Inspire Political Discourse: The Siege in Mumbai Ends - IPD Weekend Update Nov. 29-30, 2008

29 November 2008

The Siege in Mumbai Ends - IPD Weekend Update Nov. 29-30, 2008

Sunday, November 30, 2008

►Top Indian security official resigns as death toll reaches 183, and questions are asked regarding India's preparedness for this type of attack.

“As an investigation moved forward, there were questions about whether Indian authorities could have anticipated the attack and had better security in place, especially after a 2007 report to Parliament that the country’s shores were inadequately protected from infiltration by sea — which is how the attackers sneaked into Mumbai.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil, responsible for public safety and internal security as one of the most senior members of the government, resigned on Sunday to take responsibility for the failure of the country’s intelligence services and military to prevent the attacks in Mumbai.” NYT

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Saturday, November 29, 2008

►President-elect Obama to formally announce his national security team on Monday.

“Pending Senate confirmation, the President-elect's national security team will include: Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., who will serve as Secretary of State in his administration; Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano who will be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; attorney Eric Holder, Attorney General; Retired Marine General Jim Jones, National Security Adviser; retired Adm. Dennis Blair, Director of National Intelligence; Susan Rice, Ambassador to the United Nations; and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who will stay on in that role for at least a year.” Jake Tapper - ABC News

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►President Bush is rushing to push through an array of rules that Obama opposes. One of them is an OSHA regulation, and would affect the health and safety of workers.

“WASHINGTON — The Labor Department is racing to complete a new rule, strenuously opposed by President-elect Barack Obama, that would make it much harder for the government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals to which workers are exposed on the job.
Public health officials and labor unions said the rule would delay needed protections for workers, resulting in additional deaths and illnesses.” NYT

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►Bill Kristol, right-wing hack, tells Bush to pardon torturers, and give them a Medal of Freedom. Anyone who thinks that this behavior should be rewarded, doesn't deserve to live in a free country. And yeah, I know they were "acting under orders". So what. Doesn't mean they shouldn't have principles and live by them, including a refusal to follow orders when told to torture other human beings.

“One last thing: Bush should consider pardoning–and should at least be vociferously praising–everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror, but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points. The lawyers can work out if such general or specific preemptive pardons are possible; it may be that the best Bush can or should do is to warn publicly against any such harassment or prosecution. But the idea is this: The CIA agents who waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the NSA officials who listened in on phone calls from Pakistan, should not have to worry about legal bills or public defamation. In fact, Bush might want to give some of these public servants the Medal of Freedom at the same time he bestows the honor on Generals Petraeus and Odierno. They deserve it.” The Weekly Standard

The New York Times on this topic:

“And his record of stonewalling inquiries into his administration’s legally questionable behavior — the torture policy that led to the Abu Ghraib nightmare; illegal wiretapping; the politically motivated firing of federal attorneys — justify concern that he may be considering pardoning officials involved in those misdeeds.
The framers envisioned that presidents would be discouraged from misusing the pardon power by the threat of impeachment. But it is a fairly empty threat when they issue pardons in their final days in office.
The main check on misuse of 11th-hour pardons is the verdict of history. Mr. Bush will be leaving office with extraordinarily low approval ratings. If he wants to try to reclaim his reputation, he can start by not abusing the pardon power on his way out the door.”

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►Foreign policy analyst, Samantha Power is back. Power, a former advisor to Obama's presidential campaign, was forced to resign during the primaries after she publicly called Hillary Clinton "a monster", is now back in the Obama fold working to assist the incoming Obama administration in preparations for Hillary Clinton's expected nomination for Secretary of State.

“Clinton's office declined to comment on Power's inclusion in the State Department transition, but an official close to the Obama transition team said that Power had "made a gesture to bury the hatchet" with Clinton and that it had been well-received.” Boston Globe

:: The Return of Samantha Power » Jake Tapper - ABC News

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►The siege in Mumbai ends with 162 estimated dead, 283 wounded, and Indian authorities are now saying that the terrorist attack may have been pulled off by just 10 people, nine of whom have been killed, and one who was captured.

““With confidence I can say that 10 terrorists came in,” said the commissioner, Hasan Gafoor. “We killed nine of them and one was captured alive.” His comments were confirmed by Mr. Deshmukh, although it remained unclear whether they might have been referring to 10 attackers coming in by sea to join accomplices who, according to unconfirmed local news reports, might have embedded themselves in Mumbai days before the attacks. Investigations were ongoing Saturday night.” NYT