Monthly Archives: June 2012

Army nixed Pak PM candidature?

It is mighty curious that the front runner to replace Raza Gilani as Pakistan Prime Minister is the texiles minister Makhdoom and not Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, a former defence minister. Is it not reasonable to believe that when a list … Continue reading

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, India's Pakistan Policy, Indian Ocean, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 1 Comment

Time to revisit Article 370

Set up by the Manmohan Singh government in 2010, the Kashmir panel comprising M.M. Ansari, formerly with the Central Information Commission, Radha Kumar, an academic with interest in conflict resolution, and journalist Dileep Padgaonkar, submitted its report about a fortnight … Continue reading

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Geopolitics, India's Pakistan Policy, Indian Politics, Internal Security | 12 Comments

Panetta trip — problems ahead in Indo-US defense ties

US Defense Secretary Leon E Panetta was accompanied by a big retinue of DOD officials and US military officers to the IDSA auditorium for his speech yesterday evening, among them the old stand-bys — Peter Lavoy, and the highest ranking American … Continue reading

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Defence Industry, Geopolitics, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer | Leave a comment

Countering US pressure

Assuming the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has done its job, the government must be aware of the fact that North Korea is preparing to conduct its third nuclear test, this time of a Chinese-designed boosted fission device. Transferred in … Continue reading

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Defence Industry, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 24 Comments

Playing Favourites

On the weekend prior to demitting office, General V.K. Singh, using the media, publicly firebombed the government one last time as Chief of Army Staff (COAS). Separately interviewed by the main television channels intent on wringing the last few drops … Continue reading

Posted in civil-military relations, Indian Army, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Military Acquisitions | 2 Comments