Rana Convicted, But No Justice For Mumbai Terror Victims

Chicago, June 10, 2011 - Chicago resident Tahawwur Hussain Rana was found guilty yesterday on two counts of terrorism related to the 2008 massacre in Mumbai, India (the "26/11 attack," Nov. 26, 2008). However, the federal jury found him not guilty of actually helping to plot the terror operation. Rana was convicted for "providing material support to a terror conspiracy" and to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a terrorist group based in Pakistan. Lashkar-e-Taiba means "army of the righteous." The charges against Rana included an attack (later abandoned) against the Copenhagen newspaper that ran cartoons mocking Muhammad. "But," reports the Wall Street Journal, "Thursday’s verdict on Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 50, found him not guilty in helping plan the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks." Rana could be sentenced for up to 30 years in prison for helping Lashkar-e-Taiba plan an attack on that Danish newspaper. AFP reports that jury "found there was insufficient evidence that Rana was involved in the Mumbai attacks that saw 166 people killed - even though a key figure described how he had used Rana's business offering immigration services as a cover while conducting surveillance in India's financial capital." More at World News Australia... India has expressed official disappointment with the acquittals. Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, U.K. Bansal, said today that India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) will decide soon whether they will file charges against Rana in India. They were waiting until the Chicago trial ended before proceeding. More at The Hindu... “It may be recalled that evidence was produced in the U.S. court that David Headley had advised Rana of his assignment to scout potential targets in India,” said a statement from India’s home ministry. “We are, therefore, disappointed that Rana was acquitted on the count of conspiracy to provide material support to the Mumbai terrorist attacks.” Headley pleaded guilty in March, 2010 to 12 terror-related charges. He admitted to scouting out locations for the Mumbai attacks. He "testified in the Rana case that his friend assisted him. In return, U.S. prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty," reports WSJ's India Real Time. Rana, 50, is a Canadian citizen who was living in the Chicago neighborhood of West Ridge (or "West Rogers Park")at the time of the murder spree at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. West Rogers Park is heavily populated by Pakistanis and other Muslims. It is a hub of criminal plotting. It's no wonder that Rana found refuge here. West Ridge is home to the infamous 2008 Sunrise Equities scandal. Hundreds of investors lost their life savings in a scheme by Salman Ibrahim and his partners, who fled in the middle of the night. Most of those investors were Muslims and trusted Ibrahim's "shariah compliant" firm to help them make money. Ibrahim and his Sunrise Equities conspirators are still fugitives, and have close ties to Barack Hussein Obama. (See Obama's Sunrise Equities Office and Illinois Meat Plant Owner Charged With Financing Terrorists.) RELATED VIDEO: Dispatches - Terror In Mumbia - Liveleak.com Also:

PAKISTAN STRIKES LASHKAR-E-TAIBA CAMP: "QUIET" CRACKDOWN NATIONWIDE

Pakistan engaging in nationwide, internal sweep to clean house: ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistani security forces on Sunday raided a camp used by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), two sources said, in a strike against the militant group blamed by India for last month's deadly attacks on Mumbai. Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported on Saturday that Pakistan had put its forces on high alert after a caller pretending to be Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee threatened President Asif Ali Zardari while the attacks were still going on. More from Reuters... The story from Dawn, mention by Reuters above, tells us that more than just one camp was targeted and that there is now a nationwide sweep of Pakistan by the military to arrest extremists: MUZAFFARABAD/ISLAMABAD, Dec 7 - Security forces have launched a ‘quiet’ crackdown on activists belonging to the banned jihadi outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba in different parts of the country and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.In Muzaffarabad, a major army operation was under way in the city suburbs on Sunday against a site being used by the Jamaatud Dawa, which is headed by Hafiz Mohammad Saeed. Sources said that more than 20 members of the banned organisation and Lashkar-i-Taiba’s ‘commander’ Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi had been arrested. More at Dawn... ALSO: NATO supplies attacked in Pakistan

FLASH: UK PAPER PROVES PAKISTAN CONNECTION

The Hindu newspaper (India) has this now: Contradicting Pakistani denials that its nationals were involved in the Mumbai terror attacks, The Observer reported on Sunday that it had established that Ajmal Amir ‘Kasab,’ the lone surviving suspect, came from a village called Faridkot in the Okara district of Pakistan. The story indicated that the terrorist’s correct name is Mohammed Ajmal Amir, son of Mohammed Amir Iman. (Source: The Hindu)

FLASH: Sec. Rice Hints at Punitive Attacks Against Pakistan

In what may be her last, and perhaps boldest, move as the US Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice told Pakistani leadership that they cannot wash themselves of any responsibility for the Mumbia terrorist acts that originated from Pakistan. Punitive military strikes were threatened. The Times of India: Although US officials have not outright approved immediate punitive Indian strikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan, it is clear Rice has bought time for Islamabad to prove its bonafides and promise of cooperation. (Source) That's Rice grabbing Pakistan by the balls. Pakistan has a ''special responsibility'' and needs to act ''urgently'' she said, even as India has indicated it will wait for a Pakistani response to its demands before any punitive action. "Before any punitive action" is Rice squeezing hard, very hard. The response would be not the US alone, not India alone, but a coalition of sorts. The Times quotes Robert Kagan, a Carnegie Endowment analyst, as saying that "international community [could] declare that parts of Pakistan have become ungovernable and a menace to international security," which would theoretically provide a justification for those punitive strikes against Pakistan. FULL STORY at Times of India...

UPDATED: PAKISTAN BRACING FOR WAR: INDIAN MILITARY ASKS FOR AIRSTRIKES

Will it be war? Let us hope not, but tensions between India and Pakistan seem to be deteriorating by the hour. The Australian is reporting that India's military "chiefs" are pleading with India's leaders for permission to bomb the "al-Qa'ida-linked Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist organisation near Lahore" in Pakistan, near the Indian border. UPDATE: US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is now in India to facilitate diplomacy between India and Pakistan. What she can do to ease tensions remains to be seen. RELATED: Condoleezza Rice on mission to ease India and Pakistan tensions Pak accepts terrorists may be from its territory: US Will they battle terror or each other? Rice in India to ease tension with Pakistan Pakistan, India assert right to self-defense Pakistan says Pranab's military action statement won't help Italy arrests two jihadists planning attacks on Italian civilians

LSD, Cocaine Helped Fuel Terror in Mumbai

Cocaine partially fueled the terrorist rampage in Mumbai last week. So reports CBS3 (Philadephia) in an Associated Press story today. MUMBAI, India (AP) ― The gunmen who went on a rampage in Mumbai, India for almost three days had drugs in their system and drug paraphernalia, such as syringes, were recovered from the scene of the assaults, according to British paper the Telegraph: The killers were doing more than cocaine: "We found injections containing traces of cocaine and LSD left behind by the terrorists and later found drugs in their blood," an official told the Telegraph. The official also noted that "There was also evidence of steroids, which isn't uncommon in terrorists." More at CBS-13... RELATED: Mumbai attacks: Jews tortured before executed during hostage crisis India demands Pakistan turn over 20 fugitives US official: India attack may have Pakistani roots India was warned of Mumbai attack, US officials say

MUST READ: "8 Links to al-Qaeda"

A stunning article that shows al-Qaeda ties to the terrorists that attacked Mumbai last week. Written by 20-year CNN veteran correspondent Maria A. Ressa for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. MANILA, Philippines—There is increasing evidence that the attacks in Mumbai were carried out by a Pakistani militant group linked to al-Qaeda, Indian and American intelligence sources tell me....The ties are clear if we take the facts in Mumbai and compare them with the history of al-Qaeda and its affiliate groups. Full Article...