Hour 36 Since Mumbai Attacks Began, Fighting Isn't Yet Over

The gunfire has not been quelled. There is every sign that the attacks were designed to maximize media attention on a global scale.

Many theories are emerging, some by the hour, as to how such a well organized attack could be made on a cosmopolitan city such as Mumbai. The BBC continues to look at many aspects of the methodology behind the assault. Imagine 9/11 being followed up with gunmen in the streets of New York? The frontal attacks by the gunman and the length of the fighting begs some questions. As I write this post, we are into the 36th hour of the attack. It is now about 5:30 a.m. Friday in Toronto. There is indeed something different about these attacks. The co-ordination bears the trademark of al-Qaida, but the frontal attacks are unusual. The gunmen could not have been carrying enough ordnance to sustain the level of fighting which has occured. Neither could have the Indian Commandos without logistics and re-supply. Hence the comments from the Prime Minister of India explicitly naming Pakistan as the departure point of the attackers. With such comprehensive organization, it is quite possible that the storage of ammunition and supplies were stashed within the designated targets. Pakistan has now agreed to send high-ranking intelligence officers to India to help in the investigations. Speculation is rampant as the death toll rises. The truth behind the attacks will continue to unfold by the hour. Meanwhile the battle to re-capture Nariman House where the attackers are holding at least 10 Israelis continues into the afternoon. Regardless of repeated statements made by Indian Security officials that the end of the attacks is near, there is no guarantee that sleeper cells are not waiting to launch a second wave. Stay tuned.