From the perspective of the law enforcement preparedness and response, the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai raised reasonable concerns. First of all, national security agencies failed to fulfill their obligations in terms of data collection and analysis. Despite the long history of tension and violence between India and Pakistan, local agencies remained unprepared for a large-scale act of terrorism. As suggested by the presented research, the attacks were far from spontaneous. In fact, LeT terrorists had been planning these acts for a considerable period, searching for breaches in the Indian defense framework. At certain points, there were witnesses who reported unusual activity, suggesting plans of an attack. Indian intelligence failed to detect numerous attempts to breach the country’s maritime borders, and the final one became successful.
On the other hand, while the attack occurred on Indian soil, the fight against terrorism is a global objective pursued by many countries. For example, such a goal has remained on the agenda of American intelligence for several decades. Moreover, it is reported that the wife of one of the 26/11 organizers informed the United States about a planned attack. Nevertheless, this information was never processed nor transmitted in a proper manner. Simultaneously, the terrorists later confirmed that they had an associate within the Indian intelligence service. This scenario implies that each stage of the data collection and analysis process was seriously flawed. Consequently, the lack of communication between agencies and nations led to the deaths and suffering of hundreds of people.
Ultimately, the 26/11 attacks should become the turning point for the security framework development in South Asia. In a way, it revealed similar issues as the 9/11 disaster in the United States that prompted a serious revision of the American intelligence services. The evaluation of the case suggests that both preparedness and response were insufficient, thus entailing adverse consequences. The lack of interagency communication and incorrect interpretation of evidence allowed LeT to terrorize the city of Mumbai for several days. This incident should become an important lesson, which would prevent similar actions in the future.