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Tuesday 14 February 2012

Twin countries: India and Georgia (Sunday Guardian)


MADHAV NALAPAT  13th Feb
Police and forensic officials examine a damaged Israeli embassy car after an explosion in New Delhi. REUTERS
Those who planned the simultaneous bombings in Tbilisi (Georgia) and Delhi (India) on Israeli diplomats chose these cities wisely. While neither can be termed a failed state, both have dysfunctional governance structures, thereby lowering the risk of disclosure of those responsible for the attack. Both have a corrupt police force, which makes the evasion and concealment of terror agents easy.
In Georgia and in India, those at the top depend on reports from the field to get a picture of security threats. Should field-level officers be susceptible to bribes, suspicious activities will never get reported. Following the precedent used in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks - of denying any local involvement,thereby covering up the grotesque failure of local police - it is likely that the Delhi incident too will be sought to get passed off as an "accidental fire".
Given the security risks that Israeli diplomats face in India, not excluding the attentions of zealous officials who are unable to tell the difference between a Chabad House and a den of espionage, it is unlikely that an automobile used by the Defense Attache of the Israeli embassy in Delhi would be susceptible to such a malfunction. Just as it is hardly likely that the breaching of the numerous security cordons around Israeli diplomats could have taken place without extensive prior reconnaisance. Georgia and India the same? Sorry, at least the Georgians managed to locate and defuse the explosive device planted in the Israeli diplomat's car. Chidambaram's men were not so successful. Luckily, no one was killed. The Home Minister's luck seems to be holding.

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