Col. Raj Shukla was Research Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. <a href="/profile/rshukla">Click here for detailed profile</a>
A significant part of the globe is engaged currently in conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia, as also prospectively in the Pacific. Even as the conflicts simmer, glaring inadequacies have come to light in the military–industrial complexes (MICs) of nations as diverse as the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Germany and wider Europe. Readiness is being reviewed and stockpile levels are being revamped with a renewed sense of urgency, driven by the realisation that what wins wars is not #hashtags and online aggression, but cold military steel.
The phenomenon of nuclear terrorism has been the subject of intense debate as also much hype. This article seeks to cut through the hype and examine the real portents of the threat in terms of event possibilities. In doing so, it calls for sobriety and balance in discussion, emphasizes the need to guard against ignoring numerous scientific facts and real difficulties along the way, and cautions against embracing unduly alarmist overtones.
Chasing The Dragon: Will India Catch Up With China? by Mohan Guruswamy and Zorawar Daulet Singh
Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt Ltd., 2009, pp. 188, Rs 650, ISBN 978-8131724118
Afghanistan was a test case for our foreign policy resolve, an arena where while leveraging other tools of foreign policy, use of instruments of force and military diplomacy/intelligence should have been predominant.
The Naxal challenge is a wake up call to rejig our internal security instruments and restore their organizational ethos, autonomy and operational credibility.
If India does not modernize in an evenly spread out manner, it will be faced either with the prospect of its armed forces not being prepared, or rushing to make purchases amidst crises, or creating needless hysteria when frenzied modernization occurs.
My presentation on, “ Use of Force - Possibilities in the Indo – Pak Context ” shall be brief and pointed. I shall make a few salient points, leaving the nitty gritty for discussion, in the interactive session that will follow. I may add that what I present today, is not any institutional position, but merely a personal opinion, albeit one that is steeped quite naturally, in my professional experiences and inclinations. May I also asterisk to the arguments that follow, a few caveats
Eight winters since the launch of Enduring Freedom, the turmoil in Afghanistan continues. When contrasted with the progress in Iraqi Freedom, the gloom only deepens. Having applied the necessary mid- course corrections to the ‘ wrong war ’ (Iraq), there is hope on the horizon; despite the Obama administration’s shift of gaze and focus to the ‘ right war ’ (Afghanistan) to include a renewed and reworked military thrust, the initiative continues to rest with the Taliban.
Af-Pak and India’s Strategic Innocence
Afghanistan was a test case for our foreign policy resolve, an arena where while leveraging other tools of foreign policy, use of instruments of force and military diplomacy/intelligence should have been predominant.