We will briefly discuss the historical background of Israel which will make it easier for us to understand the subjectivity of 'Myth and Realities' about Israel. The noteworthy fact is that until the defeat of the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, there was no geo-political entity called Palestine, no Arab nation lived on this land (there is no Arab nation present), no national claim ever made to the territory by any group other than the Jews. Palestine, which was named so by the Roman emperor Hadrian in an attempt to wipe out any Jewish connection, was simply a name used for historical purpose.1 The meaning of Palestine was derived from the Roman word Peleshet and in English as Philistine. The Philistines were Mediterranean people originating from Asia Minor and Greek localities. They reached the southern coast of Israel in several waves. One group arrived in the pre-patriarchal period and settled south of Beersheba in Gerar where they came into conflict with Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. Another group, coming from Crete after being repulsed from an attempted invasion of Egypt by Rameses III in 1194 B.C....more

(Oh Pushtun! What evil has descended upon your family
I'm burying your martyrs there (Afghanistan) and here (Pakistan)
For how long I'll weep and keep burying your martyrs)

Huntington has propounded not only a vicious Clash of Civilization idea but acted as a proselytizer of hate and ensured that Islam remains at loggerhead with Christianity and Judaism. His obsession is so overwhelming that he deemed it expedient to travel all the way to India to address the hard core Hindutva and address the members to reinforce their commitment to Hindu Fundamentalism, which in a way meant renunciation of Secularism as a political creed. His basic contention was that Islam could be effectively countered and harmed if Hinduism joined hands with Christianity and Judaism. A systematic propaganda for image tarnishing of Islam, is what Huntington so assiduously carries out, ironically as a great exponent of Political Science as a scientific discipline. If prejudice masquerades as science, Huntington has done enormous damage to his own intellectual image than to Islam whose followers constitute one fifth of humanity, and its resurgence is no figment of imagination, but a reality that world has to live with. One would be right in saying that Muslim World suffers from enormous contradictions and a wide gap between what is professed and practiced. It is also true that they lack participatory political culture, without which Islamic polity is a misnomer. Not only do they lack unity among themselves but are out of step with the imperatives of knowledge of science, technology and Informatics. But these are failings and follies of the adherents of Islam, which make them so vulnerable, weak and impoverished. Islam must not be maligned for the misdeeds of its so-called followers just as Christianity, and for that matter any religion cannot be judged on the aberrant behaviour, which very often the believers of a faith tend to manifest....more

The focus of attention at the Centre for Aerospace Power Studies has naturally been on the role and application of air power in South Asia in the 21st century. That air power has become the dominant factor in the modern battlefield is there for all to see but to put it in its correct perspective, the nature and type of our future wars has to be determined first. Before the introduction of nuclear weapons in South Asia, the war paradigm in the region was based on the Continental Strategy and depending on the level of hostility and threat perceptions, nations in South Asia took necessary steps within their available resources, and in some cases beyond their resources, to maintain conventional forces to meet the perceived external military threat

India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971 reinforced the land-centric continental war strategy that envisaged large formations on ground manoeuvring to conquer/defend land territories with the air forces and the naval forces playing a supporting role. The induction of nuclear weapons in the region has changed the complexion of wars in the sub-continent drastically, yet the old mindset of continental strategy has lingered on....more

It was a demonstration of Fir'own-like power, when against the wishes of almost the whole world, America with British collaboration attacked and conquered Iraq like a piece of cake. After about four months of the conquest, the Americans are still thinking about the reasons for this attack. This great victory resulted in laurels for the President of America, but the victory achieved so easily is still not complete. The Americans have complete control on Iraqi oil, but control of the territory is becoming difficult every passing day as three to four Americans are being killed by the Iraqis who have reason to hate the American occupation. Americans are confused whether to blame Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein for these killings.

The occupation is proving very costly. Over and above the US$ 4 billion monthly bill, there is a constant flow of body bags of US soldiers. Since the war on Iraq began on March 19, more than a thousand American soldiers have been killed. Under pressure from the government, the media outlets have been spinning information on US casualties in a most curious way. Instead of regularly updating viewers and listeners concerning the number of killed and injured US servicemen and women since the beginning of the war in Iraq, an insidious and disingenuous distinction is being emphasized more than ever: that of the "combat deaths" and the "non-combat deaths". Phrases like "hostile fire", "friendly fire", and "in-action deaths" are now commonplace in Washington's and the media's handbook of propaganda and euphemisms....more

Being a 'rebel without a cause' is a luxury that seems to be reserved for restless, misunderstood middle-class youths of well-to-do western societies. More likely 'being a rebel' is a question of survival. And why not survive with good reasons on your side? There are even some who not only survive, they even manage to thrive. And there is hardly a shortage of grievance anywhere in this world: economic inequality, political exclusion, ethnic or religious hatred and political repression.

Political science literature explains civil conflict in terms of motive. Being motivated is one thing, but actually doing something is another. It is the circumstances in which people are able to rebel that are rare. Economists take a more sober view of behaviour and analyze what it actually takes to trigger a rebellion, as motives cannot be observed. A recent study published by the World Bank and written by Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler has analyzed 78 large civil conflicts that occurred between 1960 and 1999 in order to predict the outbreak of civil conflict. Certain patterns emerge from the analysis. The conclusion that the two authors finally reach is that opportunities for rebellious actions are more important than motivation....more

Anxiety and fear have started looming large as the date for the accession of Greek Cyprus to the European Union is drawing near. The much trumpeted EU eastward expansion will practically take place in May 2004 when ten new states would join the bloc. Greek Cyprus will be one of them. The Helsinki EU Council meeting, held in 1999, had categorically decided to admit the Greek Cyprus into the Club even without a solution to the long standing issue. The decision had greatly annoyed the Turkish as well as Northern Cyprus governments. The decision will now be implemented next year.

Ever since the Helsinki summit and even before that, the Northern Cyprus government had offered a number of steps for an amicable and mutually acceptable solution to the issue. Unfortunately, none of the plans have so far been materialized due to certain reservations expressed by the both sides. The Greek Cyprus side is faced with a win-win situation since they do not have anything to lose in this tug-of-war. They are internationally recognized and therefore have full support from the international community. And above all, they will be admitted into the European Union from May 2004....more

It is in the context of raising the level of human capacity through the expansion of knowledge at all levels that the economic issues facing humankind need to be addressed. As the experience of recent decades has demonstrated, material benefits and endeavours cannot be regarded as ends in themselves. Their value consists not only in providing for humanity's basic needs in housing, food, health care, and the like, but in extending the reach of human abilities. The most important rule that economic efforts must play in development lies, therefore, in equipping people and institutions with the means through which they can achieve the real purpose of the development: that is, laying foundations for a new social order that can cultivate the limitless potentialities latent in human consciousness.

The challenge to the economic thinking is to accept unambiguously this purpose of development - and its own role in fostering creation of the means to achieve it. Only in this way can economics and the related sciences free themselves from the undertow of the materialistic preoccupations that now distract them, and fulfil their potential as tools vital to achieving human well-being in the full sense of the term. Nowhere is the need for a rigorous dialogue between the work of science and the insights of religion more apparent....more

In an ideal world, there is no need to raise and sustain an outrageously expensive military.

In this particular world, military has become an indispensable tool to cover up colossal failures of political and diplomatic machinery. That is why we pick the best of the best for our military and sacrifice our share of bread and butter to equip our military with the best tools available, so they could meet the ends that we had failed to meet politically and/or diplomatically.

Why do politicians and diplomats historically and consistently fail? That is a debate outside the scope of this topic.

Whether we like it or not, the fact is that we cannot afford to live in a fantasy world where we do not need a highly trained, motivated, disciplined and best equipped military. Therefore, the question cannot be whether we need a military? The question should be how good is Pakistani military? A simple answer is very good (under the given circumstances)....more

Ever since I have had some rapport with Col Talib an ex- Commanding Officer of 12 Medium, I have never missed the auspicious ceremonies of the Zafarwalians. Of course last year the Indian border deployment robbed me of this, which in fact could not be celebrated. This year, Lahore's sultry and oppressive weather notwithstanding, the ceremony coupled with the installation of new rotund, flamboyant and beefy Brigadier Mazar-Ul-Haq was held on 31 May, 01 June 2003 in the unit lines. Brigadier Mazhar replaces Col Mir Akbar who though located in Karachi has been a most active and vigilant Col of the Regiment. I thought he was both compassionate, efficient and erudite.

The impressive ceremony was presided over by Lt Gen Abdul Qayyum HI (M), Chairman POF's Board Wah, who is also the Colonel Commandant of the Regiment of Artillery. He is dynamic, articulate, God-fearing and professionally top class.

I thought it was a fairly heavily attended ceremony and some of the general officers whom I could spot on both days were, Gen Saeed-Uz-Zafar, late Secretary Railways, General Tahir, the DG Artillery at GHQ, Gen Afzal Muzaffar, GOC 10 Division, General Bhatti the Punjab NAB head, besides Gen Qayyum who I think is running Wah, like the famous German house of Krupps. It was instructive to talk to him and I found him full of enthusiasm and deeply knowledgeable about the problems of ballistics, (internal, terminal and external) and management of armament and ammunition production....more

The Indian Ocean region is of great importance both strategically and to world trade. The end of Cold War terminated the Americans and the Russians classic military competition in the Indian Ocean region. Nevertheless, the traditional type of conflict still persists in the region and it is remained as one of the world's major volatile regions. Contrary to most Western countries - where the perception of threats has shifted from threats against the state to threats against individuals, in the absence of military danger and an acknowledged enemy - the persistence of significant danger on the borders of Indian Ocean countries still prevents most from reducing their defence expenditure. The aim of this article is to analyze the new emerging strategic trends in the strategic environment of the Indian Ocean region.

The British withdrawal from Diego Garcia and subsequent sale of the island to the United States, in the heart of the Indian Ocean in 1968 brought a remarkable shift in the strategic environment of the Ocean. The deep involvement of the Superpowers as a consequence of cold war rivalry and instability in the region because of local disputes and regional conflicts between the littoral states resulted in the militarization of the Ocean. The non-regional powers justify their military involvement by asserting that the littoral states were unable to ensure the safety of the sea-lanes of communication....more