#dnaEdit: Devastating misses

The still unravelling story of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack is replete with functional glitches. Data culled from intelligence agencies in three different countries have revealed that the combined information — if shared — could have disrupted the deadly 2008 Mumbai terror attack that left 166 people dead. The intelligence agencies of India, United Kingdom and USA, did not pool in the strands of information gathered by their high-tech surveillance and other instruments. Had they done so, they might well have foiled the attack.

Consider the vital surveillance data that the intelligence agencies had in their armoury prior to the attack: Zarrar Shah, the technology chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba, along with other conspirators, used Google Earth to zero in on the locations of their targets in Mumbai. “Shah roamed from outposts in the northern mountains of Pakistan to safe houses near the Arabian Sea, plotting mayhem in Mumbai, India’s commercial gem,” said a report in The New York Times. 

Significantly, Shah’s undercover online activities were already under the scanner of British intelligence agencies which were tracking his Internet searches and messages. Not just that — Indian intelligence agencies too were watching Shah. Neither of these two agencies however shared information with US intelligence or even with each other. Separately, the US intelligence, electronically as well as through human sources, had picked up the whiff of a terror plot. Months ahead of the attack, the US agencies warned India of an imminent attack in the country. 

It would appear from the available data — gathered mostly electronically — that the main attackers from Pakistan were already under the scrutiny of multiple intelligence agencies. Yet they could still cock a snook in successfully executing their terror project in India’s financial city; even when such extensive espionage had preceded that attack. 

The hidden story of the Mumbai terror attack reiterates the significance of a theme that — for a while — has been in the public discourse but not acted upon. The fact is that data, however valuable, loses potency unless the agencies share the information and try to make sense of it. No doubt, modern technology — fast-paced and sophisticated — has qualitatively and quantitatively improved surveillance. But the agencies seem to be lagging the changes. Trapped in a time warp, they are unable to comprehend that the challenges facing the world require a thorough revamp of organisation structures as well as the attitudes that guide their work. 

In the contemporary world of escalating violence and complicated terror networks crisscrossing the globe, mere gathering of information is — to say the least — an ineffective tool in stalling acts of violence. Sharing data and exchanging notes — not erratically but consistently — is a key to using advanced surveillance technology to its best advantage. Similar questions of sloppy intelligence and lack of coordination were raised in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. 

This principle of sharing information holds good within India as well. To the detriment of effective intelligence gathering, the different wings of law enforcement and espionage are often found to be at loggerheads, if only to prove a point of brinkmanship. By now the intelligence agencies should have known that the important thing — nationally as well as globally — is to join the dots and put the missing pieces in the puzzle.

It is true that electronic surveillance throws up crucial data. At the same time, important clues can be missed if the intelligence culled from the technology is not matched with other information. Analysing the data gleaned from various sources is essential to making the most of advanced surveillance technology and using it to prevent terror attacks.