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Obama doesn’t have any time to waste with this latest crisis on his plate.

According to ABC, the search for suspects in the bombing that obliterated the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai that killed approximately 195 people and injured at least 295 others.

According to JK Dutt, director general of India’s elite National Guard commando unit, “There were three terrorists (and) we have killed them”.

Dutt also honored Maj. Gen. Unnikrishnan who was killed in the deadly blast: “He gave up his own life to save the others”. In India, even generals are on the front lines unlike in the United States where generals often command from the rear.

Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee: “”According to preliminary information, some elements in Pakistan are responsible for (the) Mumbai terror attacks”. This suggests sectarian strife because India is predominantly a Hindu country while Pakistan is predominantly a Muslim country.

Ayesha Dar, a 33-year-old homemaker: “There is a limit a city can take. This is a very, very different kind of fear. It will be some time before things get back to normal”.

According to media reports, a man was killed when a trawler was hijacked out of Karachi, Pakistan. This report hasn’t yet been confirmed.

Put all of this together and what have we got? President Obama can’t afford to waste time. When he gets to the Oval Office on January 20, 2009, he will have to deal with an economy, 2 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and now this crisis in Mumbai. It will be a serious test on his foreign policy credentials.