"Each had its own agenda for the operation. But the targets were the same - Indians, Americans, and Jews - the targets of the global jihad started by Al Qaeda in the late 1990s," Riedel wrote.
Describing the November 2008 attack as "the most important terror attack since 9/11" he pointed out that the "10 terrorists' tactics have been copied by others since - for example, just weeks ago in Nairobi."
But "perhaps the most shocking element of the Mumbai attack was the role played by David Coleman Headley, an American citizen of Pakistani descent, in the intelligence collection that preceded the attack," Riedel wrote.
