in the event of any unforeseen situation. And decisions are most important in such massive operations.  

 

Luck Is The Key. 

 

The biggest of the endeavors needs the greatest of the luck. No one has spoken  about it outright. Yet, I consider that luck was an important factor in this operation.

 

Just think how three to four helicopters fly into a country, go in undetected into a garrison town just 60 kms from the capital, and then fly out with the most wanted terrorist in the world - dead.

Well, there might be several other lessons which can be grasped from this complex military operations. The one's highlighted here are not new themselves.

 

Yet, incoporating them in any endeavor is important. All of them can be a strong tail wind in ensuring the success of a mission.

Osama Bin Laden Dead

A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.

America and Americans have lived upto this quote today by Elbert Hubbard. In a stunning military operation in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, US special operations forces killed the most wanted terrorist in the world - Osama Bin Laden.

Osama Bin Laden FBI Profile

Almost a decade back, Osama Bin Laden unleashed the worst terror attack in the world - with his Al-Qaeda operatives flying commercial airliners into the World Trade Center Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. 

These terror attacks resulted in the destruction of four airplanes, the on board passengers,  the people working at the WTC and its vicinity, and those engaged in rescue operations. The death toll was more than 3000 and America was hurt in it heart.

America wanted the guilty to be punished and within just six weeks it launched the war on terror. Osama was believed to be in Afghanistan and the USA bombed virtually all of the country. Yet, Osama managed to escape and since then had been untraceable.

The Americans spent billions of USD on finding Osama. It was like finding needle in a haystack. Osama was presumed to be anywhere in Afghanistan and Pakistan. With his exact location unknown, finding and killing him was difficult.

But you will remember the quote - the smartest of the criminals also leaves a trail. And it was one such trail that resulted in pin pointing the exact location of the most wanted man on earth. 

A couple of men - who acted as couriers - were spotted frequenting a house in Abbottabad. This was when the intelligence men from the CIA thought something was fishy. A closer inspection revealed that the house was heavily protected. Even the trash was not dumped into the outside world - it was set on fire. 

Osama Bin Laden Abbottabad Compound

And after several months of ground work by the American intelligence agencies, they came to a conclusion - a very big terrorist was hiding in the house. Maybe it was their most wanted man - Osama Bin Laden.

Surprisingly, just a week back, Al-Qaeda had threatened a nuclear hell storm if Osama is caught or killed. Read more here.

However, taking out Osama in the heartland of Pakistan was not an easy task. USA had to undertake a military operation on the Pakistani territory. This would mean a severe infringement on the sovereignty of Pakistan. And if something goes wrong - like the death of American military personnel, or the loss of civilian life - it world reflect badly on Obama and his administration. And if he escapes, it would be a major embarrassment.

However, at stake was Osama Bin Laden - the man responsible for unleashing mass terror across the world. America had its best chance to get their man. And just three days back, on April 29 - Barack Obama signed an order to kill Osama Bin Laden.

As England and the world celebrated a royal wedding between Price William and Kate Middleton, the American intelligence and the armed forces prepared for the task to get their man. The operation must have been planned in a very exclusive manner - to ensure that the cat does not slip out of the bag and Osama doesn't do a Houdini trick again.

And as the whole of Asia slept on a quiet Sunday night, at approximately at 1 AM Pakistan time, the American forces started their operations. Around three helicopters were seen hovering around the sleepy town of Abbottabad. Out of them descended the American Navy Seals on the most important mission of their life - to kill Osama Bin Laden.

Abbottabad Compound that housed Osama

In what must have been a deadly and bloody battle, the Americans bombarded the house with massive gun fire. Osama and his aides responded to battle at hand. The Americans must have unleashed a lethal firepower to kill Osama. Osama and his son tried their best come out of this unscathed. 

However, their luck had run out. In a operation that lasted more than 40 minutes, the Americans killed Osama Bin Laden and his son and a couple of aides. They also captured his wife - presumed to be the youngest out of his many ones. And they secured his dead body and flew out of the town.

This entire operation was monitored and handled from the CIA headquarters at Langley, Virginia. There is also a huge possibility that President Barack Obama was in the loop in those final moments.

Well, these pictures confirm the fact. Almost the entire US administration, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton et all, watched and controlled the operation from a White House control room.

White House Control Room For Osama Operation

You can see a tense Barack Obama and a gasping Hillary Clinton. The rest of the administration also looked very very tense in this high profile operation to kill the world's most wanted man.

Barack Obama After The Osama Operation In The White House Control Room

If you are interested in checking out more pictures of the White House Situation Room for the Osama Bin Laden operation (a.k.a. Operation Geronimo), then you can check out the Official White House Photo Stream here.

It would surprise you that this entire operation was played out live on Twitter - courtesy this man from Abbottabad. He didn't know what was going on in his sleepy town. Yet he twitted all of it for the world to read it in astonishment.

The world was unaware of the mammoth operation that was executed to kill Osama. And if US officials are to be believed, even Pakistan was unaware of the operation to get the most wanted terrorist. 

However, this seems extremely unlikely - given the fact that the town of Abbottabad is just 50 kms away from the capital, Islamabad. Just a few kms away is a Pakistan military academy. All of this makes the US denial look more of a tactic to save Pakistan from an internal backlash.

And at approximately 9 AM IST, Barack Obama announced to the world that they had triumphed in killing Osama Bin Laden.

~~
Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. 

Read Obama's complete speech here.
~~

Barack Obama Announces Death Of Osama Bin Laden

Barack Obama, who more than three years back said - Yes, We Can - did it. And almost certainly, he will go down in history for his words - Justice has been done.

Most importantly, Obama said that the USA was not in war against Islam. And in line with their religious faith, the Americans ensured that Osama was buried at sea within 24 hours of his death. This was done considering the fact that it would be difficult for a find a country to accept his remains for burial.

US Military Personnel in Kandahar Afghanistan Watching Obama's Address - Courtesy BBC

There are a several questions to be answered in this extensively secret operation. How many men were involved on the ground? Where did they fly in from? Was there a traitor who said it all? What has Osama's wife said about Bin Laden? Where did they bury Bin Laden? Was the Pakistan's ISI aware of the operation? Was the Pakistan's political circuit informed before the operation? Did ISI and Pakistan shield Osama all along?

There are a few situations which are yet to shape up. How will the war against terror in Afghanistan go on in the next few months? How will Al-Qaeda react to the news? How will supporters of Bin Laden react to his death? Will the killing of Bin Laden be a political trump card in Obama's re-election campaign?

Well, we don't have the answers yet. It will take some time for the news to trickle out of the corridors of power onto the common man.

While America and the world can sleep with a bit of comfort tonight, we can only hope and pray that Al-Qaeda does not unleash further retaliatory terror attacks.

However, today, we can only salute the brave men who took up a difficult task to set the world on a path of lasting peace.

Operation Odyssey Dawn And Contradictions

The world wakes up this Sunday to a new war. 

The so called Coalition forces - prime among them being the USA, the UK, and France - have launched operation Odyssey Dawn against Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

This is within two days of the U.N. imposed no-fly zone in Libya which was voted 10-0 in the UN Security council.

This picture of the leaders posing for a photograph after the summit makes me wonder about one thing. 

How do these guys manage to pose for a photo after planning to start  a thing as bad as a war? A war which will result in death of thousands of people, which will result in a monetary loss of millions of dollars, which will result in extensive damage to life and property. A war which will set back a nation by years.

Importantly, the emerging nations - Brazil, Russia, China and India, along with European powerhouse Germany had abstained from this voting. But this hasn't stopped the Coalition from going ahead with the armed operations. 

While French reconnaissance aircraft surveyed the Libyan landscape late yesterday evening, the residents of Libya were subjected to a barrage of Cruise missiles since yesterday night.

The power of technology and money have made the American, British and French forces to just sit pretty on their battleships in the Mediterranean,  or fly high above the skies, and rain the missiles and bombs on the innocent Libyan people.

Just have a look at the statement given by British Prime Minister - David Cameron - late yesterday night.

"Tonight, British forces are in action over Libya. They are part of an international coalition that has come together to enforce the will of the United Nations and to support the Libyan people.
 

We have all seen the appalling brutality that Colonel Gaddafi has meted out against his own people. And far from introducing the ceasefire he spoke about, he has actually stepped up the attacks and the brutality that we can all see.
 

So what we are doing is necessary, it is legal, and it is right."

Well, what he is telling Britain and the world that the actions are fully legal and will benefit only the Libyan people. Wish these leaders show such generosity and concern for the citizens of such nations in times of peace.

If the wars fought across the world in the last decade are anything to go by, then this would also look to be a protracted engagement. You have the war in Afghanistan and Iraq as standout examples.

The name of this operation - Odyssey Dawn - itself is a misnomer. Odyssey, as defined by the dictionary, is a long, wandering and an eventful journey. Certainly these leaders don't want the war to stretch for long. I wonder who gave this name to the operation.

This war is seen to be a culmination of the civil war in Libya which started in Feb 2011. The crisis in the Arab World and the victories of the Tunisian and Egyptian people had motivated the Libyan citizens to overthrow Colonel  Gaddafi.

With Gaddafi using armed forces against his own people, the world leaders have been prompted into this action. 

Just a few hundred miles away from Libya is the nation of Bahrain. The people of Bahrain too have been protesting against their monarchs, with an attempt being made to overthrow the current regime. The leaders in Bahrain too have responded with use of force against the peaceful demonstrators. 

This is where you have the contradiction. The Coalition nations on one hand are seen against Gaddafi. On the other hand, they are seen supporting the King of Bahrain.

Why is it so? What makes them support an authoritarian regime while oppose another? What makes them back the steps taken for suppressing an internal civilian conflict in Bahrain while oppose the same in Libya.

So much for uniformity.  So much for having the same yardstick to be applied everywhere.

This is simple contradiction. This is simple behavioral inconsistency.

The U.S. is apprehensive of supporting Bahrain openly. This has made it ask its trusted friend in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia, to help Bahrain. And they have responded kindly by rushing its 2000 odd forces across the King Fahd causeway joining the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, to help the rulers of Bahrain suppress the uprising.

One thing is certain. If a similar uprising or protest is seen in Saudi Arabia, and if they respond with similar military actions, the very same Coalition nations would be seen backing them. 

This is when someone should read out to David Cameron what he had said on the night of the launching of Operation Odyssey Dawn. 

It would be apt to close with a line which Oscar Wilde said a long time back. 

“The well-bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves.”

Mao Zedong, Maoism and Maoists

Maoists are causing a lot of havoc and destruction in India. Over the last 2 months itself, they have carried out three horrible attacks on the Indian citizens - resulting in the death of 250 odd precious lives.

So who are these Maoists? And what do they want?

We need to start with Mao Zedong.

Mao Zedong was a Chinese leader. He was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1935 until his death in 1976. He was also the Chairman of the People's Republic of China from 1949 to 1959.

He is considered as the most influential Chinese Leader of the 20th century - and is regards by most Chinese as the person who set them on course to be become a super power.

Before the times of Mao Zedong, two prominent theories of Communism were in practice. They were Marxism - by Karl Marx, and Leninism - by Vladimir Lenin.

Marxism put forth that an economic minority (the wealthy class of people)  exploited the working class for their benefits. The theory advocated that the working class must seize political power through social revolutions.

Leninism argues for the forceful deposition of the incumbent government; assume power (as agent of the proletariat) and establish a dictatorship of the proletariat  government. Moreover, as the government, the vanguard party must educate  the proletariat — to dispel the societal false consciousness of religion  and nationalism that are culturally instilled by the bourgeoisie  in facilitating exploitation.(Courtesy Wikipedia).

Mao built on these basic tenets of Marxism and Leninism.

His theory of Maoism is built on the following concepts.

• Revolutionary struggle of the mass against against their exploiting classes and their supporting state infrastructure. 

• Political transformation through the involvement of the people from the lower strata of the society.

• Supporting the struggle through guerrilla war tactics.

What has led to the emergence of Maoism in India?

India is a country which has a vast variety of natural resources at its disposal. Minerals are widely available in India and Mining is a important activity in India. 

The contribution of mining to the Indian economy is significant. Central India is especially rich in minerals. Large corporations have significant stakes in these mining activities. 

Many a times, or rather frequently, the policies of the government and the actions of these corporations are detrimental to the interests of the people who live in these mineral rich regions. 

The people in these regions often feel exploited. Frequently, the economic benefits gained out of such mining explorations are not given back to the region. This creates a sense of discontent among the mass leading to unhappiness.

The Maoists are people who are fighting for this strata of the society. They are fighting for the rights of the tribals from these regions of India. 

Maoists are active in regions of India which are rich in minerals. These regions - which see significant military activity from the Maoists - is also known as the Red Corridor.

Over the past many years, this fight has been bloody.

Significantly, recently, the Maoists launched three attacks on the Indian State which resulted in the death of a large number of people.

In April, they ambushed a group of armed forces in the jungles of Dantewada in Central India killing 76 jawans. Just a month later, they bombed a bus - killing 44 people - 15 among them being from the armed forces.

As India was coming to terms with this aggressive style of Maoist warfare, the Maoists blew up a rail track resulting in a train derailment just 3 days back. This was the worst among the three attacks - resulting in the death of more than 130 odd people.

India has been crying hoarse for strong action against these Maoists - which have some presence in approximately 28% of the Indian administrative districts.

Now 28% is a huge number - it means approximately 1/3rd of India. It is high time that the Maoists Movement is quelled before it becomes seriously damaging to the nation at large.

What is my take on the situation right now?

As an immediate measure, the Government of India should take strong decisive steps to bring down the Maoists. 

It can include holding peace talks with them - urging them to join the political main stream and assuring them of the Government's greater support in bringing all round development to the region, which they feel is neglected. But such peace talks will take time. Should India bleed till then?

As an alternative, the Government can launch an all out military offensive against the Maoists. These will make things bloody in short term. But if the offensive is successful, we can have assured peace later.

This would importantly require that the Indian State takes adequate steps to ensure the all round development of such regions - the lack of which is the cause of this struggle. This has been lacking to some extent in the last 60 years. And with the huge amount of corruption in the Indian bureaucracy, ensuring this will be a far fetched task.

There is a section of the civil society which is against such military offensive. Their line of argument - why should you attack your own people? 

The argument is fine - but I think it holds good only till your own people support the nation. When they start going against the nation and its people at large, this argument should not hold good.

Can we draw an equivalence from Sri Lanka - which was fighting the LTTE for close to 33 years? After several years of peace talks, the Lankans launched an offensive against the tigers and defeated them in May 2009. We are now looking at a peaceful country and Sri Lanka is hoping to make the most of it.

Taking a decision on the plan of action against the Maoists is not easy. P Chidambaram, the Home Minister of India, is looking for a larger mandate to take appropriate against the Maoists.

A re-look at the policy against the Maoists is a must.

Finally, I strongly hope that we have a a peaceful solution to the threat from the Maoists.

Are They On Course To A War?

The situation is tense in East Asia.

Looks like the two neighbors and rivals - North Korea and South Korea - are on a collision course.

It all started about two months back when a South Korean warship sank in the Yellow Sea.

The ship sank in mysterious circumstances. Although several sailors were rescued, 46 sailors lost their precious lives. 

Many people suspected the North Koreans. But South Korea decided to play it cautious and didn't blame the North Koreans directly.

However, several days later, the ship was lifted from the sea floor. News floated around that the ship was sunk by a torpedo attack. North Korea looked to be an obvious suspect.

Subsequent analysis by the South Koreans must have revealed some details which has resulted in the current frenzy.

First it was the United States of America.

Two days back, A top U.S. State Department official said Wednesday that the pending release of a report that is expected to blame North Korea for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March raises a "very serious set of circumstances" for the region.   

Read the entire news article here.

And if this was not enough, we have had this news today where the South Korea's defense chief has  vowed to make North Korea pay for the sinking of the South Korean warship.

"North Korea surpassed the limits and for such an act we will make it pay," said defense minister Kim Tae-Young.

Hope the situation is diffused based on discussions between the two countries. 

Otherwise the world will have to face a war it doesn't want and cannot afford.

Times Square Car Bomb Scare

It was a weekend where just about every Western country - the USA, Canada, Great Britain et all - issued a travel advisory on the "imminent terror attacks" in the Indian capital - New Delhi. 

The Indian Intelligence agencies also had their own internal inputs which highlighted the same risk - after they intercepted a conversation of a terror group - which had given the order to carry out the strike.

But little did the American know about the plans to strike New York City by means of a car bomb - right in it's heart - the Times Square.

On Saturday evening - 1st May 2010, a car bomb was found in a SUV parked in Times Square. 

The car contained three propane tanks, two five gallon gas containers - fully filled, fireworks, and two clocks with batteries. The design itself highlighted the magnitude of the potential disaster that was on the way.

However, luck favored NYC this time!!

A T-shirt vendor noticed smoke coming out of this SUV, thought something was fishy and immediately alerted the authorities.

The NYPD immediately deployed a robot which diffused the bomb and avoided a major crisis. The entire area was cordoned off in this moment of crisis to avoid any harm to human life.

It was a terror attack which was avoided in the nick of the time - avoiding a significant loss to the human life and property.

This is what NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg had to say about the crisis.

"We avoided what could have been a very deadly event," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg early Sunday morning. "It certainly could have exploded and had a pretty big fire and a decent amount of explosive impact." 

And the efforts of the NYPD and the NY people were appreciated by the Governor of New York, David Paterson.

 

"Tonight, we owe an incredible debt of gratitude to the heroic actions of the New York City Police Department and to a single vigilant New Yorker who identified a suspicious vehicle near Times Square in New York City," he said.

Hope the people responsible for this potential disaster are caught and sentenced as the law feels justified.

Hakimullah Mehsud - Dead or Alive?

Know one knows this better than Mehsud himself.

Makes you wonder why?

Hakimullah is[ or was] the commander of the Pakistan Taliban.

More than 2 months back, around 10th Feb 2010, certain news reports claimed that Mehsud was killed in a drone strike.

His death was considered as a significant blow to the Taliban - and was supposed to increase the chances of the Taliban being wiped out from Pakistan.

The newspapers quoted something like below:

Pakistan confirmed yesterday that the Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud has died of wounds sustained in a US drone strike last month. 

The death of Pakistan's most feared militant commander with close links to Al-Qaeda is a serious blow to the Pakistani Taliban and has led to an intense battle over who will succeed him. 

However, news reports floating over the last couple of days indicate that he is very much alive.

To quote the newspapers again:

The Taliban leader in Pakistan, Hakimullah Mehsud, survived an American drone strike in January and is alive and well, a senior official with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence agency told the Guardian today.

Today the senior intelligence official said he had seen video footage of the missile attack on Mehsud but other intelligence had since confirmed the insurgent leader survived. He declined to elaborate further.

"He is alive," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "He had some wounds but he is basically OK."

What next?

In a world of changing media reports, failed intelligence reports, it is very difficult to assess whether the guy is really dead or alive?

This blog has an interesting perspective on the resurrection of Mehsud. 

One line says it all - Miracles do happen!!

Terror Attacks in Moscow, Russia

On 29th March, 2010, two terror attacks struck the veins of Moscow - the Moscow Metro!! :-(

Two suicide bombers carried out these deadly bombings inside the Metro cars at the Lubyanka and Park Kultury metro stations, killing 39 people!!

It was about 10.15 AM IST on the 29th, when a friend came to my desk to convey this sad news!! Working for a Russian Client, my thoughts immediately went towards the people who must have been traveling on those trains!!

Moscow Metro is one of the largest and most used subway system in the world!!

Approximately 6 million people use the Metro daily!! It is the cheapest and the most convenient rapid transit system in Moscow, which is a very large city, to say the least!!

I have been a regular traveler on the Moscow Metro (having stayed in Moscow for almost 9 months). And believe me, it is very very crowded during the morning rush hours, with hardly a place to stand in the carriage!!

And with the bombings being carried out during the morning rush hour, I thought the scale of disaster and devastation might be much higher!!

What made me all the more sad is that the second bombing took place at the Park Kultury Metro. This was the place where I got down and boarded the train, with my workplace just 5 minutes away from the Metro!!

Check this news article to read and see the horrific events on this day!!

These comments show the deep fear in the mind's of the people on that day -

"How horrible it is when you hear a blast behind your back. I was at Park Kultury at the moment of the blast. Thank God, I managed to enter the walkway tunnel between stations and I was not affected. There was lots of smoke and I could not figure out what was going on. Many people were lying in blood."

And this comment by one commuter highlights how such similar events have had a deep impact on his psyche!!

“I’ve seen loads of explosions in my time, and this was nothing. I’m fine. It was just a ‘pop’ like the kind if fire crackers we might let off at New Year.” He added that the reaction to the explosion was very calm.

Having a look at the videos, the reaction might have been calm for him - but certainly not for others!!

Check this YouTube Video link about the Moscow Metro!!

It highlights the sheer complexity and wide usage of this metro system!!

SUQYAETEXG9W

Ground Zero

This is how NYC looked - till 10th September 2009 !!

But the attacks on 9th November changed the face of the city!!

Catch a bird's eye view of the devastation in NYC due to the 9/11 attacks.

Taken by police personnel from NYPD, these pictures take you through some tense moments leading to the final collapse of the twin towers!!

Made me wonder - when the guy took the first picture, did he realize that the towers would collapse? And how this would change the world around us? Forever!!

Battle for Waziristan

Waziristan is a small part of the North West Frontier Province in Western Pakistan!!

And if this article from Dawn News is to be believed, Pakistan is planning to launch a major war on the Taliban militants in the coming days!! 

Army officials say that it may last upto 4 weeks - but if history is to be considered, it may extend for a much longer time.

 

Only God knows where is Pakistan is heading :(