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Ban Google Earth: A Lesson from Mumbai
The Business Standard in New Delhi says the terrorists involved in the Mumbai attack last week made themselves familiar with the terrain of the city by using Google Earth. The Standard quoted a source in the Maharashtra home ministry, based on information from the lone terrorist who was captured.
As The Standard reconstructs the attack, 10 terrorists left Karachi in mid-November, arriving on the Indian coast near Porbandar in Gujarat. They seized a fishing trawler, killed three of the crew and forced the remaining crew member to sail the trawler to Mumbai.
About eight kilometres off shore, they killed the fourth crew member and shifted their arms and ammunition to two dingies. They landed on the coast near Koliwada before moving into the city.
The terrorists were all aged between 19 and 21. They carried ID cards showing they were students of colleges in various cities across Pakistan.
Indian security authorities have a long-running dispute with Google over the resolution of imagery in Google Earth, claiming it has security implications and should be shut down or that its imagery over India, at least, should be downgraded.
It is unclear to what extent the attacks on Mumbai will feed into that debate. However, the use of advanced communications technologies has not led to calls for the demise of cell phone towers or mobile text messaging services, which also made it much easier for the terrorists to co-ordinate their attacks.
Still less has it led for a ban on rubber dingies, such as those used to ferry the terrorists ashore, or on AK47 rifles.
