DELHI, INDIA – It often happens that victims of terrorism are simply civilians that find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It’s time for another Star Trek story! It has been a while, hasn’t it, since I shared my life-long fascination with this series? Please indulge me again (spoiler alert! I may do a podcast on terrorism in the Star Trek universe one day!).
In Star Trek Next Generation (known to its fans simply as TNG) Captain Jean-Luc Picard often relates how, during his time at Star Fleet Academy, he was advised by the most unlikely of characters: Boothby, the groundskeeper. In fact, Picard described the gardener as “one of the wisest men I have ever known.” Not bad for a guy planting flowers!
We may seldom pay enough attention to what groundskeepers do, ignoring the wonderful gardens and lawns they maintain. And yet at times they too end up in the wrong places.
On this day in 2001
Members of both Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaysh-e-Mohammed (JeM) Islamist terrorist groups launched an attack on the Indian Parliament in Delhi, armed with AK-47s, grenades, and pistols. In all, nine people were killed, including six Delhi police, two parliamentary security personnel…and a gardener. All five terrorists were shot dead after their onslaught.
There is credible technical evidence that Thursday’s terrorist attack on the seat of democracy and sovereignty of Indian people was the handiwork of a terrorist organisation based in Pakistan – Lashkar-e-Tayiba.
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh
Why did the gardener have to die? What did any of this have to do with him? I suppose this a good reminder that when it comes to terrorism there is usually no rhyme nor reason.
Read More Today in Terrorism
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