Search results for : "firdaus ahmed"
  • Emulating the US
    Firdaus Ahmed   ·   14 Sep, 2009    ·    #2968    ·    Commentary    
    The proceedings of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) are appropriately not in the public domain. Only its decisions, whenever required, are made known to the public, as was done in case of its endorsement of India’s nuclear doctrine in ...
  • Disarmament in South Asia
    Firdaus Ahmed   ·   13 Oct, 2009    ·    #2982    ·    Commentary    
    President Obama chaired the UN Security Council meeting that resulted in Resolution 1887 calling on states to abide by obligations under NPT. This presumably includes those under Article VI regarding ‘negotiations in good faith on effective m ...
  • An Issue in Civil-Military Relations
    Firdaus Ahmed   ·   09 Nov, 2009    ·    #3000    ·    Commentary    
    Recently, the Army Chief is reported to have said that the "US has not allowed a second 9/11 to happen. Indonesia has not allowed a second Bali bombing to happen. India has allowed people to get away after the Parliament attack, the Delhi blas ...
  • Making Obama's War Also India's
    Firdaus Ahmed   ·   07 Dec, 2009    ·    #3018    ·    Commentary    
    Leadership involves taking a call. Obama has placed himself in the firing line, not only on account of what he said at West Point but also for what he did not. His laying a deadline has already drawn fire; that of his defeated rival from the presid ...
  • India at 60: Acquiring Escape Velocity?
    Firdaus Ahmed   ·   27 Jan, 2010    ·    #3050    ·    Commentary    
    The parade down the Rajpath on India’s sixtieth Republic Day showcased its growing power, signified best by the replica of INS Arihant, the third leg of its ‘triad’ launched by the Prime Minister in the preceding year. While opera ...
  • Questioning Defence Spending
    Firdaus Ahmed   ·   03 Mar, 2010    ·    #3067    ·    Commentary    
    India intends spending an equivalent amount it spent on armaments over the last decade in half the time this decade. Whether this US$50 billion is necessary is a valid and timely question. Multiple arguments in favour of this spending are given as ...
  • The Bright Side of ‘Asymmetric Escalation’
    Firdaus Ahmed   ·   05 Apr, 2010    ·    #3081    ·    Commentary    
    Vipin Narang in his article ‘Posturing for Peace?’ gets it wrong. This is uncharacteristic of the reputed journal, International Security; but he would not be wrong for long. What he thinks is Pakistan’s posture today is not quite ...
  • Revisiting ‘1971’
    Firdaus Ahmed   ·   21 May, 2010    ·    #3134    ·    Commentary    
    The latest, if muted, storm in the military’s tea cup has been the destruction of documents relating to India’s 1971 victory. Apparently, Eastern Command made a search for the documents in order to interact with erstwhile Mukti Bahini f ...
  • Countering the Naxal Threat-IV: Military as an Option?
    Firdaus Ahmed   ·   21 Jun, 2010    ·    #3152    ·    Commentary    
    The Times of India headlines has it that the ‘Army is bracing to take on the Naxals’ (17 June 2010). The report informs that up to five divisions of the Army are being readied for deployment. A training center is planned to be opened th ...
  • Jammu and Kashmir: Need for a Political Solution
    Firdaus Ahmed   ·   20 Jul, 2010    ·    #3195    ·    Commentary    
    Even as India was moving into a self-congratulatory mode in gaining the upper hand in Kashmir, the recent youth agitations reminded it that placing a military lid on the situation does not make it go away. This has been acknowledged by both the Kas ...