The three-day terror attack in Mumbai, India, that began on November 26, 2008, killed 174 people and injured six hundred more. The complex, coordinated operation conducted by ten operatives of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based terrorist organization, struck a train station, luxury hotels, a cafe's frequented by foreigners, and a Jewish community center. Due to the confusion and misinformation, it took twenty-eight hours for Indian security forces to trade fire with the terrorists, and thirty more before the terrorists were captured or killed. Just hours after the shooting stopped, senior New York Police Department (NYPD) officers were collecting information from the crime scenes. Within days, the NYPD Intelligence Division compiled a forty-nine page "Mumbai Attack Analysis," consisting of a detailed timeline, the weapons and tactics used, and the terrorists.
Then-Commissioner Ray Kelly instantly recognized that this brazen commando-style assault was a terrorist threat to the City that the NYPD was inadequately prepared for. The telltale sign that the Mumbai attackers were exceptionally proficient and patient was the absence of bullet holes in the ceiling. An excited or untrained gunman shooting an automatic weapon fires too high and too often. Kelly recalled that his investigators instead found tight three-bullet clusters consistently fired at head-level, which meant that the terrorists had been well trained to demonstrate such fire discipline. The day after the attacks started, Kelly decided that a tabletop exercise--modeled upon the Intelligence Division's analysis--would be prepared to test the responses and decision-making of the NYPD's senior commanders.
Fortunately, there was--and remains today--a small group within the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau responsible for developing and conducting such exercises at the commissioner's direction in advance of prominent events (the Thanksgiving Day parade), in response to complex threats (missing highly radioactive material), or for new potential perpetrators (lone wolf attackers). The first under Commissioner William Bratton considered active shooters, backpack bombs, and a radiological event during Super Bowl XLVIII held at the Meadowlands in February 2014. The most recent, conducted in early September, simulated how commanders would respond to a potential hurricane hitting New York City, which would have eliminated the use of maritime or aerial assets, during Pope Francis' visit. Mayor Bill de Blasio has attended and actively participated in these exercises. Michael Bloomberg, by contrast, chose not to attend any during his time in office.
In a more accountable, infinitely more successful Law Enforcement world, Ray Kelly would be new Director of the FBI. Unfortunately, the Bureau and other gov't agencies see the NYPD as competition as opposed to a partner.