Mumbai 26/11 saw a mix of commando-style attacks typical of the special forces of an army and indiscriminate killing of civilians typical of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), the Pakistani jihadi organization. The meticulous planning, the thorough training of the 10 LeT terrorists, who carried it out, and the close co-ordination of the attacks from the command and control of the LeT had the stamp of Al Qaeda and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, both of which the LeT has a close relationship with. The LeT terrorists attacked a mix of targets—innocent Indian civilians in public places, Jewish people in a religious-cum-cultural centre and members of the Indian and foreign social and business elite in two five-star hotels. The attacks on the Jewish centre and the hotels lasted over 60 hours and were continuously telecast live by the TV channels. The success of the terrorist attacks, mounted from the sea, highlighted once again the serious deficiencies in India’s national security apparatus and the role of Pakistan in the spread of terrorism across the world. Have we drawn the right lessons in respect of both? Can the Indian people now expect at least a more robust counter-terrorism policy to prevent another 26/11?

In This Volume: The Big Picture Maoists And The Armed Forces On The Spot Report The Rajapaksa Model: Of Defeating Terror, Securing Peace and National Reconciliation Defense and Aerospace Digest Rheinmetall Thales KMW Arihant: The Annihilator India-Us Relations: Future Trajectory India's Foreign Policy: A Muddle For Sixty Two Years Kargil Controversy: Sorry State Of Higher Defense Management Defense Procurements: Learning From Past Mistakes Defense Psus: The Great Betrayal Defense Purchases: Time India Asserts Itself Incursions, Now And Then Prospects For Democratization In Myanmar: Impact On India Myanmar Going Nuclear China's String of Pearls Vs India's Iron Curtain Bows, Arrows And Nuclear Weapons "Is War Around The Corner?" Return Of Jiang China's Role As Pakistan's Nuclear And Missile Patron Resurrecting Afghanistan Recollections Of The 1971 War The Fragile Af-Pak Policy Some Reflections On Our Defense Policy India's Nuclear Doctrine Line Of Actual Control Or Contention? Pakistan: Dialogue Process Will End Only In Frustration Executive Summary By B Raman Gilgit-Baltistan: Pakistani Colony India Should Suspend Work Visas For Chinese October 1: Day Of Mourning Obama Veering Towards Neutrality On Arunachal Pradesh? A Professional Departs

This book examines the police response to the terrorist attacks in case studies that occurred in Mumbai (2008), Paris (2015), Brussels (2016) and Manchester (2017). The methodological approach to the case studies is comparative and features an interactive framework that incorporates a number of key variables. These variables include an examination of each of the terrorist attacks, a description of the terrorists involved, their actions, the response of the police and any weaknesses and strengths identified in the police response. Following the introduction, the book comprises of three sections. The first section looks at the theory of the police response to terrorism. The second section includes the presentation of the four case study terrorist attacks. The third and final section includes an analysis and comparison of the case study attacks and an examination on how the police response to terrorist attacks could be improved. It is ideal for policing professionals.

One of the gravest issues facing the global community today is the threat of nuclear war. As a growing number of nations gain nuclear capabilities, the odds of nuclear conflict increase. Yet nuclear deterrence strategies remain rooted in Cold War models that do not take into account regional conflict. Brokering Peace in Nuclear Environments offers an innovative theory of brokered bargaining to better understand and solve regional crises. As the world has moved away from the binational relationships that defined Cold War conflict while nuclear weapons have continued to proliferate, new types of nuclear threats have arisen. Moeed Yusuf proposes a unique approach to deterrence that takes these changing factors into account. Drawing on the history of conflict between India and Pakistan, Yusuf describes the potential for third-party intervention to avert nuclear war. This book lays out the ways regional powers behave and maneuver in response to the pressures of strong global powers. Moving beyond debates surrounding the widely accepted rational deterrence model, Yusuf offers an original perspective rooted in thoughtful analysis of recent regional nuclear conflicts. With depth and insight, Brokering Peace in Nuclear Environments urges the international community to rethink its approach to nuclear deterrence.

The new issue of Indian Defence Review discusses the pros and cons of private aerospace manufacturing industry and why it should be encourage to flourish. Group Captain Joseph Noronha very strongly contends that the private aerospace industry must flourish in India to develop the sector. Artillery modernization in doldrums and IDR proposes a major overhaul in the procurement process to hasten reequipping of Regimens of Artillery immediately with 155mm guns. Group Captain Sachdev looks critically into whether the Indian Air Force equipped for a two-front war in case China-Pakistan join hands to attack India at the same time. The IAF has already informed the government that they are not prepared to handle the two-front war and hence, finalization of MMRCA deal is extremely vital. There is an interesting debate of shaping, equipping and employing Special Forces by Saikat Dutta and Force Projection by Brig Deepak Sinha. Also our senior military experts propose tired board defence against China. With the classified Handerson Brooke report leaked out, Gen Bajwa, former Chief of Staff Eastern Command draws interesting lessons from it. On the other hand, Bharat Verma takes apart and attempt to create a ‘fake military coup’ as also details the incompetence of the defence minister, which has lowered the military preparedness in the last 10 years against increasing and multiplying security threats on India’s border.

This book is an effort to recall the life in Kashmir, a state under perpetual conflict. It is a saga of courage, betrayal, passion and hatred seen from the eyes of a young soldier. In this nature’s paradise, is a human hell where the lives are lost daily in pursuit of Ideology. Armed by own set of Justifications India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris battle each other to no end in sight. Zealous young men continue to die for a cause diseased by treachery and celebrated by heroism. The territorial desire of Pakistan has cost dearly to the generations stifled in this conflict. This fight has devastated many a homes with ever widening chasm and deepening scars. Punctuated by blood curdling violence, Kashmiris are prisoners of a historic mistake. In the ongoing series of Pakistan’s grand design to wrest control of this state, a proxy war was unleashed by them in 1989. This war still continues as I write.

Two issues that dominated the debates of the strategic community in the first quarter of this year were; ‘Make in India’ energetically marketed at the Aero-India Show and the Defence Budget. The Defence Budget is looked at intently to get the general emphasis of the government on security. Brig Gurmeet Kanwal has debated this lucidly. Maintaining a large standing armed force requires more than mere day-to-day support. An ill-equipped large force mired with equipment hollowness is not a guarantee for security but in a future war will be cannon fodder for the adversary. Someone will have to be held accountable to the nation for this debilitating lapse. Or take a conscious decision to reduce its size if this country cannot afford a well equipped large armed force!!! Preparing an armed force on a long-term basis requires a deeply considered perspective of its future role in the national security scheme and the road map for its implementation. The absence of a doctrine and the hesitation of establishing a single point of contact on all matters military have been well debated in this issue. Generals Harwant and Banerjee and Colonel Achutan look at the aspects of doctrine. ‘Make in India’ has been the didactic theme of this Government. It needs to be spelt out in clear terms and not left to the (mis-)interpretation of the bureaucracy. Make in India will be feasible only when the basic industrial manufacturing has notched up a number of counts and the manpower skills to go with it are matching. Currently it is more theoretical than implementable. The articles Dr Misra, Air Marshal Kukreja and Group Captain Noronha address these issues with particular reference to the aero-space industry. Two articles relate to the major current event on PM Modi’s visit to China; the first is on Tibet and the second on the boundary issue. Cyber space is emerging the next frontier; Gen Davinder Kumar has generated an excellent discussion on the issue. Col Harjeet has looked at the implications of social media on security. As a first Claude Arpi has documented a diary highlighting prominent issues relating to China’s PLA in this first quarter. This will now be a regular feature in the print edition. Wishing all our readers a worthwhile professionally invigorating reading experience.