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Syria
trapped in crisis by Hariri's assassination
A
detailed study of the crisis in Syria.
[Air Marshal (Retd)
AYAZ AHMED KHAN]
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The Syrian Arab Republic located
in the heart of the Arab world is a very important
Arab country. Its assets are its strategic location
and highly talented, cultured and educated population.
Under President Hafez al Assad - father of President
Bashar al Assad a policy of steadfast resistance against
Israeli occupation and expansion was followed with
great determination. Syria was considered the foremost
front-line Arab state, and was well respected globally,
especially by the Arab world and the Islamic Ummah.
President Hafez al-Assad, despite his socialist policies
was a highly respected Arab leader. He had maintained
close relations with the Soviet bloc, but due to his
policy of confrontation against Israel, successive
United States administrations were critical and tried
to cut him down to size....more
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 A
new nuclear morality
nuclear
technology needs to be de-politicised and discusses
a new nuclear morality.
[FAZAL HABIB CURMALLY]
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“Even
as the United States dusted off its hands and moved
on, elsewhere the radioactive rubble of the dead cities
spawned not only a sense of dread, but also an obsessive
desire for nuclear weapons. In 1948, while arguing
to create India's Department of Atomic Energy, Prime
Minister Jawaharlal Nehru told Parliament, "I
think we must develop [nuclear science] for peaceful
purposes." But, he added, "Of course, if
we are compelled as a nation to use it for other purposes,
possibly no pious sentiments of any of us will stop
the nation from using it that way." Just three
years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, those "other
purposes" were all too clear.”
“Days after Pakistan's nuclear
tests in May 1998, Japan invited the country's foreign
minister to visit Hiroshima's peace museum. The minister
was visibly moved after seeing the gruesome evidence
of mass devastation. His reaction: We made our nukes
precisely so that this could never happen to Pakistan.....more
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"Babur"
vs BrahMos
The
Indian reaction to Babur.
[Columnist Gp Capt (Retd)
S M HAL]
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Hailing the successful test-fire
of Pakistan’s first cruise missile Hatf VII
Babur on Aug. 11, 2005 as a “major milestone
in the country’s defense program”, President
Pervez Musharraf echoed the sentiments of the entire
nation. General Musharraf declared that the scientists
and technicians involved had “again done the
nation proud by mastering a rare technology”.
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid declared it to
be a gift of the scientists on the birthday of President
Musharraf and the Independence Day,” since
the day coincided with President Musharraf’s
62nd birthday. The considerations for the date and
time of the test were based more on atmospheric
and weather considerations rather than historical
ones....more
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Differentiating
between freedom struggle and terrorism
The
fine line between Freedom Struggle and Terrorism
[JAMAL HUSSAIN ]
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Violence is the common feature in
both armed freedom struggles and acts of terrorism
(whether by an individual, group, society or state).
Whereas the society has given moral and legal sanctity
to the former, the latter is considered evil and immoral.
Articles and talk shows abound on the issue of defining
terrorism and how it must be differentiated from genuine
freedom struggles. While this is a very legitimate
concern, in practice the issue is complicated enough
to defy an easy answer....more
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"The
Decisive Battle of Badar"
The
first decisive battle of Islam.
[M A GILANI]
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Introduction
The battle of BADAR (BADR) was the
first decisive battle of ISLAM. It was fought
on Friday 17th of RAMAZAN, 2nd HIJRI (January
624). BADAR is situated about 70 miles South
East from MEDINA. It was a battle between about
1000 (some historians have mentioned 900) well
armed heathens of MECCA and 313 ill armed Muslims.
From the strength point of view of the Muslim
force, perhaps, it was the smallest decisive
battle in military history. But its immediate
result was that ISLAM had come to stay, its
preaching continued vigorously and more and
more people embraced it. After achieving brilliant
victory over 3 to 3 ½ times stronger
and far better armed enemy, the Muslim forces,
inferior in strength, within 15 years inflicted
crushing defeats on much larger imperial forces
of the BYZANTINE Empire and the IRANIAN Empire
and thus changed the course of history.....more
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State
Bank of Pakistan First Quarter Report 2006
The
SBP Report is a wake up call for the government.
[ SHAZIA MEHMOOD
KHAN]
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First quarter report 2006 and
suggestion
The State Bank of Pakistan [SBP] strongly suggested
that the constant high levels of inflation must be
abridged because it is very harmful to the economy
and common people alike. SBP further stressed that
the government should manage the increasing inflation
rates even at the cost of sacrificing some growth
in the short-term. The SBP warned that the potential
emergence of large fiscal and external imbalances
pose threats to the sustainability of ongoing positive
trends of our national economy. This is a timely reminder
by the SBP to the government to do something constructive,
functional and positive for the well being of the
poor people of the country. The report said that the
country’s economy during FY06 would be weaker than
in the preceding year....more
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Indian
Navy's force projections
The
Indian Navy’s aspirations to rule the seas.
[Gp Capt (Retd) S.M.
Hali]
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Indian aspirations
to rule the waves ala Britannica were provided a
strategic direction by the BJP Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee in November 2002. He directed his
planners to craft defense strategies that extend
beyond South Asia and transcend past sub-regional
mind sets. India's expanded security perspectives,
he claimed, require such fresh thinking about projecting
power and influence, as well as security in all
these directions.
Stephen Blank,
writing for Asia Times online in his
column of 25 December 2003,
‘India's grand strategic vision gets
grander’, aptly describes the buildup:
"Major policy decisions, such as the one to
go overtly nuclear in 1998, can be attributed to
the consuming desire to be seen as a great power.
For years both Indian and foreign analysts have
expected that by the early 21st century India would
become a major projector of power and influence
throughout Asia. Indeed, the most recent evidence
suggests that the Indian government has now opted
for a 20-year program to fulfill that goal and become
‘a world power with influence spreading across the
Indian Ocean, the Arabian Gulf and the four corners
of Asia’. A major by product of this intended rise
to a global status would be to leave Pakistan trailing
behind as a minor regional power that could no longer
threaten India's vital interests. Thus this program
builds on the same psychological drive that has
long animated much of India's thinking about regional
security issues throughout the Indian Ocean.....more
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