I was listening to CNN IBN's coverage yesterday and they were playing a press conference with an "elite marine commando." He recounted the early minutes of storming one of the hotels when the NSG had pinned some of the terrorists:

[But] these terrorists were very well informed regarding the layout of the hotel. In no time they vanished... and went elsewhere.

He emphasized the terrorists' familiarity with the hotel layout - and contrasted it with what Indian soldiers had at hand - at least a couple of times. All of that puts a very fine point on what Israeli defense officials are saying:

Israeli defense officials have criticized the way Indian security forces initially handled the hostage situation in Mumbai, claiming on Thursday that the forces prematurely stormed the besieged areas... The Israeli officials said that Indian counter-terrorist forces were well trained but failed to gather sufficient intelligence before engaging the terrorists.

On the other hand JK Dutt, the Director General of the NSG, was on TV a while back claiming that the commandos suffered a grand total of zero casualties during the extended rescue operations.

CNN is reporting that the Indian government is pointing fingers at "elements in Pakistan" - hardly a surprise since they were already doing that yesterday and it's what you'd expect them to do. That doesn't mean it's not true but Lashkar-e-Taiba says it's not them and logistical fingerprints suggest homegrown terrorists. In the best case for Indian intel the terrorists came from Karachi - except there are reports that the army gave the NSG a head's up when the terrorist boats left Karachi and were ignored.

If it turns out to be Indian Mujahedin then India's government will be getting blamed for a staggering intel failure and an incompetent followup. If it turns out that the terrorists had significant ties to Pakistan then Indian's government will be getting blamed for a staggering intel failure and an incompetent followup and will have a nationalist-approved scapegoat to attack. What an awful clusterfuck.

References:
* 'India mishandled hostage situation' [JPost]
* Indian officials blame Lashkar-e-Taiba [FP Passport]
* Witnesses describe Mumbai attackers' arrival by sea [Guardian]
* Jamat-ud-Dawa (LET Political Wing) on Mumbai Attacks: "Not a Legitimate Tactic" [CT Blog]
* Mystery still shrouds Mumbai terrorists [National Post]

Previously:
* Great News - Nuclear Armed Islamic Country With Notoriously Unreliable Safeguards Now Going Bankrupt
* US Takes Break From Highly Effective Drone Campaign, Kills Al Qaeda Terrorists With Big Flying Jet Thing Instead
* Watcher's Council Results: Obama's Afghanistan Is Going To Be A Disaster But No One Knows It. Or Anything Else.