Napolitano visits Mumbai in advance of U.S.-India strategic dialogue
On Wednesday, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano visited Mumbai, India where ten gunmen killed more than 160 people in a November 2008 terrorist attack; Napolitano met with local counterterrorism and law enforcement officials to discuss their policing and counterterrorism strategies; Napolitano’s visit comes as part of a four day visit to India which will culminate in a formal dialogue with India’s top security chief Home Minister P. Chidambaram; the meeting will be the first formal dialogue between the two countries; topics for discussion will include counter-terrorism, but also financial fraud, counterfeiting, and currency smuggling; the high level strategic dialogue is designed to bolster ties between the United States and India by increasing communication and information-sharing practices on terrorism and national security issues; as Napolitano meets with her Indian counterpart, Tahawwur Rana is on trial in Chicago for assisting David Coleman Headley provide intelligence to Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist organization in their attack on Mumbai; India has been on a heightened state of alert since bin Laden’s death and has increased security along its borders
On Wednesday, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano visited Mumbai, India where ten gunmen killed more than 160 people in a November 2008 terrorist attack.
Napolitano met with local counterterrorism and law enforcement officials to discuss their policing and counterterrorism strategies.
After being briefed by Maharashtra’s chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on efforts following the Mumbai attacks, a senior Indian official said, “We discussed various aspects of intelligence training, capacity-building and skill upgradation, wherever an association with the U.S. would be useful. While the Chief Minister expressed the intention for cooperation, he conveyed to the official that such matters were handled by the government of India.”
Napolitano’s visit comes as part of a four day visit to India which will culminate in a formal dialogue with India’s top security chief Home Minister P. Chidambaram. The meeting will be the first formal dialogue between the two countries.
Topics for discussion will include counter-terrorism, but also financial fraud, counterfeiting, and currency smuggling.
Experts say that the high level strategic dialogue is designed to bolster ties between the United States and India by increasing communication and information-sharing practices on terrorism and national security issues.
As Napolitano meets with her Indian counterpart, Tahawwur Rana is on trial in Chicago for assisting David Coleman Headley provide intelligence to Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist organization in their attack on Mumbai.
K.P. Vijayalakshmi, the head of the Center for Canadian, US, and Latin American Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, said that Napolitano’s trip comes at a critical time as India is currently facing heightened security threats in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death.
“That brings us to the question whether the war on terror is really about Osama or beyond. And my view is that it is beyond. And clearly Napolitano’s visit, I see it in that perspective, that counter-terrorism efforts means there is still a war on terror to be fought,” she said.
Vijayalakshmi said that the United States will primarily discuss three primary topics – securing the global supply chain, combatting illegal financing, and improving cyber security.
India has been on a heightened state of alert since bin Laden’s death and has increased security along its borders. In addition, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has led two security reviews in the past three weeks in the event that Pakistan’s security deteriorates and the country slips into chaos.
