Female FBI officer 'tortured Mumbai terror attacks suspect with sex'

By GottaLaff

Uh-huh, sure, of course, it's our freedoms they hate us for... not this:

A female FBI officer tortured a suspect in the Mumbai terrorist attacks by performing a sex act on him during interrogation, it has been claimed.

Fahim Ansari is accused of helping to plan the attacks in which 173 people were killed in November.

His lawyer, Ejaz Naqvi, has filed legal papers with Mumbai magistrate's court, claiming the "white woman" removed all his clothes and showed him pornographic films.

In the papers, he claims that three foreigners, including the woman, sexually abused him, causing him "severe itching and wounds" on his body, including his genitals.

Mr Ansari, a devout Muslim, claims this amounts to torture because it is against his religion, The Sun newspaper has reported.

A court in the Indian city ordered medical checks on "wounds on his private parts and all over his body."

You know what depresses me? That, based on what I've learned over the past 8 years, I'm more inclined to believe him than not.

JUST IN: U.S. warned of maritime attack on Mumbai weeks ago

By GottaLaff

Just in at CNN:

The U.S. warned India of a potential maritime attack on Mumbai weeks before 179 people were killed, a U.S. official says.

I just heard that reported on CNN, and the only thing on their website is the headline.

UPDATE:

U.S. intelligence agencies warned their Indian counterparts in mid-October of a potential attack "from the sea against hotels and business centers in Mumbai," a U.S. intelligence official tells ABCNews.com.

A second government source says specific locations, including the Taj hotel, were listed in the U.S. warning.

One month later, Nov. 18, Indian intelligence also intercepted a satellite phone call to a number in Pakistan known to be used by a leader of the terror group, Lashkar e Taiba, believed responsible for the weekend attack, Indian intelligence officials say.

The Indian intercept also revealed a possible sea-borne attack, the officials say.

The chairman of the company that owns the hotel, Ratan Tata, told CNN that security was temporarily increased following a warning.

H/t: Iwan

VIDEO-- Mumbai: Take Two, "Slumdog Millionaire"

By GottaLaff

Go see this movie. It's one of the good ones:

10

By GottaLaff

A reporter talks on her phone as smoke is seen coming from Taj Hotel in Mumbai November 27, 2008. (REUTERS/Arko Datta)

MSNBC is reporting that only 10 very young men were responsible for the Taj attack.

10.

Col. Jack Jacobs says he doesn't believe it.

They'd hoped to kill 5,000.

Also reported: The maze-like design of the Taj, which included many dead-ends and employee elevators, assisted the attackers. The stone structure saved the hotel from complete destruction; but the age and complicated floor plan of the building, partly due to renovations, made it easier for the terrorists to carry out their plan.

Mumbai witness: "He wore a smile on his face"

By GottaLaff

(AFP/Indranil Mukherjee)

CNN's Wolf Blitzer is interviewing a survivor of the Taj Mahal Hotel attack:

"He wore a smile on his face as he sprayed the bullets."
--Sajjad Karim, a British member of the European Parliament, witness to Mumbai attack.

President-elect Obama's first statement on Mumbai terrorist attacks

By GottaLaff

Here's the statement I referred to earlier:

"Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the American citizens who lost their lives in the outrageous terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Our thoughts and prayers are with them, and with all who have been touched by this terrible tragedy.

"These terrorists who targeted innocent civilians will not defeat India's great democracy, nor shake the will of a global coalition to defeat them. The United States must stand with India and all nations and people who are committed to destroying terrorist networks, and defeating their hate-filled ideology.

"There is one president at a time. I will continue to closely monitor the situation on the ground in Mumbai, and am grateful for the cooperation of the Bush Administration in keeping me and my staff updated. We fully support the Bush Administration's efforts to protect American citizens and assist the government of India during this tragic time," said President-elect Obama.

The previous statement was not from him directly, but via a spokesperson.

Obama transition creates India briefing team

By GottaLaff

For the first time in a very long time, I feel like I can trust the people (who will soon be) in charge:

The Obama transition team has just set up a special team to interact with the State Department’s Operations Center as well as the office of the Director of National Intelligence, according to an Obama aide. That information is then being filtered to President-elect Obama, who is getting regular updates at his residence here in Chicago. He is scheduled to be home all day Thursday celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends.

An Obama spokesman told reporters the president-elect had spoken by phone with both Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen.

Hitting the ground running is an understatement.

Deepak Chopra just now on Larry King Live:

This is an opportunity for Obama, he can "be creative", work with others. "War on terrorism" is a meaningless phrase. Obama can do better (paraphrased).

In other words, Bush was a disaster. We now have a rational president whose foreign policy goes beyond air strikes and reckless threats.

VIDEO ADDED: Experience schmexperience

By GottaLaff

UPDATE: Obama has issued a condemnation of the attack. As soon as I can find the text, I'll post.
UPDATE 2:

President-elect Barack Obama this afternoon strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, saying they show the need for the kind of international cooperation he promised as a candidate. "President-Elect Obama strongly condemns today's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and his thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and the people of India. These coordinated attacks on innocent civilians demonstrate the grave and urgent threat of terrorism. The United States must continue to strengthen our partnerships with India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks. We stand with the people of India, whose democracy will prove far more resilient than the hateful ideology that led to these attacks,” said Brooke Anderson, his chief national security spokesperson.

Barack Obama's not even president yet, but that doesn't stop MSNBC's Chris Jansing from wondering out loud if he's got enough experience to handle a crisis. This was followed by a discussion with her guests about whether McCain might have won had the Mumbai terrorist attacks had happened prior to the election.

Maybe she should be questioning how our current president is currently responding, and has failed to respond in the past, as in: to briefings warning him of one very big fat enormous major attack on our own soil on September 11, 2001.

Maybe she should be asking about the root causes of violence like this, and how to prevent future attacks. Maybe she should be trying to instill confidence, or at the very least remain neutral, rather than projecting her own apprehension and apparent biases on to her viewers.

Obama won, Chris. Deal with it. And just by the way, you just proved that it's good judgment, not necessarily experience, that counts.