The history of the use of biological agents by non-state actors indicates that radical groups, religious fanatics and even disgruntled scientists have engaged in bioterrorism
The larger issue which the GSAT-12 launch brings to the fore is that of the mounting demand for satellite transponders and India’s capabilities in this regard.
The US is stopping the shuttle programme by design and not for want of technology or money; nor does discontinuing the space shuttle indicate that the US has lost the space race.
With the successful sixteenth flight of the PSLV-C16, the “feel good” factor has returned to ISRO which was buffeted by failures and controversy over the last year.
On the 50th anniversary of Gagarin’s space flight, the space scenario appears to be at a crossroads. Because of the economic and other geopolitical compulsions, major powers are found trading cautiously.
This article evaluates the opportunities associated with The Hague Code of Conduct (HCoC) for India. HCoC is a stand-alone agreement against ballistic missile proliferation. Since the 1974 Pokharan nuclear tests it has been tricky for India to get into the non-proliferation mainstream. The success of the 2005 Indo-US nuclear deal is a first step towards global acceptability of India's non-proliferation and disarmament policies. Now, it is important for India to start supporting the international norms which do not affect their strategic programmes.
The 21st century may not hold the same strategic logic of the 1960s and 1970s towards discovering outer space. Over a period of time, particularly after the end of the Cold War, space appears to have lost some, if not all, of its strategic significance. During 2004, the then US president, George W. Bush, had argued that the 21st century moon exploration initiative by the US should be viewed as part of a journey and not a race. Mostly, the peaceful voyage of global activities in space got a jolt when China conducted an anti-satellite test (ASAT) during January 2007.
The old arguments against the effectiveness of biological warfare still apply. The effects of novel organisms would still be delayed, unpredictable, and difficult to control. In military terms, any advance is almost certainly not a matter of the routine use of bio-technology. Whatever the fact, this double edged weapon still acts like a deterrent against any kind of conventional attack. Empirical evidence suggests that the likelihood of such a war between technologically advanced states is remote as since 1945, the biological weapons have been used only in situations where the victims were unprotected and unable to retaliate.
Breivik’s Interest in Anthrax and Religious Extremism
The history of the use of biological agents by non-state actors indicates that radical groups, religious fanatics and even disgruntled scientists have engaged in bioterrorism