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Analysis
Swat,
Pakistan North West Frontier Province
[February
13, 2009]
WE
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PUBLISHED
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America Goes
To War
0230 GMT
September 3, 2010
-
The US as
a pathetic wimp Americans like to think of their
country as powerful, but in one case, at least, the US
shows it has become a pathetic wimp. The case concerns
Dr. AQ Khan, father of Pakistan N-weapons program and
master proliferator.
-
Just as
background, the good professor sold N-weapons technology
to Libya, Iran, Saudi Arabia and North Korea. He also
sent two of his top men to discuss sale of two
N-warheads to our equally esteemed friend, Osama Bin
Laden. The good professor even arranged for China to
"loan" Pakistan N-weapon grade materials for its 1998
tests.
-
US tried to
get access to Dr. AQ Khan, but the Pakistanis told the
Americans to go back to where they belonged. They did
put him under a farcical house arrest; but this house
arrest was like putting a suspect in the Waldorf Astoria
and letting visit anyone he wants to see.
-
Now he has
been released even from this "house arrest."
-
Editor needs
to be clear for our readers. As a Pakistani, Dr AQ Khan
has every right to develop N-weapons for his country.
His nuclear dealings were conducted with the full
knowledge and assistance of his government, and frankly,
that is the Government of Pakistan's business. We are
not making this into a moral issue of any sort.
-
What we are
saying is that Dr, Khan and the Government of Pakistan
powerfully acted against American interests. So just as
the Pakistanis have the right to pursue their interests,
US has the right to pursue its interests.
-
Except the
US cannot even get to talk to Dr. Khan, leave alone get
him in its custody.
-
This from
the world's alleged sole superpower.
-
If the US
looks at the man in the mirror, it will not see Uncle
Sam or the American Eagle. It will see Mr. Alfred E.
Neuman, of Mad magazine. Mr. Neuman's motto? "Wot, me
worry?"
-
Follow-up
on Indian food grains story The Hindu daily reports
that the Government will release an additional
2.5-million tons of food grains to Below Poverty Line
families, consequent on Supreme Court orders that it is
better to give away the grain then let it rot. The
Government sells subsidized food grains to 65-million
BPL families, up to a maximum of 35-kg/month. It is also
thinking of raising the number of eligible families to
between 77- and 82-million.
-
The normal
foodgrain buffer maintained by the Government is
27-million tons, but at present the buffer has
55-million tons.
-
The
Government says food grain distribution costs
$14-billion/year. First, India can certainly afford that
sum to help feed its below poverty line people. Second,
it does NOT cost the government $14-billion/year. It
costs far less because the grain if not distributed will
spoil. Sure it has to be purchased in the first
place. But when millions of tons go to waste each year,
you cannot say distribution to the poor is
costing money.
-
We
congratulate the Government on its decision, even though
its hand was forced by the Supreme Court. Further, we
urge the Government to spend less time thinking and more
time doing. Indians are very smart. if their thoughts
could be spun into material wealth, India would be the
richest country in the world. In China, however, they
haven't gotten where they have by thinking.
-
BTW, we
don't know to what extent the poor can afford
35-kg/month of grains even if subsidized. Is this enough
to see a family of 5-6 through the month? Does the food
grain actually reach those for whom it is designated?
-
Another
episode in the Annals of the Absurd if anyone thinks
we are making up the story below, please visit
Washington Post September 2, 2010, Metro section, Pages
B1 and B6.
-
There is a
local elected official in Washington called Michael
Brown. He holds one if the two "at large" seats on the
Washington DC Council. He does not have to run for his
seat this year because apparently at least the at-large
members are elected in staggered years.
-
There is a
second Michael Brown, who wants the second "at large"
seat. Opposing him is a gentleman we will call Mr. A, to
protect the moronic.
-
Mr. A. is
attacking Michael Brown #2 for running his campaign
under the name "Michael Brown". Mr. A. says that by
running as "Michael Brown", Mr. Brown #2 is using the
popularity of Mr. Brown #1 into deceiving voters into
believing that he is actually Mr. Brown #1.
-
Now let's
look at the facts. Mr. Brown #1 is not running for
election this year. Washington DC is a small place,
perhaps 600,000 people. Presumably Washingtoons know
that Mr. Brown #1 is not running because it's not time
for him to run for reelection. Mr. Brown #1 is black and
45, and trim of build. Mr. Brown #2 is white and 57, and
is described as "portly". Mr. Brown #2 is asking people,
in bewildered fashion, what is he supposed to do?
Michael Brown is his name, and he had it first.
-
If Mr. A is
worried that the good people of Washington cannot tell
Mr. Brown #1 from Mr. Brown #2, and that is unfair
Michael Brown should run under the name Michael Brown,
possibly the US Congress is right in not giving
Washingtoons representation in the US Congress. (The
District of Columbia is a federal district, not a state.
Only states can send people to Congress.) After all,
even in a democracy you want voters who can tell a
45-year black man not running for election from a
57-year white man who is running for election. Even if
they have the same name.
-
Letter
from Jupiter: Re your September 1 statement that
"And
of course, the 90% of Muslims who probably agree that
both stoning to death and the name calling are wrong,
will not utter a word, further convincing non-Muslims
that Islam as a religion is unacceptable."
-
Actually it
is incorrect to say 90% of Muslims agree stoning is
wrong.
-
More
than 80% of Pakistanis ( > 95% are Muslim) support
stoning. Source:http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1683/pakistan-opinion-less-concern-extremists-america-image-poor-india-threat-support-harsh-laws
-
Half
of Indonesia support stoning (though its illegal).
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoning#Support_for_the_practice_of_stoning
-
Even if one
assumes that none in other Muslim countries support
stoning, it is still incorrect to say that 90% of
Muslims oppose stoning.
-
Considering
the historical association of stoning with mid-east,
Saudi, Iran and neighboring Muslims countries probably
support stoning at least as much as Indonesia or
Pakistan.
-
Probably
more than 2/3 of Muslims support stoning.
-
Editor's
note We haven't seen the latest population figures
but Indonesia and Pakistan hold about a third of the
world's 1-billion Muslims.
0230 GMT
September 2, 2010
-
After
UAVs, UUVs Unmanned Underwater Vehicles are the next
big thing in military robotics, with widespread research
being conducted around the world. Aviation week and
space Technology has a summary report of several
programs. One we found of interest was the British
Archerfish, a mine killer.
-
"BAE
Systems’ Archerfish, (is) a single-shot minekiller with
a directed-energy warhead, scanning sonar and twin
propulsors that let it hover beside a target for remote
video identification. Archerfish can be launched from
surface ships, UUVs or dropped from helicopters."
-
http://aviationnow.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/dti/2010/09/01/DT_09_01_2010_p26-248224.xml&headline=UUV%20Development%20Accelerates&channel=defense
-
China can
now rendezvous two satellites says Wired Magazine.
The US is known to have done the same thing in 2005, but
apparently the capability is an advanced one.
-
We
congratulate the Chinese on their new capability, and
offer our sincere thanks at creating a new threat the US
will have to respond to. Since the end of the Cold War
the US has gone to sleep on many types of advanced
weapons as the threat no longer existed. we are
appreciative the Chinese are getting into a serious
competition with the US on space weapons. As is
understandable, the US is at its technology best when
there is competition.
-
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom
You have to scroll past a few
other articles, each of interest.
The story is dated August 31, 2010.
-
Royal and
French Navies to share aircraft carriers? Defense
News says the move is under consideration. From the
Royal Navy's view, it can afford to cancel one of the
two 60,000-ton carriers it plans to construction, saving
$8-billion (though presumably the costs for a one-off
will be higher than half of a two-carrier deal). The
French get to have the use of a carrier for most of the
year. Currently, they have only one CVN, the Charles
de Gaulle.
-
Strictly
speaking, you have to have three to keep one on station
at all times. When the US has a 15-carrier force, it
kept three with the 7th Fleet and two with the 6th
Fleet. There are many tactical reasons why you want at
least two carriers working together, not least being you
want to keep four elements of two fighters up at a time
in a potentially hostile air environment, and also you
have a backup deck should one deck be fouled due to
enemy action or accidents. These imperatives get reduced
if you have AEW coverage and air support from land.
-
Also, with
three carriers in your fleet, with some warning time you
can put two to sea.
-
http://defensenews.com/story.php?i=4761937&c=SEA&s=TOP
-
Latest on
invisibility cloaks
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727755.800-real-invisibility-threads-would-be-fit-for-an-emperor.html
-
Why we
need to believe climate change is solely man-made
The Marxist philosopher of science Slavoj Zizek says the
reason may be that we are unable to accept we are at
nature's mercy. Read about this and his other insights
at
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727751.100-slavoj-zizek-wake-up-and-smell-the-apocalypse.html
-
Full
disclosure Till Editor read this article, he had no
clue there was any such thing as a Marxist
philosopher of science. But honestly, this gentleman has
a lot to say, and New Scientist in its usual
reduce-science-to-pap-for-the-masses style makes his
complex ideas easy to understand.
0230 GMT
September 1, 2010
-
Iran's
Newspaper Kayhan and Ms. Carla Bruni So Iran decided
it was going to stone to death a woman, mother of two
children, accused of infidelity and conspiring to murder
her husband, who was killed.
-
World gets
upset, Iran says it will not execute the woman by
stoning, but reserves the right to execute her some
other way.
-
Fair enough,
we at Orbat.com have no clue what the truth of the case
is, and it's for Iran to handle the judicial aspects. We
have no comment on that.
-
Then the
First Lady of France, Ms. Carla Bruni, writes a letter
to the woman. Ms. Bruni is part of an international
effort to save the woman's life.
-
So the
Iranian state-run newspaper Kayhan first calls Mrs.
Bruni an Italian prostitute; then after an Iranian
Foreign Affairs Ministry gently chides the newspaper
saying calling foreign dignitaries names is
inappropriate, the newspaper calls for Mrs. Bruni's
death.
-
Kayhan is
not doing any favors to either Iran or to Islam when it
froths like a mad dog. Of course, seeing as Kayhan is
state-run, obviously some factional fight is going
on among Iranian elites.
-
The point
is, does anyone really care about what are the finer
points of internal Iranian arguments? We think not. The
enemies of Islam will seize on this incident as just one
more in an endless series to show Islam is a savage,
cruel, and barbaric religion.
-
And of
course, the 90% of Muslims who probably agree that both
stoning to death and the name calling are wrong, will
not utter a word, further convincing non-Muslims that
Islam as a religion is unacceptable.
-
The
extremists, who believe that anyone who doesn't agree
with them are not true Muslims, will care less what the
world thinks. But here is the problem: if you go around
shouting anyone who doesn't agree with you should die,
and you follow up by taking active steps to kill those
who disagree, regardless of if they are Muslims, you end
up at a point where the rest of the world decides it has
had enough and you must die.
-
So of course
the extremists will say it is their honor to die for
their cause. History shows that who kill for their
cause, and are ready to die for their cause, usually get
their wish.
-
Department of Irony Mr. Glenn Beck, a conservative
media person, says that President Obama's version of
Christianity is not recognized by Americans.
-
We have no
idea what kind of Christian is Mr. Obama or if Americans
reject that kind. We do know Mr. Beck converted to
Mormonism, and many Christians do not accept that
Mormons are Christian.
-
A Cheer
for the Indian Supreme Court Here is a legal
decision that will turn white the hair of American
constitutionalists. The Indian Supreme Court told the
Government of India that rather than letting food grain
stocks rot, the stocks should be distributed to the
poor.
-
The Union
Food Minister, who is quite a "in your face, b___h" type
of politician, said he'd think about the Court's
suggestion.
-
The Court
told him it wasn't a suggestion, it was an order.
-
We have to
admit, that the American side of the Editor definitely
feels a bit seasick when he sees the Supreme Court
handing down social decisions left and right. After all,
India has a free press, a democratically elected
government, a constitution, and an elected Parliament.
The Supreme Court should hardly proclaim itself the
final authority on a matter of socioeconomic policy.
-
But lets
reverse the issue. Let's suppose that in America,
millions of tons of foodgrains a year the government
buys for buffer stocks just rot, or are eaten by rats,
or otherwise contaminated. Suppose half of Americans get
by on $2/day, and a third suffer from malnutrition.
Suppose neither the free press, nor the freely elected
government or the freely elected politicians, care
much if the foodgrains are spoiled and that a third of
America goes hungry each night while rats eat foodgrain
stocks.
-
Lets suppose
this has been going on for decades.
-
Would you
still say the US Supreme Court should not issue an order
saying rather than lets stocks spoil the food should be
given to food banks?
-
You see,
Americans are rich. We can afford to develop ideologies
and stick them them like leeches regardless of the
reality. But India, while it has made unbelievable
progress in 20 years, is still poor. Those foodgrains in
Indian government buffer stocks are paid for by taxpayer
money. Because in India excise and sales taxes are
universally levied, it doesn't matter how poor you are,
if you buy anything for cash you're paying taxes.
-
No one is
confiscating the foodgrains from private people to feed
the poor. All the Indian supreme Court is saying: "give
it away if the best alternative you can come up is
letting the foodgrains rot."
-
Case in
point: Yesterday in India's parliament some MPs were
trying to get answers to why 4-million tons of rice
stocks in the buffer have gone bad. of course, no one
will be held accountable. India is not America. That's
why maybe, just maybe, we have to swallow an activist
Supreme Court.
0230 GMT
August 31, 2010
-
Karakoram
Highway and Railroad Reader Sparsh Amin and Editor
have been discussing the widening of the Karakoram
Highway and plans to build a railroad from Kashgar to
Havelian, Pakistan, where the line would link to the
Pakistan railway network.
-
It seems the
highway is to be expanded from 10-meters to 30-meters,
which indicates six lanes. Some have expressed doubt
about the feasibility of a railway through the
Karakorams, which are geologically young and unstable
mountains. Others have said that parts of the railway
will cost $30-million a kilometer, which might make the
venture uneconomical. The planned oil pipeline along
this route has been shelved for now and the proposed gas
pipeline Iran-Pakistan-China appears to be on hold.
-
Mr. Amin
doubts the highway/railway can transport bulk
commodities at rates competitive with sea freight.
Perhaps China intends to use these routes for
containerized cargo, but again, its hard to see how the
economics work out even though containerships will take
twice the time. One way the routes via Pakistan may make
sense is if China is planning large-scale development of
its westernmost regions.
-
Perhaps some
of our readers know more about this topic?
-
Pakistan
floods receding says BBC and rivers are
expected to return to their normal flow in 10-12 days as
the monsoon is coming to an end.
-
Aside from
the immense problem of resettling 17-million Internally
Displaced Persons, crops cannot be planted in time in
much of the flood affected area. That's if the farmers
have managed to save their seed stocks. Additionally
there is another great problem: livestock losses have
been heavy so there will be a shortage of milk and
motive power.
-
Some
estimates are that Pakistan may have to wait till 2012
for a normal harvest. This is going to depress incomes
of people who need the money the most as well as cause
food shortages.
-
Political
Correctness Watch 1 An Israeli is leading the charge
to get a US Navy building in San Diego, California,
rebuilt because from the air it looks like a swastika.
When the architects designed the building 40 years ago,
they thought they were making a building with four "L"
shaped blocks.
-
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/focus-u-s-a/focus-u-s-a-the-ongoing-saga-of-the-u-s-navy-swastika-building-1.309169
-
We sincerely
hope this gentleman does not ever visit India.
-
Political
Correctness Watch 2 The US Department of Justice has
challenged a recent Arizona law that requires residents
to carry proof they are in the US legally. The reason?
US DOJ says the law unfairly targets Hispanics.
-
We agree
this law is unfair because the Arizona Government is not
targeting the hordes of white, yellow, and black people
trying to slip into Arizona from Mexico.
-
Political
Correctness Watch 3 In Mexico authorities found a
mass grave with the bodies of 72 Central Americans,
apparently illegals murdered while on their way to the
US. The Government of Mexico has been criticized by some
for failing to do enough to protect illegals transiting
its territory.
-
Letter
from Reader Agneya on the need for infrastructure for
India's poor
Indeed the
poor in need basic infrastructure, but that should start
with agriculture. The land, and especially the water
from the Monsoon, in India is inefficiently used. This
is a byproduct of British rule, when such infrastructure
was destroyed. The agricultural output from India is
nothing compared to its true potential, and with
two-thirds of the country belonging to the agricultural
sector, naturally, it needs to be strengthened. This
should start with proper use and storage of water - both
river and rain. India has the potential to dominate the
world agriculturally.
0230 GMT
August 30, 2010
-
Sinai
missile cache consists of SAM-7s says Haaretz of
Israel. The Strela has not been manufactured for over
30-years as far as we know, so we're wondering even if
these are "new" missiles what good are they. Egyptian
police have discovered more arms caches, including one
three kilometers from Rafah. The new discoveries include
10 anti-tank mines and two caches of machine guns.
-
Meanwhile, so much for the Egyptian "Iron Wall"
Egypt has been trying to stop Gaza tunnel smugglers by
creating an underground iron wall. So apparently the
smugglers have simply cut through the wall and continue
merrily about their business.
-
In case
anyone wonders why this sudden new Egyptian love for
Israel, the effort to stop arms getting to Gaza has
nothing to do with Israel. Egypt is worried that the
Islamic Brotherhood will brings the arms into Egypt and
use them against the government. Not that Egypt had much
concern for the Palestinians, but this concern had led
Egypt to cooperate with Israel in the people/material
blockade of Gaza. So much for Arab brotherhood, which
was a joke from the very start.
-
Russian-built SSN leaves for India The Nerpa, an
Akula 3-class boat, is leased for ten years at a cost of
$650-million. This is not the first time that India has
leased a Russian nuclear submarine. In the 1980s, a
Charlie-class boat served with the Indian Navy for a few
years. It was to be the first of three, we don't
recalled now what happened to the plan. The new boat
will have the same name, INS Chakra, as the previous SSN.
Unlike the US Navy, which seems to have no regard for
its warship naming conventions, the Indian Navy is
careful about names, particularly traditional ones.
-
To get
details about the travails of India's submarines
programs, and their direction, read
http://ajaishukla.blogspot.com/ You will also learn
about the shenanigans that seem to be a perpetual
feature of Indian defense production. The case in point
is a radar which was supposed to be built indigenously.
The government agency in charge simply purchased them
overseas, and marked up the price. Yes, there is massive
corruption in China too, as much in their defense sector
as anywhere else. But at the end of the day the Chinese
do not do stupid things like spend 25-years on a
competition for 155mm guns, then cancel the whole thing
and start rebidding.
-
You can also
read about the progress of a proposed contract for 2600
IFVs to replace the Army BMP-2s. This will cost near
$11-billion. And you thought India was a poor country.
Forty years ago, the cost of raising an entire armored
division was $300-million, which will today suffice to
buy IFVs for one mechanized infantry battalion (plus
reserves). It was only after the 1971 the Government of
India finally agreed to a second armored division, to
achieve parity with Pakistan which had had two armored
divisions for 7 previous years. The reason? Money. Now
days $10-billion seems to be a standard large contract
for India: for example, the six squadrons of fighter
planes to be purchased from abroad, six French
submarines, and the IFV deal. The artillery
modernization will also run about $10-billion.
-
Now if only
India would use some of its new wealth to provide the
poor with basic infrastructure, we for one would have no
complaints. The other day some genius came up with the
finding that the reason India has so many really poor
people has nothing to do with money, it has to do with
organization. This in turn is blamed on the indifference
of the elites. Fancy that. Believe it or not, this has
always been the case with India, even when it really
was a poor country.
0230 GMT
August 29, 2010
-
The
solution to the secret Northern Territories tunnels
as mentioned in the New York Times (see August 28, 2008
lead article) may lie with uranium.
-
Sanjith
Menon sends an article from the website of the
Balawaristan National Front, which says it is fighting
for independence of the Kashmir Northern Areas,
specifically the districts of Chitral (North West
Frontier Province), Gilgit, and Baltistan (last two are
Northern Areas). The BNF says Balawaristan is occupied
by China, Pakistan, and India.
-
The claim
China is occupying territory comes from the gifting by
Pakistan of 2500-square-miles of the Northern Areas to
Pakistan in 1963. The claim India is occupying territory
comes because India some territory in the southern parts
of the Northern Areas.
-
Sanjith Menon saysThere are unconfirmed reports
especially from the Balwaristan National Front,
they suggest that there are high grade Uranium deposits
in the region and the Chinese are there to exploit it.
Here is the news put on the BNF site on Friday, July 16,
2010:
-
In Choporsan,
Gojal, Hunza of Gilgit, 80 Sq Kilo area of mine which is
being used in space technology has been given to China
by Pakistan. In Shimshal of Hunza near China border
(this is the area where 2500 Sq
Miles area has already been ceded to China by Pakistan
in 1963 by violating UNCIP resolution). Pakistani
goverment has given about 1200 sq km (30% total
area) leased out for Pakistani forces. On high pasture
of Chhalt Nagar a strayed missile has hit Chinese work
mining area recently.
-
In
Gandai of Yasen, 4000 Blast were done by Chinese
Military Engineers in 2008, as result glacier burst and
local people climbed up the mountain and kicked them out
Chinese. Pakistani forces arrested local people,
tortured and put 22 local leaders behind bars.
-
The
translation, unfortunately, is bad.
-
The
presence of Uranium comes in from the same source.
http://www.balawaristan.net/index.php/Latest-news/world-urged-to-save-gilgit-baltistan-parwana-in-mumbai.html
(Editor's note: we could not get the URL to work.)
-
Egyptians
recover 190 SAMs from Sinai says Jerusalem Post. It
is assumed the cache was destined for Gaza and was
located in a remote area in the middle of the peninsula.
-
Bruce
Riedel writes a very peculiar article suggesting
that since the US cannot accept an Israeli strike
against Iran, US should seek to enhance Israeli security
through various measures.
-
One sensible
measure mentioned by Mr. Riedel is, of course, already
in place, a joint defense against Iranian missiles.
-
But Mr.
Riedel goes on to suggest NATO membership for Israel,
plus the transfer of nuclear missile submarines.
-
Now, Mr.
Riedel has always struck us a sensible sort of fellow,
and we cannot even begin to imagine from where he is
getting these wild ideas. Israel in NATO? About as
likely as Iran in NATO. Transfer nuclear submarines?
Beggers the imagination.
-
In
Washington, you can never be quite sure why someone says
something. Have they gone Looney Tuners? Trial Balloon?
Quietly backing an interest group while pretending to be
"objective"? Whatever Mr. Riedel's motive, he has
certainly managed to confuse us. We're going to have to
be extra careful while reading his analyses?
-
http://nationalinterest.org/article/israel-attacks-3907?page=3
0230 GMT
August 28, 2010
Chinese
Troops Are In Pakistan Kashmir
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Reader
Vikhur Akula sends us a New York Times article
saying 7,000 to 11,000 Chinese troops look to be taking
up permanent residence in Kashmir's Northern
Territories, which are under Pakistani control.
-
We need to
note that Mr. Selig Harrison, has studied South Asia for
decades. He is both a journalist and a scholar, and is
careful about what he says. Below are excerpts from the
article, which you may access at
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/opinion/27iht-edharrison.html?_r=1
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Islamabad is handing over de facto control of the
strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region in the northwest
corner of disputed Kashmir to China.
- The
entire Pakistan-occupied western portion of Kashmir
stretching from Gilgit in the north to Azad (Free)
Kashmir in the south is closed to the world, in contrast
to the media access that India permits in the eastern
part, where it is combating a Pakistan-backed
insurgency. But reports from a variety of foreign
intelligence sources, Pakistani journalists and
Pakistani human rights workers reveal two important new
developments in Gilgit-Baltistan: a simmering rebellion
against Pakistani rule and the influx of an estimated
7,000 to 11,000 soldiers of the People’s Liberation
Army.
- China
wants a grip on the region to assure unfettered road and
rail access to the Gulf through Pakistan. It takes 16 to
25 days for Chinese oil tankers to reach the Gulf. When
high-speed rail and road links through Gilgit and
Baltistan are completed, China will be able to transport
cargo from Eastern China to the new Chinese-built
Pakistani naval bases at Gwadar, Pasni and Ormara, just
east of the Gulf, within 48 hours.
- Many of
the P.L.A. soldiers entering Gilgit-Baltistan are
expected to work on the railroad. Some are extending the
Karakoram Highway, built to link China’s Sinkiang
Province with Pakistan. Others are working on dams,
expressways and other projects.
- Until
recently, the P.L.A. construction crews lived in
temporary encampments and went home after completing
their assignments. Now they are building big residential
enclaves clearly designed for a long-term presence.
- Media
attention has exposed the repression of the insurgency
in the Indian-ruled Kashmir Valley. But if reporters
could get into the Gilgit-Baltistan region and Azad
Kashmir, they would find widespread, brutally-suppressed
local movements for democratic rights and regional
autonomy.
- In
Gilgit and Baltistan, where Sunni jihadi groups allied
with the Pakistan Army have systematically terrorized
the local Shiite Muslims. Gilgit and Baltistan are in
effect under military rule. Democratic activists there
want a legislature and other institutions without
restrictions like the ones imposed on Free Kashmir,
where the elected legislature controls only 4 out of 56
subjects covered in the state constitution. The rest are
under the jurisdiction of a “Kashmir Council” appointed
by the president of Pakistan.
- Mr.
Harrison also notes there are 22 tunnels in the Northern
Territories that are closed to Pakistanis. The rail
route between China and Pakistan will require much
tunneling. But if their purpose is purely civil, why can
Pakistanis not enter? Further, as far as we know the
Pakistanis have only recently signed an agreement for
the rail line. So these tunnels must have been built
earlier. Are they part of the Karakoram Highway? This
would not seem to be the case because Pakistani trucks
are the major users of the KKH. So there would be no
question of declaring them off-limits.
- Mr.
Harrison's story also explains the fighting between two
groups in the Northern Areas Dawn of Karachi
reported the other day. The fighting would have had to
been between Shias and Sunnis.
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Letter from Shawn Dudley on should the US assist
terror-group charities On reading the bit about Long
War Journal's article on relief agencies run by terror
groups, I'm reminded by the Jim Jones People's Temple
from the 1970s. Jones was a rarity: a "Christian"
Communist (I'm not kidding), who used his church-based
organization to gain power and control over people while
avoiding scrutiny under 1st Amendment protection. The
People's Temple used widespread charity works in the
poorest areas of first Indiana and then San Francisco to
recruit members into his organization. Once inside of
the "Temple" it was as ruthless of a totalitarian
environment as you could imagine: Kim and Mugabe could
take lessons from this guy.
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Ultimately the People's Temple ran afoul of the law
after 20+ years and he moved the entire 1,000+ group to
Guyana (having failed to find a more suitable location
in Brazil). Even in such splendid isolation the US
government was still in slow pursuit and following an
investigative tour of his commune by a Bay Area
congressman Jones ordered the man killed along with
reporters and defectors. He then proceeded to slaughter
the whole of his congregation to avoid having them be
captured (liberated) by the Marines.
- The
point of this story is two-fold: one is that use of
charity by totalitarian groups to recruit members is
nothing new: the Communists have done it all over, as
has Hamas and Hezbollah. This is a strong tactic to prey
on the most vulnerable in society. The second point is
that, upon taking the aid, the recipients were basically
sentenced to death by their "benefactors" as they were
used in unspeakable machinations by their betters in the
organization.
- Bringing
this back to the question of "do we cooperate with any
aid givers in the light of such disaster," the answer is
clearly no. It matters not that they have bread in
their hand in front: the hand in back is holding chains
and that is surely not to the benefit of those caught in
the web. Terror is terror, and Slavery is slavery. We
should tolerate neither, and those who bring such pain
on others should not be allowed to further proliferate
no matter the circumstances.
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Letter from Richard Dickhaus on US assistance to
Pakistan terror-group charities
My thoughts
are simple and I do appreciate subject is
complex.Sometimes I wonder if our goal is to win.
- We
should be there to win, if we choose to engage with
enemy then they remain our enemy until we are no longer
engaged.
- No time
out or halftime show. George Washington may have changed
history by not recognizing a holiday break. Why do we
refuse to do the same thing now?
- It is
bad enough that our tax money is being misused or stolen
by our own incompetent or corrupt people but to think it
is being used by our enemy is even worse.
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Editor's note The director of USAID has denied that
the charity he visited is terror-related. Nonetheless,
Mr. Bill Roggio of Longwarjournal showed in detail how
the chairty is just a front for the particular terror
group. Media says the USAID director had to leave the
camp in some haste after his bodyguard told him they
apprehended a threat from some of the people among the
crowd that the director was addressing.
-
Sparsh Amin on Selig Harrison's article Mr. Amin
writes that China cannot substitute a Pakistan-China
rail and road link for cargo ships because of the
economics of rail and road traffic compared to sea
traffic. He also wonders how high-speed these links will
be because the Karakorams are a formidable obstacle to
any construction of a high-speed line.
- We did a
few calculations and came up with a back-of-envelope
figure of 10,000-tons a day for the Pakistan-Kashgar
railroad, which will be broad gauge. There are all sorts
of qualifications to this figure, obviously but it is
not unreasonable. This indicates high-value cargo will
go through the Karakorams rather than bulk.
- It also
appears that the Chinese have backed out of the
Pakistan-China oil pipeline, and postponed the
Pakistan-China gas pipeline in favor one going from
Burma to China.
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848-tons of blasting explosives missing in India
Reader Sanjith Menon tells us 164 trucks carrying
848-tons of explosives have gone missing in India
between a production factory in Rajasthan and a private
dealer in Madhya Pradesh. The shipment includes several
hundred thousand detonators.
- BBC
quotes Indian sources to say that likely the explosives
have gone to illegal mining outfits, but there is
concern that Naxal Communist rebels may have obtained
explosives. The police have arrested two men and are
looking for five others, so presumably they know what
they are talking about.
- We know
that our western readers will be reading this with
dropped jaws: how can one hundred and sixty four
trucks just go missing to begin with, leave alone that
many carrying explosives.
- We'd
like to be able to explain this to our readers. But it
would take too much time. You have to take it on faith
that no one in India will think this is at all a strange
occurrence. India is a fabulous land in many different
ways. and this casualness is just one of them.
0230 GMT
August 27, 2010
Bill Roggio of
Longwarjournal presents a moral dilemma. He notes that the
head of USAID visited a a Pakistan flood relief camp run by
a terror group to deliver two truckloads of supplies and to
commend the group for its efforts. US Government has denied
that the visit was to to a terror group, but Mr. Roggio
explains that though the group is operating another name, it
is very much a proscribed terror group. The moral dilemma
is: should the US place priority on helping Pakistanis by
working with any credible relief group, or should it place
priority on the GWOT? The group in question has strong ties
to Al Qaeda and Pakistan ISI. What are your thoughts,
readers?
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/08/usaid_leader_in_paki.php
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Kashmir
gets 11 times its share of Central assistance says
the Indian daily The Hindu, quoting an opposition
parliamentary leader. The parliamentarian says that
Kashmir has 1% of India's population but gets 11% of
Central money given to the states.
-
Editor was
disturbed to learn this. Why is the Government of India
trying to bribe Kashmiri Muslims, particularly when they
are taking the money with one hand and rejecting India
with the other?
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Either
Muslim Kashmiris are part of India or they are not. The
Government of India says, and we accepted, that they are
part of India. That being the case, they need to be
treated just as are other Indians. No special status, no
autonomy, no toleration of people calling for secession.
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For decades
Muslim Kashmiris have made a fool out of the central
government. We can hardly blame them for so doing when
the central government just keeps begging to be kicked
in its large, fat rear. Separatist Muslim Kashmiris are
not evil: they are simply taking advantage of a center
that is constantly bent on appeasing them. if GOI keeps
assuring them they are special, why shouldn't they think
are special.
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Readers
know we are hardly supporters of the Israeli Army.
It is nowhere near as good as it thinks, and its
complete indifference to the fate of civilians during
its actions is reprehensible.
-
At the same
time, we feel the current controversy over pictures
taken by soldiers including a woman, showing them with
Palestinian prisoners, is way overblown. The soldiers
are not mistreating the prisoners, nor is there any
allegation they did so. Yes, Geneva frowns on parading
prisoners for the media. But the men in question are not
military prisoners in any sense. Moreover, the upper
half of their faces are covered, so you cannot make out
who they are.
-
It is PC-ism
run amok to put those soldiers on trial. we would like
the Israeli Army to show some perspective and spend its
energy on better training rather than on punishing
soldiers who are guilty of no more than youthful hijinks.
-
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=186141
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Letter
from Hale Cullom on why Taliban are fighting even
though they know US is leaving.
-
In answer to your question about why the Taliban
isn't just laying back and waiting for the US to
leave, I would suggest that local leaders are
looking ahead to the struggle after the US
departure. It stands to reason that Afghanistan will
be in a much less nailed down condition than Iraq,
and that there will be a good deal of fighting
between factions once the US leaves. Experience in
actual operations against US troops will certainly
be valuable for the survivors.
-
Also, it follows that local Taliban
commanders and those of other factions want to
be able to claim glory for forcing the infidels
out -- inflecting casualties (or claims
of inflicting casualties) on US forces probably
helps local reputations. We know the US will
probably leave anyway, but credulous locals may
buy the argument that the Taliban drove them
out.
- Increasing attacks and activities also allows those
who have blotted their copybooks by collaborating
with the US or its Kabul friends a shot at redeeming
themselves and their families by joining the
struggle (who will be the highest ranking Pham Van
Dinh in this war?). They might get killed off, but
it might help their families work their passage to
some kind of safety in a post-US Afghanistan.
- The US departure from Afghanistan was always
certain, at some point. But proclaiming it, and the
date, in advance was just plain stupid.
- On
Gini constants from Prof. Feisal Khan
It is
meaningless to talk about Gini Coefficients (presumably
for income and not wealth) in China without looking at
whether the coefficient given is (i) before taxes, (ii)
after taxes or (iii) before taxes and transfer payments
(both cash and in-kind. You can also get really fancy
and try to work out the market value of subsidies (if
any) and factor that in (unless that is already done in
counting transfers).
- If you
do this kind of breakdown, the data for the US, for
example, looks very different ‘before’ and ‘after.’
-
There is an excellent post on this at
http://blog.sustainablemiddleclass.com/?page_id=162.
Scroll down and look at the second post, the one from
Craig Shelton.
-
Editor's note Professor Khan teaches economics at
Hobart College. We have no idea how the Chinese Gini
Coefficient was calculated, but it's from official
sources that are expressing concern about China's income
disparity. In the article Prof. Khan cites, the US Gini
Coefficient is computed at 34.
0230 GMT
August 26, 2010
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Why is
the Taliban attacking now that it knows US is
preparing to leave starting mid-2011? This is one of the
mysteries of the day. A number of people, including most
recently the Commandant of the US Marine Corps, believe
they are attacking because the US has set a
withdrawal date. But this makes little sense. The reason
insurgent groups like the Mahadi Army stopped attacking
US forces in Iraq was (a) they were getting massacred
each time they attacked; (b) it occurred to them that
since the US was going to leave - this is before a
withdrawal date was announced - there was no sense in
sacrificing lives and dissipating strength.
-
In
Afghanistan, the (a) above also applies. Whenever
US/NATO troops are involved, the Taliban suffer heavily.
So why aren't they following (b), especially since the
US has set a withdrawal date?
-
Thoughts,
readers?
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Trouble
in Pakistan Kashmir Normally if Kashmir is in the
news its usually Indian Kashmir. The Pakistanis keep
their part of Kashmir under very tight control. So we
were surprised to learn from Dawn of Pakistan that two
groups - unidentified, by the way - have been having at
each other in Gilgit, the capital of the Northern
Territories of Kashmir, plus in three other towns, plus
at other places. In Gilgit, Dawn says, 70,000 bullets
were fired in the fighting which left four dead.
-
Authorities
have called in the paramilitary Northern Area Scouts and
the Punjab Rangers, and issued shoot-in-sight orders.
-
This
shoot-in-sight business is quite interesting. Human
Rights groups would have a heart attack if they
understood what it entails. One version of
shoot-on-sight is any armed person not in a uniform gets
killed without warning. The other version is that anyone
violating curfew, armed or not, gets shot without
warning.
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Terrible,
isn't it? Not really. People in the Indian subcontinent
are peculiar in that most of the time they are "live and
let live". Everyone gets along, regardless of ethnicity
or caste or religion. But if trouble starts, sub
continental people simply go berserk, and violence
escalates so rapidly that the police simply cannot
handle it. That's when shoot on sight comes in. It is
the fastest and most efficacious way of stopping the
violence. It is by far the best way to minimize loss of
life.
-
In the
terrible anti-Sikh riots that broke out in Delhi after
the 1984 murder of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, by her
Sikh bodyguards, the death toll quickly went past 3000.
Then the Army was called in, with shoot on sight orders.
Within hours the violence finished. It is not known if
the army actually shot anyone - these statistics are
never given out. But Editor was in Delhi at the time and
for some years later. He never heard anyone speak of
army firing. People know when the army enters, that's
it. You either stop rioting, looting, and murdering, or
you will be killed.
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We've
mentioned this early in the context of the US occupation
of Germany. Contrary to what most people think, the
German surrender did not mean insurgent bands were not
attacking US forces. But a shoot-to-kill if armed order
was issued. Brutal as the order was, and sad as it was
that many teenaged boys drafted into the insurgent bands
were shot down, it ended the violence quickly. Editor
recalls reading a letter to the editor in the Washington
Post, where a lady tells of her father who was
responsible for the German police in a big area. He was
the only American in sight. He did not need to travel in
armed convoy to get from home to work and vice-versa. He
did what he had to do, armed at best with a pistol.
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Now lets
scan Iraq. Iraq was occupied by the US. Any killing,
whether of civilians or insurgents, was investigated as
if it was a murder case back home. Sure, a lot of
soldiers got away with their "crimes". But when you get
a situation when the rules-of-engagement said you were
not to shoot a fleeing insurgent - even if armed and
wanted, then you've pretty much lost control. And that
means the Human Rights people are somewhat mollified,
but everyone suffers much more.
0230 GMT
August 25, 2010
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US, ROK
preparing military contingencies for Korean
reunification Reader Luxembourg sends an article
from Breitbart.com, an online news aggregator, that says
the purpose of the current US-ROK military exercises is
to examine military responses to several contingencies
ending in reunficiation. One envisages a
counteroffensive if DPRK attacks, stopping at the
Chongchon River 80-km north of Pyongyang. Breitbart
quotes ROK's Yonhap which also says the purpose of the
current "stabilization" exercise is reunification.
-
The website
is run by Andrew Brietbart, who helped Arianna
Huffington set up her website, and who writes for the
conservative Washington Times.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.60d0175d237b195337baaf43871770ad.491&show_article=1
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Meanwhile,
ROK MinDef reports the presence of a large number of
reinforcement troops near Pyongang. It is speculated
they are present for the October 10th party meeting
which is expected to name Kim Il Jong's youngest son as
his successor.
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Hezbollah-Sunni clash in downtown Beirut kills two,
says Jerusalem Post, including a Hezbollah district
commander. The Lebanese Army has taken up position in
the area, but JPost says firing is still going on. The
two involved groups are known to periodically clash with
other. Hezbollah is Shiite.
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China's
Parliament seeks to act against income inequality
says Xinhua of China. Inequality is measured using the
Gini coefficient: 0 indicates perfect equality, 1
indicates maximum inequality. Sweden has a Gini
coefficient of 0.23.
-
In China,
the coefficient has shot up to 0.47, which is considered
dangerous as the maximum coefficient before social
instability sets in is said to be 0.4. But 30-years ago,
when China began its economic revolution, the
coefficient was 0.21 to 0.27.
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The US Gini
coefficient in 2000 was 45, and should be closing in on
48. By 2045 according to the US Labor Bureau, the
coefficient is expected to hit 0.55, which is where
Mexico is at currently. We tried to get a URL for the
original study, but the URL has been moved so we are
quoting
http://www.sustainablemiddleclass.com/Gini-Coefficient.html
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Al-Shabab
kills 30 in a suicide attack in Mogadishu's small
safe zone. The dead included six members of parliament
taken hostage and then murdered, and five soldiers.
-
Meanwhile,
additional troops from Uganda have arrived to reinforce
the under strength African Union peacekeeping force
which controls a few blocks of Mogadishu. We estimate
the arrivals as the advance party of one infantry
battalion.
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All
creatures great and small wrote Cecil Alexander in
his hymn "All things bright and beautiful" (1848). Now
we have to thank some very small creatures for gobbling
up oil from the Gulf Of Mexico Macondo well. Apparently
these microbes, a new species, love the light, sweet
crude from Macondo, and have been pigging out, without
depleting oxygen.
-
There is now
dispute on the underwater oil. Some are saying it is
still around. Others, mainly the US Government, is
saying not. A NOAA research ship is in the Gulf to check
on the underwater oil. So far it has not detected
anything significant.
-
Odd facts
about the Gulf before man started drilling for
oil, the equivalent of one Exxon Valdez spill was
occurring from natural seepage. And Business Week says
that even before the recent spill, the Gulf was in
catastrophic shape due to fertilizer runoff from the
Mississippi River.
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Stranger
than fiction A bizarre story from France. A mother's
brother dies. She calls her son to persuade him to
attend the uncle's funeral. Son refuses. Mother and son
quarrel. Mother goes to her brother's funeral. As the
party is leaving, someone discovers a marker in the poor
persons' part of the cemetery. The marker has the name
of the son.
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Apparently
at some point after the argument the son died without
proper identification so his mother had no idea he was
dead.
0230 GMT
August 24, 2010
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US
General says he will step up training for Afghan
security forces He plans to recruit and train
140,000 soldiers and police in the next 15-months,
aiming to offset a 50% attrition rate. In the police,
the attrition rate (which here means desertions) has
fallen from 70% to 47%. Is this progress? We don't think
so, because once Afghan forces have to take the lead,
the desertions are going to zoom up. Incidentally, the
Taliban are particularly fond of targeting the police
with the enthusiastic support of the locals, who
correctly look on Afghan police as a plague.
-
We don't
want to rain on anyone's parade, but no fighting force
can be built when 50% of its recruits drop out or
desert. If one of two Afghans who enlists decides he's
made a mistake - and this is after the US has been
training people for 7-8 years, its time to face the
obvious: Afghans do not want to fight for their country.
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Caracas
has a murder rate of 200 per 100,000 says New York
Times, compared to 23 in Bogota and 14 in Rio.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/world/americas/23venez.html?pagewanted=2&ref=general&src=me
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In the US,
among cities with more than 1-million population,
Chicago is highest at 18 and New York is 6. Among cities
larger than 250,000 people, New Orleans is highest at
68. This is almost twice the rates for Baltimore,
Detroit, and Washington DC, which are hardly models of
communal harmony and calm.
-
Chinese
set another record This time for the biggest traffic
jam ever. Reuters says a 100-km jam on a highway leading
into Beijing lasted 9-days.
-
Last year
China became the world's largest producer of
automobiles.
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Letter
from reader Ravikiran re. Kashmir
“Kashmiris wish to emphasize that their land is not a
real estate which can be parceled out between two
disputants but the home of a nation with a history far
more compact and coherent than India’s and far longer
than Pakistan’s.” This quote is from the article you
carried yesterday.
-
Every person occupying any piece of land can say
that. Please ask them how the name Kashmir came along.
Why not encourage the so called self determination in
other parts of the world. Kashmir is already free i.e.,
it is part of India which is free and hence it is free.
It is India. Asserting that Kashmir has a history far
longer than India … please ask the gentleman to read
history again.
-
All princely states on the planned borders of India had
to accede either to India or to Pakistan. The decision
was solely that of the ruler. The Maharaja of Kashmir
acceded to India and that is all there is to it.
0230 GMT
August 23, 2010
-
Top
"Caucuses Emirate" leader killed Longwarjournal
reports that in the same Dagestan clash that saw the
death of the March 2010 Moscow metro bombings, the
leader of the "Caucuses Emirate", a much more senior
figure, was also killed. The emirate is allied with AQ
-
Good for the
Russians. Being an old Cold War type Editor is not
comfortable with Russia, but when it comes to Islamic
fundamentalism, the more leaders are killed the better,
and we're not finicky about who does the job.
Sure, they will be replaced. The solution is not to
leave them alone, but to kill them faster than they can
be replaced.
-
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/08/russians_kill_top_ca.php
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Pakistan
accepts Indian flood aid Critics said this was done
after US pressure. Demmed busy, these Americans, what?
Not content to be behind everything that happens
in the world, they still find time to pressure Pakistan
to accept Indian aid. Of course, the Americans have been
unable to pressure Pakistan to get rid of the Taliban,
but there so omnipotent we're sure the alleged "failure"
is part of a sinister plot.
-
Another
person accusing the US of dirty tricks is the
Wikileaks founder. We noted yesterday that two women
visited a Swedish police station alleging rape by the
gentleman, but they did not file a formal complaint. The
on-duty prosecutor nonetheless issued an arrest warrant,
which a higher prosecutor cancelled after, she said, she
received additional information.
-
So there you
have it: the Wikileaks person thinks the Pentagon might
be behind the false accusation. The gent travels
secretly, so not only did the Pentagon figure the gent
was in Sweden, it arranged for two women to entrap the
poor gent.
- "I
don't know who's behind this but we have been warned
that for example the Pentagon plans to use dirty tricks
to spoil things for us", said the gent to a Swedish
media source."I have also been warned about sex traps,"
he added. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11053329)
-
But clearly
the Pentagon was incompetent because the two women
refused to file a charge. So there you also have it: why
do people get agitated about US plots? Clearly none of
them work.
Kashmir: A
Moderate's Viewpoint
Dr. Ghulam Nabi
Fai
-
Editor's
note Editor's position on Kashmir and Pakistan is
well known. At the same time, this is not a propaganda
blog even though we have definite positions we take. We
are obliged to put across different viewpoints.
-
Dr. Manmohan
Singh, the Prime Minister of India’s assertion that
"Kashmir is an integral part of India” needs to be
supplemented by some observations from the viewpoint of
the people of Kashmir. This deserves to be borne in mind
by all those who wish the conflict to be justly resolved
once and for all.
When the Kashmir dispute erupted in 1947-1948, the
United States took the stand that the future status of
Kashmir must be ascertained in accordance with the
wishes and aspirations of the people of the territory.
-
The U.N.
Security Council adopted a resolution on 21 April 1948
which was based on that unchallenged principle. So the
idea that ‘Kashmir is an integral part of India’ is in
contravention to India’s international obligations. Any
such suggestion is an insult to the intelligence of the
people of Kashmir. The people revolted against the
status quo and status quo cannot be an answer?
-
Also,
Kashmiris wish to emphasize that their land is not a
real estate which can be parceled out between two
disputants but the home of a nation with a history far
more compact and coherent than India’s and far longer
than Pakistan’s. No settlement of their status will hold
unless it is explicitly based on the principles of
self-determination and erases the so-called line of
control, which is in reality the line of conflict.
-
Secondly,
under all international agreements, agreed by both India
and Pakistan, negotiated by the United Nations and
endorsed by the Security Council, Kashmir does not
belong to any member state of the United Nations. So, if
Kashmir does not belong to any member state of the
United Nations, then the claim that ‘Kashmir is an
integral part of India’ does not stand. And if ‘Kashmir
is not an integral part of India’ then Kashmiris cannot
be called separatist or secessionist. Because Kashmir
cannot secede from a country – like India – to which it
has never acceded to in the first place.
-
My opinion
is confirmed by a poll conducted jointly by major news
outlets on Aug 12, 2007: CNN-IBN and Hindustan Times in
India and Dawn and News in Pakistan. A majority of those
polled in Kashmir Valley (87% to be precise) preferred
freedom (Azadi). The Azadi means the rejection of the
idea that ‘Kashmir is an integral part of India.’
-
However,
there is but one fair, just, legal, and moral solution
to Kashmir which was provided by the United Nations. The
procedures contemplated at early stage of the dispute at
the United Nations for its solution may be varied in the
light of changed circumstances but its underlying
principle must be scrupulously observed if justice and
rationality are not be thrown overboard. The setting
aside of the UN resolution is one thing; the discarding
of the principle they embodies is altogether another. So
the settlement has to be in accordance with the wishes
of the people; impartially ascertained; in conditions of
freedom from intimidation.
-
Kashmiris
are open to a constitutional dispensation that answers
all of India's legitimate national security and human
rights concerns. With regard to the former, they are
willing to explore permanent neutrality for Kashmir
along the model of the 1955 Austrian State Treaty and a
renunciation of war or the threat of force in
international affairs along the model of Article 9 of
the Japanese Constitution. They are willing to consider
abandoning a military force like Costa Rica, Haiti, and
Panama. Moreover, they hold no objection to providing
community quotas in government offices along the lines
of the 1960 Constitution for the Republic of Cyprus to
safeguard against invidious discrimination of any
religious or ethnic group, i.e., Pandit, Buddhist, Sikh,
and Muslim alike.
-
With good
faith by all parties common ground leading to a final
settlement of the Kashmir tragedy can be discovered.
And an appointment of a special envoy by the United
Nations or by President Obama, like Bishop Desmond Tutu
will hasten the way of peace and prosperity in the
region of South Asia.
0230 GMT
August 22, 2010
-
Al-Shabab's
Multi-National Force Dawn of Karachi says 11
insurgents in Somalia were killed when a bomb they were
preparing exploded. The dead included: three Pakistanis,
two Indians, one Afghani, one Algerian, and two Somalis.
To us the arrival of Indians is highly inauspicious. We
will attempt to contact Mandeep Sign Bajwa for more
information on the implications.
-
Russians
say they have killed the organizer of the March metro
attacks The attacks killed 40 people in Moscow
earlier this year. The organizer died with four other
rebels in a clash with security forces in Dagestan. The
gentleman's wife was one of the suicide bombers that hit
the Metro. Which leaves us wondering what kind of
husband sends off his wife to blow herself up while
keeping his own hide intact.
-
Wikileaks
leader rape arrest warrant withdrawn The Australian
gentleman is visiting Sweden, where he feels safer than
other places, apparently. Two women went to complain
about rape and molestation but did not register a formal
complaint. The prosecutor decided to register a charge
anyway because of the seriousness of the allegation and
the possibility evidence may be compromised. A higher
prosecutor overruled the warrant. The molestation
investigation is still on. In Sweden, we learn,
molestation (presumably of a major) is not a jail
offence.
-
He is now
preparing to release 15,000 more documents which earlier
he held back for concern that the names contained within
might put lives at risk.
-
Aside from
blowing wind - the stinky kind - the US Government seems
to be doing nothing to get the gentleman in its custody.
So we are guessing that despite all the weeping and
wailing from the US Government at the time of the leaks,
the matter is not particularly serious.
-
The problem,
however, remains. Breaking US law is breaking US law. If
the US Government decides it is going to apply the law
selectively, then it isn't much a of a government.
-
From
Walter Wallis: Korea
60 years ago the 6th of August
I landed, with the 23rd Infantry, in Pusan. So today
the 23rd, called Stryker under the new,
incomprehensible to me order, departs Iraq. I guess
parts of the 23rd are still in Korea so the old
badge is still at battle risk.
My nephew is commanding a QM
outfit out in the desert somewhere, and he says they
still attract hostile attention. Since last we
corresponded four years ago, my grandson, a mud Marine, spent 2
tours in Fallujah.
-
Editor's
note In one of Mr. Wallis's letters, he recalls the
fur-lined boots worn by the ground observer for the air
force attached to his unit. Mr. Wallis was frozen so
cold he kept thinking if the observer got killed, he
could grab his boots. A very small incident, but it
shows the reality of war.
-
US
divisional organization In Mr. Wallis's day, three
regiments made up a division. That was a simple system,
but US Army deemed it inflexible for the demands of
modern warfare. So it shifted to the Pentomic Division (PENTANA,
1955) , but before anyone got used to that it shifted to
MOMAR (1959), another failed concept, and then came ROAD
(1960s). That was followed by a modification called AIM
(1970s) , followed by Division-86 in the 1980s. That was
followed by the Army of Excellence, itself followed by
Army XXI, and followed by the current organization. So
it 55 years, the US Army went through seven changes in
division structure.
-
If from this
you get the feeling the US Army is clueless on its
division structure, you may be justified.
-
Meantime the
USMC still has it basic World War 2 division structure.
0230 GMT
August 21, 2010
-
Yemen
fighting Eleven soldiers have been killed fighting
rebels in a South Yemen city. Some say the rebels are
allied to AQ; others say that they are with a separatist
southern group.
-
Americans
should take heart: we in India have media idiots too
The Press Trust of India, a news agency, has a story
saying even after a triple increase in pay, Indian
members of parliament are still paid 13 times less than
US Congresspersons.
-
To begin
with this a big fat lie because the Indian count is for
salaries only, not for perks and allowances. . PTI
acknowledges as much, but that does not excuse the story
because, as Times of India estimates, an Indian MP gets
nine times her/his salary in perks and
allowances. (We've taken accommodation provided to MPs
at market rates rather than Times of India's assumption
of half market rate). Yes, Congresspersons also do get
some perks and allowances. But are these nine times
their salaries?
-
More to the
point, India's per capita income is ~$1500+ (more on
this estimate tomorrow), the US's is over $40,000. We
rest our case.
-
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/After-hike-Indian-MP-gets-13-times-less-pay-than-US-lawmaker/articleshow/6382006.cms
-
China
cuts export quota of rare earths says Japan Asahi
Shimbun. The 2009 quota was 50,000-tons, it will now be
30,000-tons. According to the paper, China produces 97%
of the world's rare earths, India 2%, and Brazil 0.5%.
We are not sure these figures are correct, we'll check.
Rare earths are a group of 17 elements which are used
mainly in production of alloys, such as batteries for
electric and hybrid vehicles.
-
The Chinese,
with a completely straight face, say the reduction is
because of "environmental" reasons. The real reason is,
of course, by limiting exports China gives its domestic
users of rare earths a significant advantage.
-
Personally,
we find it difficult to blame China for its openly
monopolistic behavior. The world, after all, tolerates
the oil cartel, which has caused untold loss to poor
countries. So why should anyone get upset if China plays
with the price of rare earths?
-
Russian
fires burning out says ITAR-TASS, thanks to
rainfall. The emergency in three regions including
Moscow has been lifted. Some 8500-square-kilometers has
been burned.
-
Piper
Bill dies at age 88 We are sorry to report that Bill
Millin, piper to the British commando leader Lord Lovatt,
has died. The fictional adventures of Lord Lovatt and
Piper Bill have been featured in orbat.com from time to
time.
-
Read how
Bill came ashore at Normandy on June 6, 1944 inhttp://www.france24.com/en/20100820-normandy-town-mourns-d-day-piper-death-bill-millin-france-uk-world-war
0230 GMT
August 20, 2010
-
Nine
US combat brigades still in Iraq A day after we
reported that the last US combat brigade has left Iraq,
we learn seven ground combat and two aviation combat
brigades still remain in Iraq. DefenseNews says these
brigades are named "Advise and Assist Brigades". 3rd
Infantry Division has four brigades still in Iraq, 1st
Armored Division has two, and 4th Infantry Division has
one. There are also two National Guard Brigades.
-
We'd like to
ask a question: what is about the US Government that it
cannot, just cannot, tell the truth? You can call a dog
a cat, but that doesn't change the dog into a cat.
saying, "oh, these brigades are here just to train the
Iraqis and provide security, they're not for combat" is
calling a dog a cat. And saying "oh, the only way
they'll be involved in combat is at the request of the
Iraqis" doesn't change anything either. And saying "See,
most of the support troops needed to sustain these
brigades in combat have gone, so it's not a real combat
capability" also doesn't change anything either.
-
www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4750200&c=AME&s=LAN
-
Least
readers think we are overstating the case, DefenseNews
says the Army deliberately chose to build its "Advise
and Assist" and "Security" brigades on regular combat
brigades because "the brigade(s) can shift the bulk of
its operational focus from security force assistance to
combat operations if necessary."
-
Because
President Obama is, well, the President, he and only he
is responsible for this legal legerdemain. Where most
Americans come from, what the President is doing is
called lying. This is obviously far too sophisticated a
concept for a Harvard graduate to grasp. First we had a
Yale graduate who famously said "Depends what the
definition of "is" is." Then we had a Yale+Harvard
graduate who got us into a war by telling us lies. Now
we have another Harvard graduate who said he would get
us out of these foreign wars, only to expand one and to
lie about the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq.
-
Do you see a
pattern here, people?
-
Of the
Supreme Court justices, four are from Harvard, three are
from Yale, one started at Harvard but graduated from
Columbia. There is only one "normal" Supreme. And
incidentally he appears to be the only Supreme from west
of the Mississippi. we are not saying Supremes lie. We
are saying that first you have a presidency that thinks
lying is okay, then you have a Supreme Court that
nowhere near represents America, and last, you have a
Congress that is - that is - gwarsh, we cant find any
descriptive adjective that is acceptable in a family
blog.
-
Now, your
Editor is not quite ready to relocate to Idaho and build
a bunker. For one thing there's the slight matter of
skin color. The Editor can pass for Sicilian or Greek,
but definitely not for a Fraternal Member of the Bunker
Society.
-
At the same
time, Editor is starting to think: maybe, just maybe
those Americans who are displeased with Washington are
not all mindless bigots. Maybe they have good reason to
fear Washington, aka the Federal Government.
-
Dr. Laura
and the N-Word The (in)famous (depending on your
point of view) TV advice giver Dr. Laura asked a
rhetorical question on her show: Why is it wrong for
non-blacks to use the word "nigger" when blacks use it
all the time between themselves, often affectionately?
-
Now, Editor
is willing to concede that perhaps he has a different
point of view on African Americans, having worked 14
years in jobs where African-Americans were either 70% or
99% of the people around. But if Dr. Laura cannot under
why outsiders cannot use the word "nigger" while blacks
can use it, it shows she has a very, very serious
problem.
-
At his last
school, Editor was an honorary member of a local gang
who called themselves the Swamp Niggers. Fortunately,
his main duty as a gang-member was when asked "Where are
the Swamp Niggers?" to respond "You're looking at one."
That would crack everyone up - and incidentally appall
the Hispanic students.
-
It was also
perfectly okay to reply, when a black student said: "Mr.
Ravi, don't bother with him, he's just one dumb nigger"
to say "No problem, I'm one too."
-
But under
no conditions, and Editor means no ifs-and-buts,
just under no conditions could he call
anyone a nigger, not even members of his gang.
-
Now, however
hurtful was Dr. Laura's saying "nigger" to make her
point, she should not have been fired for that.
Dr. Laura was asking a valid question. But in doing so
she showed she is not a particularly intelligent person.
How can you live in America and not know the answer?
0230 GMT
August 19, 2010
-
Last US
combat brigade leaves Iraq 4th Brigade, 2nd
Infantry Division has left Iraq. 50,000 troops remain to
support the Iraq forces and will leave next year.
-
Meanwhile, a US State Department spokesperson says
the "US had a trillion dollar investment to protect in
the country and also wanted to see a significant return
on the 4,415 troops who have lost their lives in the
conflict."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11020270
So it will pay close attention to Iraq; it is not
abandoning the country.
-
That
the US "invested" in Iraq will come as a big surprise to
Americans. Was any cost-benefit analysis done before
making the investment? Was there a business plan? A 10%
return on equity is not unreasonable - its nothing
exciting, but okay. So US should be getting $100-billion
a year from its investment in Iraq.
-
Does the
State Department have a plan it can perhaps share with
the public as to how the US is to earn $100-billion from
Iraq?
-
See, here
the Editor is tottering along peacefully, sunk in
existentialist angst about not having a date for
Saturday - again - and why is it so hard for a highly
qualified to get a job (no luck in six months of trying,
though he has been unemployed only for two), and then
along comes a man who is paid a salary the Editor can
only drool about by the taxpayer, who has to ruin the
Editor's day with moronic statements
-
Aside from
the sheer absurdity of the statement, just think what a
fine day anti-American conspiracy-theorists will have
with the spokesperson's statement. "Aha! we told you the
Americans went in for the oil!" Useless to point out
that so far no American company has a major contract in
Iraq: everything has gone to non-US firms.
-
Useless also
to point out that if American firms get Iraqi oil
contracts, the firms will have to invest in Iraq. So the
returns will go to them, not to the US Government which
has spent the trillion or to the taxpayers, who gave
that trillion to the US Government.
-
US
government will gain taxes on that money, true. But
let's suppose that American oil companies do eventually
get major contracts, and lets suppose they get paid
$10/barrel as royalties. Lets suppose half is profit, so
the US Government gets $1.33 per barrel as tax. Now,
since a 10% return on the $1-trillion is reasonable, US
companies would have to produce 206-million-barrels/day
in Iraq to give a half-way decent return. That is ten
times as much oil as the US consumes, and more than
twice the total oil daily produced in the world. US
companies would have to produce 75-billion barrels of
oil a year in Iraq.
-
Lets assume
by some miracle such production rates could actually be
practical. Even if we say, okay, most of Iraq is
unexplored and it may have 300-billion-barrels of oil,
in four years there will be no oil left in the country.
Iraq wont care, because it'll have a a few trillion
dollars in the bank and can live off the interest. But
the US Government will get nothing after four years.
-
So far we
haven't talked about the interest the US has foregone on
its investment in the last seven years.
-
Enough -
we're sure readers get the point and there is no need
for the Editor to get carried away more than he is
already carried away. It doesn't seem fair that this
State Department feller gets to pay his bills while
mouthing inanities, while the Editor plods along looking
for a job.
0230 GMT
August 18, 2010
-
Great
Leader may hand over rule next month That's the
speculation since the first party congress in 30-years
has been called for September. The successor is likely
to be the GL Mini Me, his youngest son who is about 27.
-
Meanwhile,
ROK president calls for starting a fund that will pay
for reunification. At least someone is thinking ahead to
the inevitable.
-
Also
meanwhile, defensenews. com has a picture of DPRK's new
MBT, believed based on the T-62. The tank is named "Pokpung-Ho".
We are not making this up. In Korean it means "storm".
We are certain the tank will get through the US 2nd
Division in ROK. The troops will be shouting "Pokpung-Ho!"
and laughing so loudly the tanks will roll over the
division. Very devious strategy.
-
http://defensenews.com/story.php?i=4748528&c=ASI&s=TOP
-
Pakistan
flooding now affects 20-million, or one person in
nine. Compare to: US with 35-million flood-affected.
Thousands of Pakistani towns and villages have
disappeared: swept away or submerged.
-
Because the
international community is not stepping up, the World
Bank is reprogramming $900-million earmarked for
Pakistani development projects to flood relief. Glad
that World Bank is showing sense for a change.
-
Our least
favorite dictator gets a new lease on life Robert
Mugabe's Zimbabwe was allowed a one-time exemption to
sell diamonds. No one is sure at this point how much was
the revenue, might be between $100-million and
$1.5-billion. Either way, Mr. Mugabe has gotten his
grubby paws on a bunch of foreign exchange.
-
Zimbabwe was
locked out of the Kimberly process because among other
things workers toiling to recover diamonds were being
treated like slaves: children being forced to work
11-hours a day, women raped, death threats, all the
gentlemanly behavior one associates with Mr. Scumbag.
-
So why was
an exception granted? In the "hope" that things would
improve for labor. Mr. Mugabe's government "promised"
labor abuses would be ended.
-
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/diamond-auction-brings-zimbabwe-16312bn-pay-day-2050135.html
0230 GMT
August 17, 2010
-
Longwarjournal challenges US government on AQ numbers in
Afghanistan Some time back the CIA director said
there were only 50-100 Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Longwarjournal says that using official news releases
it seems AQ is operating in 48 districts in 17 of
Afghanistan's 34 provinces. For US readers,
province=state and district=county.
-
Not only is
AQ or affiliates providing training and money for
Afghanistan Taliban, in at least two cases, including
one a few days back, Coalition has killed "dual-hat"
commanders. These gentleman work for both the Taliban
and AQ.
-
This melding
of AQ and Taliban is not something anyone needs, least
of all the US. Worse, if the US government is spinning
facts so blatantly, whatever credibility it has will be
destroyed.
-
Iran
official heading UAV program assassinated, says Debka
Reader Vikhir Akula sends a Debka story saying the
engineer heading Iran's UAV program was killed by a
massive blast that brought down his house in an
exclusive residential district of Ahwaz. The Iran
government said it was an exploding cooking gas cylinder
- these do tend to occasionally blow up in less
safety-conscious cultures. But Debka says three bombs
were planted in the corners of the building by someone
who managed to get access to his protected house.
-
http://www.debka.com/article/8971/
-
Here is a link
to a thoughtful Atlantic article also forwarded by Vikhr.
The article says decision time on Iran's N-program is fast
approaching, and it analyses the principal actors, courses
of action, and outcomes.
-
Pakistan
calamity: Indian Government does something sensible
India has offered even more aid than the $5-million initial
sum to Pakistan. Moreover, it has said it is willing to
channel the aid through the UN, and even offered India as a
staging base for the UN.
-
This puts the
ball squarely in Pakistan's court. Pakistan has yet to reply
to the original offer, which we thought was
insultingly
small.
-
We were going
to finish up our rant on Kashmir by explaining that
everytime some Kashmiri factions are unsatisfied with the
state government, instead of political action they resort to
violence, blame India, and scream "independence." Here
is an article which explains better, though it is a lot more
sympathetic to the Kashmiri agitators than we are. We
dispute they are as wronged and as innocent as the writer
makes out, but the article will explain a great deal of what
the current trouble is about.
-
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Multiple-Mutinies-Now/articleshow/6316002.cms
0230 GMT
August 16, 2010
No news
today. Here's three articles of interest
GMT
August 15, 2010
-
Civilian
losses in Afghanistan: Lose-Lose for Coalition
It
was another rare day for the Washington Post, because it
had an article on the GWOT that actually made sense. On
Saturday the Post explained that whether the civilian
casualties are caused by the Coalition or by the
Taliban, Afghanis blame the Coalition in both cases.
-
The
reasoning is two fold. First, the Afghanis blame the
Coalition for drawing Taliban fire on them and making
them the victims of Taliban retaliation for Coalition
activity. Does this make any sense, to blame the person
who is helping you, in effect saying: "you said you were
here to protect us but instead we are getting killed by
the enemy"? It makes no sense at all. But that is the
reality.
-
Second, as a
US officer told WashPo, the Coalition operates in
uniform and is always identifiable. The Taliban are not.
The come, they kill, they vanish. So obviously the side
in the uniform gets the flak.
-
We can add a
third reason: Just how do you go and complain to the
Taliban about their murder of civilians? We suppose you
could try, but where's the assurance the Taliban will
listen and make restitution? You worry more likely you
too will be murdered. But you can always come and
complain to the Coalition. They will give you medical
attention if you have been injured, regardless by whom,
and if the Coalition has made a mistake, it pays
compensation.
-
Needless to
say, now the Taliban know the game they take full
advantage of the civilians. They are not just hiding
among them, they take civilians hostage to protect
themselves from attack. No guesses as to who gets blamed
when the hostages are killed accidentally by the
Coalition.
-
So, what
does this add up to in terms of CI? The same old
thing we've been saying for ages. This hearts and minds
business does not work. The most recent example is Sri
Lanka. The nation decided to go after the LTTE
regardless of how many civilians died - and it looks as
if several thousand may have been killed. West is
muttering "war crime". The reality is, the LTTE are
defeated. Sri Lanka, after 30 years of war, is returning
to peace.
-
Machiavelli
advised his Prince: "If you have to do something bad, do
it all at once and get it over with". (Conversely, if
you have to do something good, don't do it all at once -
dribble it out.) Sound feller, ol' Machi.
-
Of course,
in Afghanistan the US ignored one of the great
fundamental principles of war: Define your objective. US
kept changing its objective, and is still confused as to
what to do. So victory by any definition is impossible.
In situations like that, we are sure if the Italian
Schemer had been around, he would have banged his head
against the wall and said: "Just get up and leave,
before you do, kindly pay this invoice for my advice."
-
India
offers $5-million aid to Pakistan: Mingy offer, Mingy
response. C ome on, people: $5-million? India is
close to becoming a two trillion dollar economy.
Ethnically, the Pakistanis are the same as Indians. It's
politics divided them.
-
But trust
the Pakistanis to equally sink to the occasion: Pakistan
says it is "considering" the offer.
-
Editor
doesn't need to read the Indian newspapers and blogs to
tell exactly what the Indians are saying: (a) Don't we
have enough poor people of our own who need help?; and
(b) @#$%^& those &^%$#@ ungrateful Pakistanis.
-
Actually, we
do have an answer to the first question. In India its
never been about the money when it comes to failing to
help the poor. Its never been important enough
for the government to help the poor, and for that the
people of India must take the blame along with the
Government. You can provide everyone in India
with clean drinking water, basic health services,
education, and food security. It's just we Indians are
not bothered. And we do have an answer to the second
point. What Would Ashoka Do? What would this most moral
of Indian kings do if his offer to help a suffering
neighbor was rudely rejected? Think about it.
-
India
Shining - Not The phrase "India Shining" is meant to
epitomize the new India: economically, culturally, and
historically vibrant.
-
Well,
according to the Times of India, there's a hefty bit of
tarnish on the shine. In 1965, a thirty year old farmer
saw two army boats collide in a river. He led a rescue
effort, getting 68 men to shore, and saving 20 others
from drowning. He even recovered some of the weapons the
soldiers were carrying.
-
So, the
government gave him a peacetime gallantry award, and a
pension that today amounts to $30/month, or a dollar a
day. The man is now 75. He hasn't received his pension
in four months, and no one seems to know why. He and his
wife are not doing well in the absence of the money.
-
OK, so you
thing we're going to smack the Government upside the
head because the pension stopped? Not really. Mistakes
happen. For example, the man may have not filed his "I
am not dead yet" certificate that all pensioners are
required to file annually.
-
No. The
people we want smack upside the head with an 18" iron
skillet are the district authorities. "District authorities said they would take up the
matter with the Centre and officials would visit (his)
residence soon." Why don't the baboon bureaucrats get
off their fat tushis and do something instead of making
vague promises.
-
At the same
time, we have to note that people in India and Indians
abroad are changing. Thirteen of 23 letters to the
editor ask how they can help this man. Good for them.
-
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Braveheart-of-1965-Indo-Pak-war-now-lives-in-misery/articleshow/6312376.cms#ixzz0wdD5Yyvk
By the way, in true Indian
journalistic tradition, the headline is misleading:
the incident happened during the 1965 War, but took
place a thousand miles from the front and had
nothing to do with the war. The article of course
says the war was over on the day of the incident,
which it was not. It all makes perfect sense if you
are Indian.
-
Indian
Air Force to modernize base infrastructure (The
delay in reporting this story is because Editor passed
out in shock that the Indian military is actually doing
something sensible, and it took time to revive the
Editor.)
- Times of
India reports that all four Indian military services
(including the Coast Guard) are to modernize their
airfields in two phases. This includes the Air Force's
51 operating bases, and 9 Air Force Advanced Landing
Grounds used to support the Army on the China border.
All nine were shut down and only recently reopened in
view of the increasing China threat. We saw photographs
of one of the ALGs, at Daulet Beg Oldi (or DBO if you
want to be cool and act like you're in the know) near
the Karakoram Pass in Ladakh. This ALG is is at a height
of 16,200-feet, just under 5000-meters, and it is the
highest airfield in the world. It was a very neat job
and runway lights had been installed for the first time.
The surface was not yet paved.
- The
Times of India says: "The
upgrade includes resurfacing, expansion and lighting of
runways for night operations as well as installation of
new tactical navigational (TACAN), instrument landing
(Cat-2 ILS), air traffic management and air-to-ground
radio communication (RCAG) systems."
-
Helicopter pads on the China border are also to be
improved. All this will make a huge, huge difference in
India's ability to quickly reinforce positions in the
north.
0230 GMT
August 14, 2010
-
Pakistan
wins one
Dawn of Karachi said US is no longer
pressing Pakistan to open operations in North
Waziristan. One official; said pressure was
"counterproductive". Another said Pakistan needed time
to "consolidate" previous gains. At least one of the
officials was being honest.
-
We've said
several times Pakistan has told the US enough is enough
and it is not going to do more against the Taliban.
Seems US is publically acknowledging that reality.
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As far as we
are concerned, Pakistan's successful stonewalling should
be taken as another sign we're not going to win in
Afghanistan and we should adjust our plans accordingly.
-
Meanwhile,
we at least are going to congratulate the Pakistanis. If
America is stupid enough to be taken for a ride, no
sense blaming Pakistan, is it?
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Meanwhile, re. the floods In just one area,
Jacobabad, 1.5-million people are stranded by rising
waters and 500,000 - the city's population - have been
told to leave.
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Even the US
could not handle a disaster of this magnitude. And
remember, this is just one little area that is affected.
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Russia
aims to deter Israel by placing S-300 SAM's in Georgia's
breakaway regions
says Debka. The website has been
insisting for some time that Israel will attack Iran
using Georgian bases. And the Russians do appear to have
shifted at least one S-300 battery to the region.
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First,
however, Russia has bases in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
It seems reasonable it would want SAM protection for the
bases. Debka argues the Russians don't need S-300s to
deter attacks on their bases. Attacks from Georgia, yes,
they don't need S-300s. But they do need them for
attacks from NATO. Further, S-300 is their standard
modern SAM. Why should they put obsolete junk into the
region? Second, to go from Georgia to northwestern Iran
requires overflying Armenia and Azerbaijan. When Israel
can overfly Syria - SyAF cant do much about it - why
would Israel depend on three separate countries to
cooperate in a preemptive attack.
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http://debka.com/article/8968/
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Former
Sri Lanka army chief found guilty by court-martial
of engaging in politics while in service, says BBC.
General Sarath Fonseka and the Sri Lanka President were
Best Friends Forever after the war against the LTTE
rebels. But General Fonseka felt he was being
increasingly sidelined and decided to go into politics.
The Government says he engaged in politics before
resigning. The General denies that.
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Oh baby,
can this really be the end
warbled the great
poet/songwriter Bob Dylan. We think this really is the
end: the Easy India Company has been purchased by an
Indian. The EIC was, of course, the colonizer of India.
It had its own armies to protect its commercial
interests. After the Indian Mutiny of 1857 - or as the
Indians call the First War of Independence - London took
over direct rule of India and the EIC was dissolved. One
hundred and thirty five year later arrives this Indian
and revives the company, which apparently had survived
as a tiny trading enterprize.
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Is this
Indian a Tata or a Mittal, a new billionaire corporate
baron of which India has so many? Nope. He is a
shopkeeper.
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One the one
hand: England, we feel for you. On the other hand: you
deserve this, England. It's the ultimate insult. (PS:
not that the English are the least bit bothered. They
are probably going: "Boooooorrrrring!")
-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10971109
0230 GMT
August 13, 2010
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Top Iraqi
officers says US withdrawal premature:
BBC The
3-star general says Iraq security forces may require
another 10-years to become ready.
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Au
contraire, Pierre. One reason the Iraqis calmed down is
the US announced a firm withdrawal data to which it is
adhering. For the last two years US troops have
increasingly been leaving the Iraqis alone, and the
Iraqis have reciprocated. Iraq is an exceptionally
nationalistic place. If the US said it was going to hang
around till the Iraqis are ready, at some indefinite
point in the future, attacks on US forces would resume.
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US has
achieved all its goals in Iraq. Stability in that
country cannot be defined in terms of developed
countries. Look at India: if you judged it on developed
nation standards, it is highly unstable. But actually
India chugs along just fine. Elections are held
regularly, the government governs, there is no political
unrest over 90% of the country in terms of population,
the economy is blasting away, and by 2025 India will
have the world's third largest GDP.
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India
managed when the British left, and it managed better
because Indians knew whatever happened to them,
independence was better than servitude to foreigners.
Same applies to Iraq.
-
Sure there
will be blood because the US presence has prevented the
working out of many problems, such as the role of the
Sunnis and Kurds in the new Iraq. But this has to be
settled by the Iraqis themselves, not by outsiders.
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So: good job
US, and to the Iraqis we say: "It's been real."
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Independent Afghan operation goes awry says New York
Times.
A 300-man battalion from 201st Corps (Kabul),
likely the best trained Afghan corps, went to root out
Taliban from their positions in a village in Laghman
province. The operation was not conducted with the
Coalition, and ran into trouble apparently after
detailed were betrayed to the Taliban. There are varying
reports on casualties; US says they run about 10 killed
and 20 wounded, others say more.
-
Anyway, US
and French troops had to go to the rescue, but the Red
Cross says it could not recover bodies due to intense
fighting.
-
One Taliban
boasted of taking three Afghan Army prisoners to his
house and then executing them, so his house will be that
of a hero. We did not know murdering POWs confers hero
status on anyone. But that standard one supposes Hitler
was the greatest hero of them all.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/world/asia/13afghan.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fworld%2Fasia%2Findex.jsonp
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AQ
running low on money?
Associated Press says Al
Qaeda had issued its third appeal in a year for money.
AQ says its fighters in Afghanistan cannot operate for
lack of resources.
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Wonder
what's going on here.
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Next time
you wanna complain about that speeding ticket you
received, you might want to consider this: A Swedish
motorist in Switzerland is facing a potential $1-million
fine after being clocked at 290-kmph in a 120-kmph zone.
The latter is 72-mph, so it's not exactly slow.
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In
Switzerland (and in Sweden too, we believe) the richer
you are, the heavier the fine. The previous world record
is a Swiss driver who had to pay $290,000.
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Wonder if
there's a chance the US will have such an equitable
system some day.
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