Archives

Insurgency-guerilla war as a combination in the struggle of the weak against the strong has established itself as a strong and successful method of waging an armed struggle. It is said that the...

Pirates or Naval Al Qaeda or Both?

By: B Raman |Issue: Vol 24.2 Apr-Jun 2009 | Date: 07 January 2011

I have been in receipt of the following message on April 8, 2009, from ECOTERRA International, which disseminates a periodic “Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor”: “Danish owned and US-American...

Public Sector: survival through circumventing competition

By: Maj Gen Mrinal Suman |Issue: Vol 24.2 Apr-Jun 2009 | Date: 07 January 2011

The current equipment profile of the Indian Armed Forces has been a matter of serious disquiet to all those who are concerned with national security issues. Many wonder if India possesses the...

PLA's psywar against the US

By: B Raman |Issue: Net Edition | Date: 07 January 2011

As Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, gets ready to visit China from January 9 to 12 and as President Hu Jintao’s State visit to Washington DC on January 19 approaches, the People’s...

The Dubious Deal with ULFA

By: Prakash Nanda |Issue: Net Edition | Date: 07 January 2011

The Assam government, fully backed by New Delhi, has cleared the passage for release of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) leaders from jail. On the New Year’s Day, the so-called...

Indo-French bilateral Naval Exercise 'VARUNA 10' gets underway with two...

By: IDR News Network |Issue: Net Edition | Date: 06 January 2011

‘VARUNA 10′ the bilateral naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the French Navy is scheduled to commence from 07 Jan 11 with aircraft carriers, destroyers/frigates, tankers and submarines...

Spreading roots of extremism in Pakistan

By: B Raman |Issue: Net Edition | Date: 06 January 2011

The roots of extremism are spreading in Pakistan. This is obvious from the assassination of Salman Taseer, the Governor of Punjab, by a policeman belonging to the Elite Force of the Punjab Police...

Army Chief willing to appear before the PAC

By: IDR News Network |Issue: Net Edition | Date: 06 January 2011

New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) With the PAC calling the three Services heads to question them in connection with the alleged irregularities in CSD, Army Chief General V K Singh today said he had “no...

Iran-US Confrontation

By: Vikram Sood |Issue: Vol 23.1 Jan-Mar 2008 | Date: 05 January 2011

The world has watched most of the last year and the one preceding, the Iran-US confrontation, at times with baited breath as the two seemed to be on hair trigger alert from time to time. The...

Meeting Maoist Challenge

By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh |Issue: Vol 25.4 Oct-Dec 2010 | Date: 05 January 2011

While Maoists have been slowly but surely spreading their hold over district after district, scoring a total of over 200 districts, the Indian state slept through this phase spanning over couple...

Offsets in US Military Sales

By: Maj Gen Mrinal Suman |Issue: Vol 23.1 Jan-Mar 2008 | Date: 05 January 2011

According to some estimates, India is likely to spend close to USD 100 billion on capital acquisitions during the current plan period of 2007-12. Presently, imports account for nearly 70 percent...

Pakistan's Punjab Governor Taseer's Assassination

By: B Raman |Issue: Net Edition | Date: 05 January 2011

The assassination of Salman Taseer, the liberal Governor of Punjab, by one of his police security guards at an Islamabad shopping centre on January 4 because of the Governor’s criticism of the...

Maritime Security: an Indian scenario

By: Commodore G Sharma |Issue: Vol 24.1 Jan-Mar 2009 | Date: 03 January 2011

In the late 1930s, a famous radio program in the USA called War of the Worlds — a story line that proposed an attack on the earth from Mars — created a sensation and instilled fear into the...

Air Marshal NAK Browne: The new VCAS

By: IDR News Network |Issue: Net Edition | Date: 03 January 2011

Air Marshal NAK Browne PVSM, AVSM, VM assumed the charge as the new Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) at Air Headquarters, today. He was formerly the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C)...

The end of Shangrila

By: Claude Arpi |Issue: Net Edition | Date: 31 December 2010

As the year comes to a close, one could ask: What was the most depressing news during 2010? There were so many contenders for this description — from the shoddy preparations for the...

Liang Guanglie: Wars Are Unlikely, but Military Friction Can't Be Excluded

By: Contributed by Claude Arpi |Issue: Net Edition | Date: 31 December 2010

On December 29, 2010, People’s Daily published a December interview of Liang Guanglie, China’s Defense Minister. Li stated in the interview, “Looking at the current world situation, a full-scale...

Operation Nandigram: The Inside Story

By: VK Shashikumar |Issue: Vol 23.1 Jan-Mar 2008 | Date: 29 December 2010

A Primitive Territorial Conflict Nandigram is like any other town in Marxist West Bengal. Even the new in-your-face CPI (M) flags look familiar. Narrow proletarian streets, packed with walking...

Military Power: The Task Ahead

By: Lt Gen SC Sardeshpande |Issue: Vol 23.1 Jan-Mar 2008 | Date: 29 December 2010

Power means the sum total of capabilities, with the help of which things can be manipulated to one’s own advantage, be it individual or nation. Along the strands of capabilities is the power...

Indian Defence Offset Regime: Need for Reforms

By: Maj Gen Mrinal Suman |Issue: Vol 23.1 Jan-Mar 2008 | Date: 29 December 2010

In any highly competitive trade environment, every seller has to make his offer irresistible and more lucrative than those of others. This is the basic canon of marketing. International defence...

Offset Banking

By: Maj Gen Mrinal Suman |Issue: Vol 23.1 Jan-Mar 2008 | Date: 29 December 2010

Offset banking implies generation and accumulation of offset credits prior to the award of the main contract. A bank of offset credits is created in anticipation of getting contracts to defray...