Lighting The Nuclear Fire Nuclear high-wire act

http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20020530-98844896.htm

A nation`s ``order of battle`` — its weapons, people, doctrine and intelligence capabilities — tells a lot about how a war can be fought. India`s army outnumbers Pakistan`s by two-to-one, and India`s air force has four-to-one numerical superiority. India has a much larger navy, including an aircraft carrier. But a general war between them could also be fought in the skies over both countries, and at sea.

Some of India`s forces, such as its aircraft carrier, don`t even enter into the equation. The carrier can`t get close enough to strike Pakistan, because if it did it would be sunk by Pakistani land-based aircraft. India`s army — 1.3 million troops strong — has about 2500 tanks, including many old Russian T-55s. Its main strength is in size, not mobility. India`s army lacks the logistics ``tail`` that could enable it to mount the massive and sustained ground movements necessary to take and hold all of Kashmir. India`s best option to avoid a wider war is limited strikes against terrorists in Kashmir. But it lacks the special forces and intelligence integration that would give it this option. Its only alternative is a massive ground campaign.

The nations share about 1,800 miles of border. The military buildup has been in the Kashmiri lowlands northwest of Jammu. ``Lowlands`` is a deceiving term, because the ground there is as almost as high and rugged as Afghanistan. An Indian attack would likely begin north of Jammu, and move northwest toward Islamabad, Pakistan`s capital. In any Indian attack, the ability to move ground forces quickly in the first week of the war will be crucial. If the weather is bad enough to ground the Pakistani air force but still good enough to move on the ground, India could be within a few miles of Islamabad in seven to ten days. If the weather is good, and the Pakistanis use their air forces to best advantage, India will be stopped in its tracks.

India`s air force is no match for Pakistan`s. About one-third of India`s combat aircraft are barely flyable. Maintenance is poor. Pilots are in short supply. India`s air force is simply not combat-ready or sustainable. Pakistan`s air force is better trained and equipped. It flies American F-16 and French Mirage multi-role fighter-bombers that can penetrate Indian air defenses and deliver weapons up to 800 miles into Indian territory within 25 minutes of the beginning of the war. They could be carrying nuclear weapons.

Both nations have nuclear arsenals, but Pakistan has a greater ability to deliver them. This was demonstrated last weekend when the Pakistanis conducted three days of successful tests of long and short-range missiles. Pakistan claims to be able to hit 11 of India`s 12 largest cities — and 65 million people — with nuclear weapons. We cannot count on common sense preventing the use of nuclear weapons.

Muslims and The West After 11th September Well articulated and precise at times. However, I disagree with the fact that there is going to any weakening in the status of US as a superpower. This status stems not just from America’s military and economic strength but I believe, is an integral function of the way the society here is structured, i.e. relatively tolerant, just, open with a very high acceptance of new ideas. This cannot be said about either China or India.

Journalists or Americans? This was funny

Why I am leaving Sad but true!

The Nature of The Sea violent and pointless!!

The Magician and The Dreamer Did the girl eventually learn to trust?

Devi Dies ... Very well written, easy to follow and entertaining, had all the ingredients of a well-told short story. Bravo!

The Girl in the Meadow As with most other stuff on chowk, I seemed to have missed the point completely.

Maybe I should read it again!

World of a Pariah What’s a genuine Pakistani?

An Eulogy For The Hawks Is this an original thought or what! I should be awarded the Nobel.

From Dawn 07/08/2001

Advani suggests confederation

NEW DELHI July 7: In a significant remark in the run up to the Musharraf-Vajpayee summit, Union Home Minister L.K. Advani has suggested the formation of a Confederation of South Asian states, including India and Pakistan.

``I am confident that Vajpayee`s initiative will create a conducive atmosphere in the direction of the formation of a Confederation of India, Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and Nepal in the days ahead,`` Advani added.

He said the world was witnessing sweeping changes and arch rivals such as the two German republics have now reunited, reports PTI.

The Sangh Parivar, to which the ruling BJP belongs, had originally propounded the concept of `Akhand Bharat` or united India, which comprises the whole of South Asia, including Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Advani, however, said he disagreed with the Western perception of Kashmir as a dispute between India and Pakistan. ``We do not see Kashmir in the context of Pakistan. For us, it is inseparably linked to India`s unity,`` he said.

Advani said the concept of self-determination espoused by separatist groups would prove detrimental more to the interests of Pakistan as it had diverse ethnic and linguistic groups within its boundaries.-NNI

An Eulogy For The Hawks I agree with the future presented for Pakistan in this article i.e. restructuring into smaller manageable regions. However, I would present the same solution for India itself. Despite its recent successes in terms of economic and international acceptance, no one can deny the fact that India is an underdeveloped third world country. This particularly stems from the fact that it is not a single nation at all. It is more of a union of nations comprising people of different ethnic, social and religious attributes. These are the very reasons for continued unmitigated poverty, illiteracy, racism, corruption, bigotry and ignorance existing in every aspect of life there. In addition, countless regional separatist movements, from Kashmir and Khalistan in North to Assam and Nagaland in the South East, speak of the state of the union. In these terms the cohesive factors binding Pakistan i.e. a common religious identity are a lot more justifiable.

What I purpose is an entirely new structure of all of South Asia. All countries in the SAARC should be dissolved as independent federations. Instead, regional governments and states composed of, and based on ethnic fractions should be formed i.e. Kashmir for Kashmiris, Khyber for Phatans, Tamilland – Tamils, Khalistan for Sikhs etc. The government in these states should have complete autonomy i.e. their own education system, police and revenue generation. At the same time all these states would join together to form a single South Asian Federation with a common defense, foreign and economic policy. Such a federation should be run by a body (e.g. senate) comprising equal representation from all these states wanting to take part. This model will be a lot like EU, as the South Asia in terms of ethnic diversity is comparable to Europe.

This model is based on broad thinking and definitely needs a lot of refinement. However, my point is that instead imagining India as a superpower, which unfortunately is an absurd illusion at best, lets think of how to take the entire South Asian region forward.

An Eulogy For The Hawks “We, India, are based on the solitary founding principle that religious sensibilities has nothing to do with nationhood”

There seems to be an inherent contradiction between your statement and the ground reality in India at present, i.e. the government itself comprises of a right wing religious party.

White Charade Imaginative and intriguing, read like a jacket cover from a high suspense/thriller novel!

She is Special “All women cry for no reason`` was all his dad could say.”

Seems truer after reading all these writings!

She is Special I agree with all that’s said these are remarkable achievements, not reasons to cry

Tiny Trickles Is any woman happy in this world?