Monthly Archives: May 2012

Lavoy and Indian Tanks in Afghanistan?

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Heard the other day from Rahul Bedi of Janes’s and, following up on my blogging re: Lavoy, said he had heard from his MoD army sources that Lavoy, during his trip here last week, had urged India to dispatch Indian … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army | Tagged | 11 Comments

Mission Taliban

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

There are some immutable laws of military history that repeated attempts at disproving them only end up confirming their veracity. One such law has to do with certain countries being simply intolerant of interventions by foreign powers. Vietnam and Afghanistan … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Special Forces, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Terrorism | 2 Comments

More strange, Lavoy

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Peter Lavoy, leading a Pentagon team to convince India to up its stake in Afghanistan, acted strange. May be he wears his intel background too seriously on his sleeve. In the dinner table conversation, I brought up the matter of Lt Gen Ausaf … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Geopolitics, India's Pakistan Policy, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 8 Comments

Lavoy — Nukes in S Asia; India in Afghanistan, please!

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

A Pentagon team headed by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence Peter Lavoy is in town. At a dinner hosted last night by the newly credentialed US Ambassador Nancy Powell, Lavoy rvealed that his team was in Delhi to plead … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, civil-military relations, Geopolitics, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Special Forces, Strategic Relations with the US & West | Tagged | 7 Comments

India, an example?

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Constitution last Sunday, speaker after opposition speaker pointed out that while democratic norms have been tenuously maintained, the promise of social and economic equity is nowhere near being achieved for the … Continue reading →

Posted in civil-military relations, Indian Politics, Internal Security | 4 Comments

India-US trade, Iran

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

People may wish to see what was said on a panel disccussion on NDTV Profit channel earlier this week. We Mean Business: Outsourcing backlash hurts India-US trade http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/we-mean-business/we-mean-business-outsourcing-backlash-hurts-india-us-trade/231760

Posted in Asian geopolitics, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Indian Politics, Strategic Relations with the US & West | Leave a comment

Brothers-in-arms

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Bharat Karnad The test-firing of the Agni-V intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) on April 19 was greeted with a heartening absence of official bluster in Pakistan. The matter-of-fact counter-launch a few days later of a medium-range Pakistani Hatf missile likewise … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Geopolitics, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Internal Security, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Terrorism | 11 Comments

Perils of Double-hedging

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Delhi after leading the American delegation in the latest round of the US-China Economic and Strategic Dialogue held in Beijing on May 3-4, an exercise that usually involves the largest American delegation of officials … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Relations with Russia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 5 Comments

India can play bigger military role in Asia

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

The Singapore statesman, Lee Kuan Yew likened Asia to an airplane with India and China as the two wings keeping the continent flying. This aviation metaphor was constructed, at least in part, on the hope and prayer that India would … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Defence Industry, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 14 Comments

Rethinking Indian Policies Towards Pakistan

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

The transcript of my talk and subsequent interaction at the Atlantic Council, Washington DC, took place mid-November 2011, but the subject is ever-green and topical now with the Indian and Pak govts seeking to forge economic and trade ties, etc., … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian Politics, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism | 1 Comment