ATTACKS by militants in Mumbai revealed lapses by Indian intelligence, the world's media said Friday, with newspapers describing the financial hub as a soft target and urging restraint. The fiercest criticism of the Indian government's response to the attacks, in which at least 130 people were killed, came from the domestic press. The Mail Today said “the country's intelligence agencies had no clue of the impending attack” despite huge spending on anti-terror measures. The Times of India questioned why intelligence agencies had failed. “How well do we run them, how well-resourced are they, and is there proper coordination among them to maximize and collate information?” it demanded. Noting the time lost in deploying special forces, the paper said: “The point is that even in circumstances where personnel and infrastructure were available, planning and execution are shockingly poor.” “What are the intelligence mechanisms that failed to pick up a terrorist plan with as much micro-planning as this one?” The Indian Express demanded. In neighboring Pakistan, accused by some Indian officials of being behind the attacks, the local English-language daily The News led with the headline, “India gives Pakistan a dirty look.” “Indian intelligence, under fire for failing to pick up on the threat, is anxious to lay blame elsewhere,” the newspaper said. Pakistan's influential English-language daily Dawn urged New Delhi and Islamabad to cooperate in the investigation into the attacks without apportioning blame. In its Asian edition, the Financial Times said Indian leaders should not rush to point the finger of blame at foreign powers. “It is far from clear who is behind the 10-pronged assault, the most devastating in a series of attacks over a miserable year for India,” the paper said in an editorial. “One of the Mumbai attackers, presumed to be Islamists, was photographed wearing a sacred Hindu thread around his wrist. “What matters now is that the Indian government does not overreact. The temptation to crack down indiscriminately must be resisted.” The New York-based Wall Street Journal blamed India's leaders for making the country “an easy target.” “Its intelligence units are understaffed and lack resources. Coordination among the country's 28 state police forces is poor. The country's anti-terror legal architecture is also inadequate,” it said. “A lack of political leadership is to blame,” it said. Under the banner headline “Massacre in Mumbai,” the Sydney Morning Herald also described Mumbai as a “soft target.” Japan's Asahi Shimbun described the attacks as “nothing but an intolerable act of brutality.” All major Chinese dailies carried front page reports on the attacks.
