IDSA Comments - MP-IDSA

Generally speaking…

General Asfaq Pervez Kayani’s elevation as the 14th Pakistan Army Chief of Staff in November has been treated in the Indian media as a relatively low key affair. The General...

Shantanu Chakrabarti |
December 27, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

The Politics of Disaster Relief

Muslim countries and Islamic relief organisations along with the rest of the world have shown unprecedented solidarity with the people of Bangladesh after the devastating impact of cyclone Sidr in...

Anand Kumar |
December 27, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

US Estimate on Iran: Of New Intelligence and New-found Confidence

The latest US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran’s nuclear programme, “Iran: Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities” of November 2007 (released on 3 December 2007) notes with “high confidence” that Tehran...

S. Samuel C. Rajiv |
December 20, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

Railway a Soft Target for Maoists

A little before dawn on December 12, 2007, Naxalites of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) blew up railway track at two different places in Bihar – the first one...

P. V. Ramana |
December 20, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

LTTE has to change its strategy

The annual “Heroes’ Day” speech delivered by LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran on November 27, amid continuing attacks by the government forces, brought out in no uncertain terms his dissatisfaction with...

Assam and Aftermath: Reality Check

The street violence that gripped Assam’s main city Guwahati on November 24 will not easily fade from public memory. Trouble brewed when a peaceful protest rally organized by the All...

Namrata Goswami |
December 10, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

Media takes off on TechSAR, but no takers

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has strongly denied news reports that the launch of an Israeli spy satellite aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has been delayed or...

Cherian Samuel |
December 07, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

Promises and Pitfalls of Nuclear Energy in Southeast Asia

In the recently concluded ASEAN Summit (November 18-22), apart from issues like Myanmar, ASEAN Charter and ASEAN Economic Community, nuclear energy was also discussed at length. A declaration on safeguarding...

Pankaj K Jha |
December 06, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

Indian Diaspora Tale: A Malaysian Malady

Malaysia’s so-called multi-ethnic harmony was deeply shaken when the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) organised in Kuala Lumpur the largest ever mass protest against the ‘marginalisation’ of ethnic Indians as...

Udai Bhanu Singh |
December 05, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

Climate Change and India’s Position

For the last one year regular installments of reports and analyses have appeared in the media on the challenges countries would face as a result of climate change and its...

P. K. Gautam |
December 05, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

Unabated Maoist Violence: Ignoring Is Not Bliss

The Maoists continue to advance their violent campaign to capture political power through armed revolution. In the current year, till October 31, 571 lives have been lost in Maoist violence....

P. V. Ramana |
December 05, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

The intent behind the PLA’s ‘Joint-Military Exercises’

A China Daily news item on November 22, 2007 states that both China and India will hold their first joint-army exercise in Yunan province of Southwest China in December. The...

Jagannath P. Panda |
November 30, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

Security of Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons

President Pervez Musharraf’s claim that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are safe as long as he is in charge has raised widespread speculation about the safety of Islamabad’s nuclear arsenal. Musharraf’s statement...

Reshmi Kazi |
November 29, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

US-Iran Standoff: Sanctions and Reactions

The United States imposed unilateral sanctions against Iran on October 25, 2007 to complement its efforts towards getting a third set of sanctions through the UNSC.

M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi |
November 29, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

TAR brings benefits for Bangladesh

After dilly-dallying for a long period Bangladesh finally signed the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) network agreement on November 9, 2007 at the UN headquarters in New York. With this 20 of...

Anand Kumar |
November 28, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

Political Crisis and the ‘Coming’ Election in Pakistan

The imposition of emergency in Pakistan on November 3, 2007 highlights two significant points: the crisis of political legitimacy for Musharraf and the raging war in the tribal areas which...

Smruti S. Pattanaik |
November 27, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

White Paper on China’s Political Party System

A month after the 17th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was convened in mid-October, 2007, the Information Office of the State Council published a White Paper...

Raviprasad Narayanan |
November 23, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

Sino-German relations: Not all hunky-dory

The Sino-German bilateral relationship has run into rough weather in the last few weeks. What has been described as a relationship based on ‘strategic partnership’ experienced a big chill when...

Alok Rashmi Mukhopadhyay |
November 23, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

Is the time for rapprochement with North Korea Coming?

As the time for North Korea’s “disablement” of its nuclear facilities draws closer, the six- party nations, especially the United States and South Korea, have stepped up their efforts to...

Hayoun Ryou |
November 22, 2007 |
IDSA Comments

US Military Strike on Iran: Implications for American Strategic Interests in Latin America

Iran began clandestinely developing a uranium enrichment programme in the early 1980s and claims that it is for peaceful purposes and solely for civilian use. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has claimed...

Ryan Clarke |
November 16, 2007 |
IDSA Comments