Category Archives: Special Forces

Confluence of Interests on Seas

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

There’s certain symmetry in INS Vikramaditya’s imminent assumption of the flagship role in the Indian Navy, the launch in Japan of the Izumo, quaintly described as a “flat-top destroyer”, and the Japanese Emperor Akihito’s second state visit to this country. … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Defence Industry, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, Military Acquisitions, South Asia, South East Asia, Special Forces, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Technology transfer, Weapons | 12 Comments

Unforgiving take on past

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

(Review of Lt Gen V.K. Nayar’s book, ‘From Fatigues to Civvies: Memoirs of a Paratrooper’, Manohar, 2013; Rs 1395/-) Lieutenant general V K “Tubby” Nayar (Retd) is among a rare breed of military officers. Despite being outspoken with his seniors … Continue reading →

Posted in civil-military relations, guerilla warfare, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian para-military forces, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Pakistan, Pakistan military, South Asia, South East Asia, Special Forces, Terrorism | Leave a comment

Micro-wars as murderous business on LOC

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

With the media-generated mass boo-hooing attendant on the killing of the five jawans of the Bihar Regiment on the LOC in J&K, some core issues are being lost sight of. Firstly, as I have mentioned in a previous blog, such … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Pakistan, Pakistan military, satellites, South Asia, Special Forces, Terrorism | 14 Comments

French frankness and Defence hard-sell

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

The French Defence Minister Jean Yves Le Drian at a talk in IDSA straightforwardly presented some of the points in the ‘Defence and National Security White Paper 2013’ (the last such document was issued in 2008). He emphasized the fact … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, South Asia, Special Forces, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Western militaries | Leave a comment

Biden trip and the issue of “rebalancing in Asia”

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

US Vice President Joe Biden will be in Mumbai and Delhi, July 22-24, and is expected to reinforce the message sent by American trade and commercial interests who hope to gain greater traction in the Indian market, by reiterating the … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Ocean, Pakistan, Pakistan military, South Asia, Special Forces, United States, US., Western militaries | Leave a comment

America’s trump card in the subcontinent

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

The Four-man “Abottabad Commission” to inquire into reasons why the US Special Forces could hunt down Osama bin Laden, swoop down all the way from Jalalabad on his safe-house just outside the gates of the Pakistan Military Academy, kill him, … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Pakistan, Pakistan military, South Asia, Special Forces, United States, US., Western militaries | Leave a comment

What to do about Pakistan

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

In the wake of the beheading of a slain Indian soldier by 29 Baloch Regiment regulars on the ceasefire line, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne, Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, warned about “other options”, implying something stronger by way of … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, China, civil-military relations, Great Power imperatives, India's Pakistan Policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Ocean, nonproliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, South Asia, Special Forces, Terrorism, United States | 15 Comments

Pakistan army’s penchant for mutilation and how to deal with it

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

It is either a serious breach of discipline, or it is implementation of a considered policy by the Pakistan army High Command. In either case, it reflects poorly on the Pakistan Army that, until Partition in 1947, was part of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, India's Pakistan Policy, Indian Army, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Special Forces, Terrorism | 16 Comments

Streamlining Defence

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

When talking to uniformed officers in higher military training institutions and forums, I try to emphasise the perils of an industrial age military. The country has far to go to get anywhere near the technologically-efficient, cyber-savvy, 21st century modern armed … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China military, DRDO, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Military Acquisitions, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Special Forces, US., Western militaries | 4 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