COMMENTARIES
  • Revisiting Intelligence Reform
    Firdaus Ahmed    ·   04 Mar, 2011    ·    #3338    ·    Commentary    
    The Outlook informs that a report on intelligence reforms is in the offing. The review is being done by a government think-tank, taking cue from the speech of the Vice President, Hamid Ansari. It has been ten years since the Kargil Review Commit...
  • BASIC Needs a New Strategy
    Swaran Singh    ·   04 Mar, 2011    ·    #3337    ·    Commentary    
    New Delhi hosted the sixth meeting of the Environment Ministers of Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) on 26-27 February. The most discernible and interesting development in the meeting was its 'BASIC plus' format which showed ...
  • India-Japan Relations: Potential and Possibilities
    Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Dipankar Banerjee    ·   03 Mar, 2011    ·    #3336    ·    Commentary    
    Quietly and without fanfare, India-Japan relations have deepened and matured in the recent years. This is despite frequent changes in the Japanese government, rapid geopolitical changes in Asia and an intermittent US policy.  However, ...
  • Can the Taliban be convinced to renounce al Qaeda?
    Radha Vinod Raju    ·   23 Feb, 2011    ·    #3335    ·    Commentary    
    Two scholars of the New York University, Alex Strick van Linshoten and Felix Kuehn, who have spent years in Afghanistan, have come out with a report  that the Taliban has been wrongly perceived as ideological ally of al Qaeda, and that the ...
  • The Mekong Sub-region: Emerging Challenges and New Dynamics
    Panchali Saikia    ·   19 Feb, 2011    ·    #3334    ·    Commentary    
    China’s 12th Five Year Plan (2011-2015) has targeted intensive investment in dams, railways and highways with plans to complete the hydropower projects set out in the 11th Five Year Plan. These massive investments include plans for hydropo...
  • Fishing in Troubled Waters: Indian Fishermen and India-Sri Lanka Relations
    N Manoharan    ·   15 Feb, 2011    ·    #3333    ·    Commentary    
    Although India-Sri Lanka relations are presently at an all time high, shooting and harassment of Indian fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy is a potential irritant to these ties. With the Assembly polls in the state of Tamil Nadu around t...
  • Towards an Indo-Pak Nuclear Lexicon - III: Cold Start
    Ali Ahmed    ·   15 Feb, 2011    ·    #3332    ·    Commentary    
    The Army Chief wrote the epitaph on Cold Start, stating, “There is nothing called ‘Cold Start’.” But it must be acknowledged that in its short shelf life of seven years it had spawned a cottage industry of commentators on...
  • Sri Lanka and Iran: The 2030 Nuclear Power Plant and Iranian Support
    Lydia Walker    ·   11 Feb, 2011    ·    #3331    ·    Commentary    
    In September, Sri Lanka announced its plan to build its first nuclear power plant within the next 20 years. The Sri Lankan Secretary of the Ministry of Power and Energy said that they would get safety approval from the International Atomic Energ...
  • Towards an Indo-Pak Nuclear Lexicon - II: Credible Minimum Deterrence
    Sadia Tasleem    ·   11 Feb, 2011    ·    #3330    ·    Commentary    
    Credible Minimum Deterrence is a highly loaded term, often used to suggest a state’s intentions with regard to its nuclear posture. Combined, the three words, ‘Credible’, ‘Minimum’ and ‘Deterrence’ prese...
  • Towards an Indo-Pak Nuclear Lexicon - I: Credible Minimum Deterrence
       ·   11 Feb, 2011    ·    #3329    ·    Commentary    
    Why Credible Minimum Deterrence? India’s nuclear weapons policy is identified with the posture of Credible Minimum Nuclear Deterrence (CMD). The principle entails quite a different interpretation than that understood in the western nuclea...
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