Senseless terrorism that makes even less sense than usual, if that makes any sense

Terrorism is,at its core, the most senseless activity known to man. How could anyone with a drop of humanity think that killing a bunch of innocent secretaries and accountants, as on 9/11, is a virtuous cause and a pathway to heaven? Still, as was the case with other political monstrosities like Hitler or Stalin,  there are warped and evil objectives lurking behind some terrorist activities. On 9/11, Osama bin Laden presumably sought to not only slaughter innocent people but  also disrupt the American economy, raise al-Qaeda's profile by prompting a forceful response, and to get U.S. troops out of Saudi Arabia. Sadly, parts of all these things happened as a result.

The Mumbai terrorists who slaughtered 171 people rated off the inhumanity charts, targeting and apparently torturing some of their victims in a bloody rampage through the city. The attack was well-planned and carefully coordinated -- and. from everything I've seen, makes absolutely no sense, especially when one considers

» READ MORE: reports that elements of Pakistan's intelligence and military establishment

-- if not the Pakistani government itself -- may be linked to the terrorists' training.

And the geopolitical point of that exercise would be...what? It sounds like poking a bear with a sharp stick, especially when one considers that Pakistan's record in fighting wars with India over the last 60 years is

» READ MORE: roughly on a par with the Washington Generals

. Except now those poking sticks are nuclear-tipped.

Reportedly the captured terrorists told his interrogators the attacks were part of a campaign to convert India to Islam. By killing people's relatives and neighbors? That will work.* It is true that India is an uproar over the attacks, and it's even possible the government could be toppled. If that was the broader objective of the terrorists' higher-up backers in Pakistan, wouldn't that result a new government even less friendly to Islamabad? And does Pakistan really think it could fight a war in its current weakened state.

Maybe sometimes senseless acts of terrorism are just senseless. But that's not a satisfactory answer for humankind.

Just one footnote: If the U.S. government really wants to avoid an India-Pakistan war -- and I believe that it does, at the highest levels, anyway - then what is the reason for all these inflammatory leaks linking Pakistan to the attacks. There's little point in diplomacy when you're also fueling war passions through stories in the New York Times.

How much do you want to bet the "ex-Defense Department official" is Richard Perle?