Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba 1st Edition

Using a broad brush, much of South Asian jihadism can be explained away with names like the Taliban and the Al Qaeda. Zia's influence on radicalizing the Pakistani youth to fight a mercenary war is well known and is rightfully attributed as the focal point of the militant soup that Pakistan finds itself in. But it takes a more nuanced eye to see the reasons for why some the groups still thrive and strike terror at will and Stephen Tankel's book seeks to achieve just that.To understand the milieu of militant Islam in Pakistan, one has to understand the strains of Islam that run through South Asia. The local Hanafi schools of Barelvi and Deobandi offered a much more reasonable strain of Islam when weighed against the Salafist strain which formed a significant part of the foreign Jihadists who were waging war in Afghanistan. The genesis of the Lashkar-e-Taiba owes itself to the Ahl-e-hadith sect of the Salafist strain. With hardly any mass appeal to rely on, the Lashkar seemed to be an extremely malleable candidate to be shaped by the designs of the Pakistani intelligence viz. the ISI. The state sponsorship forced it to redirect itself to fomenting militancy in Kashmir.The book then charts the graph of the rise of the Lashkar, which projected itself as a much more disciplined entity as compared to the rest of the stooges of the ISI. The discipline also translated to it being a better fighting force, and soon the Kashmir operations were dominated by the Lashkar. The author documents the logistical and organizational support that the Lashkar has received from the ISI, the evidence being the massive headquarters that the Lashkar has outside Lahore - Muridke. With scale Lashkar attracted sponsorship beyond the ISI and has since tried to pitchfork itself onto a global scale. Operations in Iraq, the Balkans, plans to bomb the Jyllands-Posten in Denmark.The most spectacular operation of the Lashkar has undoubtedly been the 26/11 attack on Mumbai which resulted in 166 deaths. The operations were meticulously planned and conducted by the Lashkar with the attacks specifically targeting Indians , Americans and Jews to appeal to a much wider sponsorship base. Though this operation was wildly successful, the ramifications have been an increased scrutiny on Pakistan and immense pressure to shut down these operations. The entire operation has been well documented in the book.The larger worry that the Lashkar poses is that with such close proximity to the army, its a matter of time before the cancer spreads and we find ourselves staring at a nuclear state backed by a Jihadist army. Stephen Tankel's book is a must read in understanding the Lashkar, but on a broader canvas its a message on how state sponsored terrorism can go badly wrong.

It took time to fully read Dr. Stephen Tankel's book and here is my review.'Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba' by Dr. Stephen Tankel is a superb piece of scholarship, notably in the access gained to insiders, observers and members of the group (commonly referred to as LeT).Yes it contains some puzzles, many of which pre-date the Mumbai attacks in 2008 and he answers nearly all in detail.The relationship between LeT, ISI, and the Pakistani Army is made stark, which will reinforce much of the despair many in the Western governments feel about dealings with those institutions. What I think is more important is the description and evaluation of how LeT, as a civil and religious organisation has grown to a point where the Pakistani civil state cannot confront them.We know that militant and extremist groups fractionate by their very nature, what Dr. Tankel repeatedly observes is that LeT whilst disciplined it is also un-disciplined. Key members, often acting as cadres or direct action / paramilitary advisers leave and pursue their own objectives for the `cause' often returning to the group. Given the reported skills of LeT this aspect should not be overlooked and one issue is how much attention should be given to the international movement of possible members, many of whom will be "clean skins" and have Western passports?The `exit, entry' aspect begs a simple question, are LeT skilled mercenaries who will fight (or today facilitate) well for any part of the `cause'. With their trans-national network it is surprising we've seen LeT on the world stage so little; reflecting in plots in Australia and Denmark notably.Given that LeT's origins lie in Kashmir and the now intermittent violence in the Indian-ruled part, in which LeT can play a role I am surprised that Dr. Tankel does not consider the contemporary support for this primarily nationalist cause beyond Pakistan. In the UK there are those who argue the Kashmiri cause resonates far less today and is reflected in the lack of any type of support for LeT. The callous shootings in Mumbai, notably at the main railway terminus, which included Muslims, undermined their legitimacy - `Not in my name' comes to mind.Making an assessment of LeT who entered `the stage' in 2008 is made harder by the simple fact that it appears to have exited the stage since then. Was the response so negative after the media spotlight shifted, perhaps the attack a `one off' and are LeT just a capable reserve option for it's Pakistani partners?History will be the judge of this actor, Dr. Tankel thank you; now the audience can know them better and so judge them far better.

The field of terrorism studies has been afflicted, perhaps more than any other field, by really really bad books. Good books that profile and analyze terrorist groups are few and far between, owing to poorly qualified scholars/journalists/hacks, a preference for polemics over analysis, and a tendency to conduct research from afar rather than in the field. Tankel has written a book that should serve as the gold standard for scholars writing about violent sub-state groups. A highly qualified scholar coming out of King's College London's War Studies Department, Tankel conducted extensive field research in Pakistan to provide a value-neutral, extensively footnoted analysis that illuminates one of the world's most secretive, poorly understood, and successful terrorist organizations in history. He is truly an expert on LeT and, as such, he is a star in the community of those who study terrorism.

Highly recommended.