Reply to Vamsi

[Narinder Bhatia <NPSINGH@prodigy.net>]

Vamsi wrote

>     I am a great admirer of George Fernandes, the Defense
> Minister....not for any party or political affiliations but for his role
> in giving India a Global Military responsibility for the first time
> ever.  In the past, many defense ministers have avoided this difficult
> task - maybe Viagra would have been helpful?  However, Fernandes doesn't
> need any help.  By confronting China, US, and UK about their
> hypocritical policies on Nuclear Weapons and their oppressive approach
> to diplomacy around the world, Mr. Fernandes has made us all proud.  In
> essence, we are telling the world that we are capable of being fair and
> stand up for the liberties of all people around the World.

Chest thumping and global military responsibilities are two very
different things. Mr Fernandes' dangerous rhetoric was strictly for the
people of India who despite their poverty are not really that gullible
(election results in the next 24 hours will show you that). (BTW how
come we heard no more about the Chinese outposts in Arunachal or their
naval bases in the Bay of Bengal? Are we supposed to understand that we
have scared China off or is it not a fact that these thareats were
highly exaggerated in the first place.) India's nuclear sabre- rattling
may have pleased some, but has not made China think about vacating Tibet
or America to contain it's Middle Eastern mischief. 
> 
>     One of the statements made by George Fernandes that confirm that
> India is challenging the Ideological Hegemony and the Military
> Oppression of the world Powers is that India is planning to build
> Aircraft Carriers and Airborne Survailence Systems.

Ha! Sorry I can't hold my derision.

  In a recent
> comment, he admitted that India is far behind in using Information
> Technology in the battlefield.

he should have also admitted that it is still quite hard to find a
working public telephone in Delhi's main business centers

  He said that while the Men and Women
> serving in the armed forces are the most dedicated and the finest in
> India, they don't have the hardware necessary to fight a Modern War!!

Nor a mature leadership that understands the meaning of war.
> 
>     I think Fernandes should have gone further and emphasized the
> importance of Force Multipliers and what I would like to call
> Intelligent Seek and Destroy Systems (ISDS).  Maybe the Military
> analysts and experts would call it something else but the ISDS includes
> such entities as the ground-based Laser Systems that can destroy a
> Satellite's transponders in the first few seconds after a War starts.
> They can also include air defense systems that can launch a
> counterstrike against an invading Air Armada.  It can be argued that the
> ISDS will form the first line of defense and it will also be the most
> active part of a Modern Fighting Force in the first few minutes of a
> War.

Things which India can neither afford nor needs in the forseeable
future. How about some modern machines to handle garbage in our cities.


> 
>     Modern Wars will be highly destructive, short, and decisive.  In its
> present state India will be unable to defend itself.  A modern Force
> doesn't have to descend upon Indian land, air, and sea to do begin the
> pounding.  For example, Tomahawk Missiles have a range of 1200+ miles
> which is slightly higher than the Missile Systems developed by India
> recently.  Furthermore, Missiles like Tomahawks use GPS leading to a
> coordinated and "simultaneous" attack strategies.


If I were the President of the United States or the Chairman of China
why on earth would I want to attack a filthy unhygeinic country of 1
billion wretched people, unless of course they start making too much
stink. (Sorry I am getting mad but does'nt it beg this simple question.)



>     Not only are foreign forces superior in Technology but they also
> outnumber the size of Indian Armed Forces.  For example, within 10 years
> the US plans to produce over 1000 F22 Air Superiority Fighters and over
> 9000 Joint Strike Fighters - that is 10,000 aircrafts in total!!  JSF
> will look and feel exactly like the F22 but they serve a common purpose
> for the Air Force and the Navy.  Of course, the F22 is clearly a
> superior fighter and it will be used to establish air dominance in the
> first few days of a war.  While the Joint Strike Fighter will be used to
> do the pounding (bombing).
> 
>     Both of these fighters carry air to air missiles and intelligent
> systems that are simply not available to the Indian Air Force.  If
> necessary, they can establish a quick and decisive dominance over the
> Indian Air Force.
> 
>     The story is very simple, if India doesn't look at itself as a
> Global player then someone else in the World will tell India how to play
> its role.  I believe we can surely do better than that.



How many times between Aug 1947 and May 1998 has anyone been able to
tell us how to play our role. India had always responded in a balanced
manner to all challanges to it's sovereginity. The Achilles heel of
India is not it's military but it's economic vulnerability.

The only war India needs to fight at the moment is the war against
poverty, deprivation, filth, disease and rabid Nationalism masquerading
as intellect. Militarism was the undoing of Germany twice this century,
of Japan and of the USSR. With all their military prowess the Great
Britain is an ever-shrinking island- nation in the North Sea. The Shah
of Iran could not be saved by his mighty army. America had to make an
embarrasing retreat from Vietnam, a handful of guerrilas rolled back the
mighty Soviet war machine.

I am not saying don't defend your country, but for God's sake HAVE A
SENSE OF PROPORTION and don't talk about global roles, when we have
enough to take care of at home.

The only way global conflicts will go away is by removing the atmosphere
of suspicion between the world's nations and having more economic
interdependence between the countries of the world so that it is in
nobody's interest to go to war against their trading partners.

 
Apologies for the emotional overtones.

Narinder Bhatia


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