Very good thread. To me, the coddling of the Pakistani establishment and the abrupt pivot towards Iraq were the most baffling parts of the American response to 9/11.
Also, while everyone around me was gobsmacked by the loss of thousands of civilian lives, there was a noticeable undercurrent of "so-they-finally-realize-what-it-feels-like" to the effusive (and genuine) sympathy.
Because India had been bearing the brunt of terrorist/jihadist attacks for more than two decades before 9/11 happened. Thousands of innocent civilian lives were lost to these attacks. And every time, the reaction of 'the West' was, for want of a better expression, muted.
There was sympathy, but that sympathy was always drowned out by sanctimonious sermonizing and finger-wagging about human rights and the purported excesses by security forces in Kashmir and elsewhere.
All we got after an attack were patronizing lectures about the need for restraint and diplomacy and sensitivity to Pakistan's weak strategic position vis-a-vis India that made it go to such extreme lengths to restore parity.
Even the terrorists were not called 'terrorists'. They were 'militants', or 'gunmen' or 'armed men', or worse, 'freedom fighters'.
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In short, the Russians treat indirect fires as the primary element, with maneuver forces only helping artillery get into position and seizing an objective after it has been devastated.
So the artillery footprint is very large, and the firepower is incredible, although imprecise.
Practically every great power has developed their own unique doctrines for war, and their equipment designs have flowed from that. Strange that a son-of-the-soil type gets it, but our intelligent, highly educated scholars don’t.
Assault Breaker is a prime example, but history is littered with several examples.
Maybe that right there is the bane of India. It has been run by too many Srinath Raghavans for too long 😶
The authors state that in confronting China, "The last option would, obviously, be to maintain the status quo — with 50,000-60,000 troops deployed at high altitudes..."
I want to argue that forcing a standoff along the land border should be India's *first* option, as this is where India's strengths lie.
1. Airlines have very stringent safety rules. Attendants can move people elsewhere from the exit row if they deem them unfit to carry out emergency duties in case of a crash. Individual passengers' convenience does not trump that.
2. Walking off the plane "all sprightly" is no sign of fitness to open the exit door in case of a crash landing.
3. Making up false stories because you think you were slighted, using your former rank and blue tick as a bully pulpit, getting your buddies in the media to publish a hit piece in record time—these are all signs of the same "VIP culture" that you claim to condemn.
Why is HAL—a company with 50+ years in the aero industry—being denied the opportunity to take over and rebuild Air India? Why is the crown jewel of Indian hospitality being sold to a private company whose name literally translates to “bye-bye”?
Reached for comment, strategic expert Patanajali Varadarajan said, “This is a disturbing breakdown in India’s values-based governance system. It speaks to the moral fiber of the United States that it has not nationalized a single government-owned airline.”
Renowned professor Gaurav Sabnis tweeted, “This changes nothing. The Indian air travel system was always a Brahminical setup. A high-quality, imported system called “Air Force” for the ruling elites; and a poorly funded and managed “Air India” for everyone else.”
The mayor of Mumbai had said, “They've to install their cold storage if needed … We'll not give any advance payment. We will fine companies if they fail to deliver vaccines on time.”
Do people still think that importing vaccines on short timelines is easy, or even feasible?
Meanwhile, this is what Israel *actually* did to get ahead of the line:
The Israeli PM initiated direct negotiations with Pfizer's CEO, with over 17 phone calls. Those calls were made possible by paying a $30 million advance just to negotiate. No guarantees.