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Syrian Civil War and the Chemical Weapons Use

US President Barack Obama’s April 30, 2013 statement that the US would “…take military action against Syria if hard, effective evidence is found of use of chemical weapons and if… Continue reading Syrian Civil War and the Chemical Weapons Use

CBR Security: India’s Threats and Vulnerabilities

Royal United Service Institute (RUSI; London) and Observer Research Foundation (ORF; New Delhi) recently completed a study titled “Chemical, Biological and Radiological Materials: An Analysis of Security Risks and Terrorist… Continue reading CBR Security: India’s Threats and Vulnerabilities

Jointmanship And Attitudinal Issues

Most leaders are professedly staunch proponents of the concept of jointmanship. They acknowledge the criticality of jointmanship to national security. In other words, jointmanship has no opponents. Yet, the reality on ground is diametrically opposite. Every step towards jointmanship is fought fiercely by many. This dichotomy, though perplexing, has been entirely due to incompatible attitudes. Attitude is an attribute of human behaviour and defies cogent reasoning.

Jointmanship in the Defence Forces : The Way Ahead

The experience of our Armed Forces during various conflicts has not been a happy one in terms of jointmanship. Each Service has viewed war fighting from its own perspective thus lacking a holistic approach to problems of defence and security. The Kargil crisis of 1999 provided the required political consensus to initiate the desired restructuring of the higher defence organisation and raising of joint structures.

Chemical Weapons Profile of Angola

The year 2012 signifies the 15th anniversary of the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), an international agreement that prohibits all activities related to development, production, stockpiling… Continue reading Chemical Weapons Profile of Angola

Global Health Security for Collaborative Countering of Bio-threat Agents and Infectious Diseases

Biological weapons are termed as “Poor man’s nuclear bomb” as they require less sophistication when compared to that of nuclear weapons making it easier and cheaper to produce and use.… Continue reading Global Health Security for Collaborative Countering of Bio-threat Agents and Infectious Diseases

The Army that can Deliver

Bangladesh's Chief of Staff General Mooen U Ahmed's visit to India scheduled in the fourth week of August now stands postponed in wake of the severe floods sweeping across the country. This visit by the army chief was keenly awaited in India and is particularly significant in the light of the political developments that have taken place in Bangladesh ever since the Khaleda Zia-led BNP coalition government demitted office in October 2006.

Sreeradha Datta
August 08, 2007
IDSA Comments

Challenge Inspection Regime of the CWC: Salient Features*

Introduction The Chemical Weapons Convention 1993 (CWC) entrered into force (EIF) in April 1997 and presently has 190 members covering nearly 98% of the world population. The Organisation for Prohibition… Continue reading Challenge Inspection Regime of the CWC: Salient Features*

Jointness in Strategic Capabilities: Can we avoid it?

Jointness has so far eluded the Indian Armed Forces. All thinking officers in the services are aware that much more jointness cannot be avoided if the Indian Armed Forces are to retain their excellent reputation. But this thinking community often comes up abruptly against many senior officers who dissuade them from being idealistic, on the grounds that under the cloak of jointness, their individual services would suffer losses in men, responsibilities and budgeting.

Indian Defence Acquisition: Time for Change

The latest Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) Performance Report on Defence Services (No. 4 of 2007) has once again exposed the problems involved in Indian defence acquisition. The report has been critical virtually of all the processes of the acquisition cycle, from planning to the formulation of Qualitative Requirements (QRs), vendor selection, conduct of trial and evaluations and processes of induction.