May 2, 2007:
Maoist violence in India isn't
slowing down. Last year, there were 749 dead because of the Maoists, and this
year, there were over 200 dead in the first four months of the year. About half
the dead are in central Indias Chhattisgarh
state. This is where many of the most active Maoist gangs operate, and in
many parts of the state, the police stay away. Meanwhile, the tribal
separatist violence in northeast India continues, with up to a dozen dead each
week.
May 1, 2007: In Bangladesh, three crude bombs went
off in railroad stations. Only one man was injured, and al Qaeda propaganda was
found at the sites of two of the bombings. Islamic militants have been more
energetic than effective in Bangladesh.
April 29, 2007: Indian counter-terror
operations in Kashmir have reduced the number of active militants to about a
thousand. Moreover, better border security has reduced terrorists crossing the
border from Pakistan to about 500 a year for two years in a row. About half the
terrorists in Kashmir are Pakistani, and many of them feel beaten and want to
go home. So India and Pakistan are discussing a deal that would allow these
terrorists to be "repatriated." Otherwise, India and Pakistan are
deadlocked in their four years of peace talks over Kashmir. Mainly, India feels
that Pakistan will not be able to control its Islamic militants, no matter what
kind of deal is made.
April 28, 2007: An Islamic suicide
bomber attacked a political rally presided over by the Interior Minister. At
least 28 were killed, but the Interior Minister was only slightly injured and
walked away from the scene.
April 27, 2007: The U.S. revealed that
it had captured Abd al Hadi al Iraqi, a senior al Qaeda leader who had long
operated out of Pakistan, directing operations across the border in
Afghanistan. Al Iraqi was apparently caught, a few months ago, while crossing
the border from Iran into Iraq. There, al Iraqi was apparently going to get
involved in leading al Qaeda operations in Iraq. The CIA indicates that al
Iraqi has provided useful information on al Qaeda operations throughout the
region. Of particular interest were the meetings al Iraqi had with al Qaeda
personnel in Iran. Apparently. al Iraqi was one of many al Qaeda members
getting out of Pakistan because of deteriorating relations with the Taliban.
It's possible that someone in Pakistan tipped off the Americans that al Iraqi
was headed west.
April 26, 2007: Islamic militants have
added Internet Cafes to their list of banned places. Having already attacked
movie theaters and shops selling videos and music, the religious militants want
to shut down Internet Cafes that rent private viewing booths, where one or two
people can surf the net and whatever. The militants want to stop both
activities. This is a tricky issue, as the Islamic militants depend on the
Internet Cafes for communication services, and many jihadis like to catch a
little porn from time to time.