Retired Indian admiral says Mumbai attackers had Pakistani military training

At a Carnegie event this morning (link to be posted when available), retired Indian vice admiral Premvir Das of the Indian navy made the clearest case yet for Pakistani involvement in the Mumbai attacks.

The attackers approached the Indian coast in a 40-ton fishing boat on choppy seas, he said, but transferred to a small zodiac about five miles from shore. The small inflatable boat on which they made landfall was designed for six men, but it carried 10, each armed with an AK-47 rifle, 6 magazines, 20 grenades and RDX explosive charges — at least 60 pounds of gear per man. The attackers came ashore in a fishing community of about 5,000.

If leaders had ordered him to do an operation of this kind with ordinary sailors, Das said, he would have replied that they needed marine commandos, and if you’d asked the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, he would have said it was a job for SEALs.

Das made no clear accusations, cautioning that it was unclear whether the terrorists had been trained by serving or former military officials, but he got his point across: in Pakistan, that’s a blurrier distinction than one would hope.