Intelligence & National Security Discussion

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 25 Sep 2010 17:48

P.K. Hormis Tharakan former head of India’s RAW is one of the candidates for the job of Indian intelligence coordinator which will be created in coming months. Based on the model of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, the new post has been created to improve cooperation between the country’s various agencies. The future coordinator will head a committee made up of representatives from the MHA, which will cover Intelligence Bureau, the PMO and the office of the NSA.

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On the Blackberry saga:
NTRO is doing the negotiations with RIM. Most western nations have negotiated secretly with RIM to get access to the encrypted service. India chose to make everything public, which actually backfired because security of comms is one of BB's selling points. So since Sept all negotiations are now secret in order to get what it wants.

dinesha · Post by **dinesha** » 25 Sep 2010 18:59

chose to make everything public, which actually backfired because security of comms is one of BB's selling points.
I think there is nothing to backfire.. How can possibly backfire to GOI or HM?

I think there is nothing to backfire.. How can possibly backfire to GOI or HM?

Here is nothing much to be negotiated as far as HM is concerned.. HM needs access to all data period.. RIM has been offering gradual solutions from indirect to progressively more direct intercepts.. NTRO has been implementing the solutions and trying to ascertain that data is within the acceptable limits of accessibility, methodology and format.

HM asking for access to BB’s is not a recent phenomenon.. they have asking politely and softly for eons and every time RIM refused. Only when the whole thing blew up in the media leading up to 30% fall in their share price and faced with the real threat of being booted out from corporate business in one of the leading “Emerging Markets” did they come around.. BTW: Retailer had stopped brining in fresh stocks fearing that it may be banned.. Think of the potential of the huge untapped market.. only 1.2 Mil out of 600Mil mobile users are RIM’s customer. Suddenly they were ‘on sync’ and have started agreeing everything one at a time.. they have already given access to text msg data... agreed to set up a server in India (which they had steadfastly refused when asked politely for years)..and now various service provider have started verifying the compliance of ‘access to enterprise client data’...

RIM has lot to lose if booted out of the country... I think it was right move by the HM to be loud & vocal, deliver the message to others similarly disposed and show ‘who is the boss’’. HM should be applauded for being firm and taking a stand loud and clear.. the rippled were felt beyond RIM’s HQ at Canada.. massage has been delivered to others too that India is in league of ‘Big Boys” and is to be treated like one.

These third grade western developed countries with zero influence have an assumed supremacy about everything and anything specially when dealing with so called developing countries.. they have a mentality on 18th century and live in denial.. New Zealand is another example..

sum · Post by **sum** » 25 Sep 2010 20:41

P.K. Hormis Tharakan former head of India’s RAW is one of the candidates for the job of Indian intelligence coordinator which will be created in coming months. Based on the model of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, the new post has been created to improve cooperation between the country’s various agencies.

So, the IPS lobby comes out trumps again!!!

Wasnt the NSA supposed to be the nodal coordinator and one point access to PMO on all intel matters? What is the NSA function then?

dinesha · Post by **dinesha** » 26 Sep 2010 13:09

Wasnt the NSA supposed to be the nodal coordinator and one point access to PMO on all intel matters? What is the NSA function then?

Appointing a full time specialist as “Intelligence Coordinator” is move in the right direction. NSA being focused on long term strategic security planning & management, and advising on foreign policy matters. This structure is direct influence afrom US where “Director of National Intelligence” overseas all mater pertaining to intelligence and NSA advising foreign policy matters. There is been noises about this bifurcation since last couple of months but no formal announcements has been made.. hopefully creation of NIC and the setting up of NCTC will be announced soon..

A brief history and future direction of Indian NSA and Intelligence Co-ordination as written by B. Raman on Jan'10:

1. In India, till 1989, the responsibility for policy co-ordination in national security related matters was shared by the Cabinet Secretary and the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. They performed jointly the task of policy synthesis, formulation and implementation. In times of crisis, they became policy innovators instead of remaining merely policy co-ordinators. One saw this under Mrs.Indira Gandhi in the months before and during the Indo-Pak war of 1971.

2. A post of NSA to co-ordinate policy-making in national security matters was created when V.P.Singh was the Prime Minister. M.K.Narayanan, who was the Director of the Intelligence Bureau under Rajiv Gandhi, held this post for less than a year. It ceased to exist till 1999 when it was re-created along with a full-fledged National Security Council mechanism by the Government of Atal Behari Vajpayee in pursuance of recommendations made by a Task Force headed by K.C.Pant, the then Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.

3. The Task Force was reportedly in favour of the creation of an independent NSA, who will function along with the CS and the Principal Secretary under the Prime Minister. It envisaged a policy-making and co-ordinating troika advising the Prime Minister.

4. In the US, the NSA has no substantive role as the co-ordinator and/or innovator of intelligence-related policy-making. Before 2004, this task was being performed by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in his additional role as the Director, Central Intelligence, in which capacity he was the principal adviser to the President in intelligence-related matters. In 2004, Bush accepted a recommendation of the National Commission, which enquired into the 9/11 terrorist strikes, to create a post of Director, National Intelligence, to function directly under the President and co-ordinate the functioning of the multiplicity of intelligence agencies and their policy-making.

5. In India, the administrative co-ordination of the functioning of the intelligence agencies was being and is even now exercised by the CS. There was no formal mechanism for operational co-ordination. The Task Force for the revamping of the intelligence apparatus under G.C.Saxena, former head of the R&AW, set up by the Vajpayee Government in 2000 suggested that the Principal Secretary to the PM should exercise this function in his capacity as the NSA. This was accepted.

6. When Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister in 2004, he split the functions of the NSA from those of the Principal Secretary and made J.N.Dixit, former Foreign Secretary, as an independent NSA. He also appointed Narayanan as the Internal Security Adviser. In addition to advising the PM on all matters relating to external policy-making, Dixit also exercised the function of operational intelligence co-ordinator. Narayanan, as the Internal Security Adviser, had no formal role in intelligence co-ordination.

7. After the death of Dixit in January 2005, Narayanan was designated as the NSA exercising all functions relating to external and internal security and intelligence co-ordination. Questions have been raised since then by some about the wisdom of appointing an expert in internal security matters to be in charge of external-policy making where, it was argued, experience in diplomacy was essential.

8. In the US, after 9/11, a post of Adviser to the President on Homeland Security has been created to advise the President on all homeland security matters from his office in the White House. Thus, there are two posts--- the Secretary for Homeland Security, who is the political head of the Homeland Security Department, and the Adviser on Homeland Security, who is a member of the executive staff of the President.

9. The introduction of this arrangement is justified because internal or homeland security requires a kind of expertise different from external policy making and the ability to co-ordinate the internal security functions of not only all the federal Departments, but also of the States. A person with a purely academic or diplomatic experience may not be able to do justice to this.

10. In India too, external and internal policy making in national security matters require two different kinds of professional background, expertise and professional networking at the central and state levels. There have been reports that the Government is contemplating the appointment of a new NSA.

11. If so, this is also the right time to consider the following questions: Would it be advisable to have a separate adviser for internal security working in the PMO? Who will be responsible for intelligence co-ordination and policy-making? Should India also have a separate intelligence adviser and co-ordinator working directly under the Prime Minister similar to the arrangement in many countries, including the USA and the UK

sum · Post by **sum** » 26 Sep 2010 20:48

Having a intel coordinator will again lead to turf wars since the person will almost always be from R&AW leading to the usual hesitation to cooperate from IB, NTRO etc which would defeat the purpose of the intel coordinator.. How will GoI take care of this?

dinesha · Post by **dinesha** » 26 Sep 2010 22:55

sum wrote:Having a intel coordinator will again lead to turf wars since the person will almost always be from R&AW leading to the usual hesitation to cooperate from IB, NTRO etc which would defeat the purpose of the intel coordinator.. How will GoI take care of this?

Please read this and refer the flowchart mentioned therein.. it is self explanatory and also gives insights to the evolutionary broad based process..
LINK
Lots of energy and time is expanded by the professionals, implications and ramification are studied in detail before an institution is created. Simplistic views can lead to conjecture..

BTW: There were some privacy issue regarding NETGRID getting CCS approval.. I hope it is sorted out by the time NCTC and NIC is announced around Nov-Dec'10..

suryag · Post by **suryag** » 27 Sep 2010 00:50

PM hunts for chiefs of IB, RAW and CBI

Lots of interesting info as to who is in line

FRom the article

Cadre man for RAW? The Research and Analysis Wing Secretariat is always headed by the IPS officers but there is excitement among the RAW Allied Service officers that successor to their secretary K C Verma may come from their cadre for the first time. Verma is due for retirement in January.

Though the vacancy occurs only three months from now, lobbying has already begun to grab the post. Ranjit Mathur and his junior Sanjiv Tripathi, both belonging to the RAS cadre, are vying for the top post.

sum · Post by **sum** » 27 Sep 2010 09:08

Please read this and refer the flowchart mentioned therein.. it is self explanatory and also gives insights to the evolutionary broad based process..
http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpap ... r3658.html
Lots of energy and time is expanded by the professionals, implications and ramification are studied in detail before an institution is created. Simplistic views can lead to conjecture..

Thanks for the link...will go through and check if all my noob doubts are cleared by this..

Rupesh · Post by **Rupesh** » 27 Sep 2010 09:59

Two intel officers reporting to PMO shunted out for information leaks

Since it was created six years ago to prevent the kind of intelligence failure that led to the Kargil war, the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) has been in news for the wrong reasons: corruption and operational inefficiency.

Now comes another shocker: two of its senior officers, who report to the prime minister (PM), have been shunted out for allegedly leaking sensitive information.

It is not immediately known what kind of information was leaked. The officers shunted out are SK Sharma, a director, and Pawan Kumar, a deputy director in NTRO.

The chairman of NTRO, KVSS Prasad Rao, declined to comment. But sources say that pending inquiry, Sharma has been sent to Bangalore and Kumar to Bhubaneswar.

Earlier this year, the NTRO got the dubious distinction of becoming the country’s first intelligence agency to be subjected to an audit by the comptroller and auditor general and an investigation by the central vigilance organisation.

wtf is wrong with NTRO !!!

sum · Post by **sum** » 27 Sep 2010 13:14

It is not immediately known what kind of information was leaked. The officers shunted out are SK Sharma, a director, and Pawan Kumar, a deputy director in NTRO.

Are these the guys who lost the laptops?

If not, NTRO really seems to be leaking from multiple fronts!!

Marut · Post by **Marut** » 27 Sep 2010 15:32

suryag wrote:PM hunts for chiefs of IB, RAW and CBI

Lots of interesting info as to who is in line

FRom the article

Cadre man for RAW? The Research and Analysis Wing Secretariat is always headed by the IPS officers but there is excitement among the RAW Allied Service officers that successor to their secretary K C Verma may come from their cadre for the first time. Verma is due for retirement in January.

Though the vacancy occurs only three months from now, lobbying has already begun to grab the post. Ranjit Mathur and his junior Sanjiv Tripathi, both belonging to the RAS cadre, are vying for the top post.

Sanjiv Tripathi is GS Bajpai's son-in-law. GS Bajpai was Sec(R) in the early 90's. Tripathi was also the protege of the infamous AK Chaturvedi. AKC wanted ST to succeed so as to keep the mess from his tenure from spilling out but failed. GS was also a status-quoist with nothing significant to show for his tenure, based on open source info. And the apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 29 Sep 2010 02:21

Craig Alpert wrote:Australia TV crew brings detonation kit into CWG venue

One of the lurkers here asked me to post this on his/her behalf, so take it FWIW:

"While the whole world and the general Indian people believed the Chanel 7 story, the entire event was planned and staged by Chanel 7. The deliberate case of subterfuge by Chanel 7 has been investigated and exposed in a step by step process by Mediawatch of Chanel ABC in Australia.
Could you please do me an immense favor and review and post the following link as a response to the post by Craig Alpert?
Mediawatch-ABC-Auatralia: Exposing Chanel 7's Subterfuge on the CWG story

Chanel 7 obviously had an agenda (to malign the Indian effort at the CWG), and the Chanel 7 piece was aired when a lot of countries were deciding weather to actually attend the CWG in Delhi.
I believe that Chanel 7's malicious and intentional attempt at defamation should be exposed in the Indian media and they should be brought to task by the CWG organizing committee."

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 29 Sep 2010 03:37

^^ Thank you both, the lurker and Raja Bose for posting both sides of the version.... CWG hosted SAFELY is all I wish for, both for the sake of Indian Security Agencies and their Jawan's as well as for the athletes and the spectators...

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 29 Sep 2010 04:08

Obama's pitch: Fix Kashmir for UN Security Council seat
a snippet

"Why can't we have straightforward talks with India on why a stable Pakistan is crucial?" Obama is reported as musing at one meeting. "India is moving toward a higher place in its global posture. A stable Pakistan would help." Implicit in the rumination is the idea that settling Kashmir would mollify Pakistan, where, US officials say, hardliners are using the unresolved issue as an excuse to breed an army of terrorists aimed at bleeding India.

In fact, the solution Washington has in mind (also proposed by Riedel) is likely more palatable to New Delhi than to Islamabad. It's on the same lines of what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan's deposed military leader Pervez Musharraf broadly agreed on before the latter was turfed out of office: The Line of Control would become the international border, but it would be a soft, permeable border, allowing Kashmiris on both sides to move back and forth. The rest – safeguards, procedures etc – is a matter of detail.

"President Obama's strategy for dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan always needed a Kashmir component to succeed; that need is becoming more urgent and obvious now. His trip to India in November will be a key to addressing it," Riedel said in a commentary this week.

well well well, this just keeps getting interesting!!!!The K word, the Nuke deal, the MMRCA deal, or the heavy lifters and the cream de la cream (LSA, CISMOA agreement as a Caveat) to the UNSC SEAT... Which one is it going to be????

tarun · Post by **tarun** » 02 Oct 2010 11:06

dinesha wrote:
chose to make everything public, which actually backfired because security of comms is one of BB's selling points.
I think there is nothing to backfire.. How can possibly backfire to GOI or HM?

Nothing backfires on the babus they get their regular quota of chai-biscoot anyway. It backfires on our country for being governed by clueless and incompetent morons, public encryption algorithms are used because they are open for scrutiny for any possible use cases for breaking them.

Would someone please explain to me what is gained by spying on blackberry communications assuming it is possible to break PGP encryption as explained in the link below ( see page 20 ) without putting some spyware into blackberry which anyway makes them susceptible to being cracked and misused by all sorts of criminals.

http://www.blackberry.com/knowledgecent ... 4&vernum=0

They can't be broken without stealing private keys from individual blackberry users. Possibly this is what GOI/HM has in mind :-

http://xkcd.com/538/

Perhaps its a conspiracy by the CCP/Unkil to make sure Indian citizens can be spied upon, our corporate secrets stolen at will by using the paranoia of those in power.

http://www.blackberrycool.com/2009/07/1 ... ry-update/

Not that it is superhard to remove it yourself but Blackberry actually went to the extent of creating a process for its removal
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/ataglance/ ... emover.jsp

tarun · Post by **tarun** » 02 Oct 2010 11:44

Marten wrote:Tarun, this is the second time I'll tell you this: The terrorists from Pakistan (that attacked us on 26/11) used BBs to communicate. It is essential for the Govt. to be able to snoop upon any BB user. The key is to establish norms for who is allowed access to such private communication. All other CTs are plain nonsense and go against the spirit of security. If you cannot trust that judicial process, buy yourself a tinfoil hat and please stop repeating the same litany over and over again -- it serves no real purpose.

PS: My last comment to you.

For sake of completeness:-

You are missing the point, the solutions to the vulnerabilities are low tech. The Indian Military has its own wireless communication grid running on its own frequencies independent of the public GSM setup, appropriate response was to block all public GSM communications in the warzones by shutting off the towers in the area if required or using triangulation data to zero down on the terrorists locations to within 10 meter accuracy. The lack of a coordinated response from the incompetents present in the Maharashtra government of the time has been well documented, practically no heads rolled to set an example for the future.

Anyone associated remotely with cyber-security would tell you that once an appropriate response ( a patch ) has been formulated and released after the mayhem caused on 0-day by a new exploit, the security exploit out in the wild is no longer useful.

Snooping Blackberry communications is tangential to the need to block communications as was needed for dealing with Mumbai attackers in the warzone.

The non-warzone communication of terrorists and their handlers outside India through Internet cannot be prevented, even the MHRD's cheap USD 35 device would be capable of encrypting using PGP which is cheap but decryption is not.
We can't have the kind of security you envisage without un-plugging the country from the Internet. If it gives you some solace even the chinese can't do it ( given the propensity of DDM to look up to them ) regardless of the great firewall of china, anyone determined to circumvent their firewall can do so with some external help ( or self-help )

tarun · Post by **tarun** » 02 Oct 2010 11:55

Marten wrote:All other CTs are plain nonsense and go against the spirit of security. If you cannot trust that judicial process, buy yourself a tinfoil hat and please stop repeating the same litany over and over again -- it serves no real purpose.

Ofcourse there has never ever been miscarriage of justice ( as one Mr. Bajaj would testify to ) in our country related to Information Technology/Telecom.
[/sarcasm]
Its not about processes its about technology. Policies/laws/bureaucracy can't overcome technological limitations. I can't convince you is known to me and trying to convince you serves no purpose, I am only trying to bring in missing datapoints in consideration for the benefit of lurkers on this forum.

-Tarun

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 02 Oct 2010 16:18

CIA chief Leon Panetta visits India

SPattath · Post by **SPattath** » 02 Oct 2010 18:26

http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/get ... blabel=TOI

Home secretary G K Pillai called in Pakistani high commissioner Shahid Malik on Thursday and gave a sharp message that any terror attack in India during the Commonwealth Games traced back to Pakistan will essentially be treated as a hostile act.

Read this in yesterday's TOI. what the response to the hostile act would be is anybody's guess.

sum · Post by **sum** » 02 Oct 2010 21:11

VinodTK wrote:CIA chief Leon Panetta visits India

Wonder if some new plot was uncovered and Unkil as usual trying to cool down Indian tempers to avoid "nuclear showdown"

khukri · Post by **khukri** » 05 Oct 2010 06:28

Interesting book - note the high regard in which "allies" are held..!
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i= ... =AME&s=TOP

Dmurphy · Post by **Dmurphy** » 05 Oct 2010 08:13

Dean "Dick" Nelson tries so very hard to sound smart here. effing idiot.

British intelligence agents sent to foil attacks on Games

He starts off with...

The three governments fear that another terrorist strike on India, following the 2008 attacks that killed 166 people in Mumbai, could provoke a new war between the nuclear-armed enemies.
Such a war would have grave implications for Pakistan's co-operation in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda forces. Pakistan army offensives against Islamic militants in its tribal areas have been conditional on assurances of peace with India.

And ends with...

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for an attack on tankers carrying fuel to Afghanistan for US and other Nato forces. It was the fourth attack since Pakistan closed a supply line in protest at a Nato helicopter strike that killed three Pakistan troops last week. Four people died in the latest skirmish.

Prabu · Post by **Prabu** » 05 Oct 2010 18:45

Pakistani coordinator of LeT held in Bangladesh

US may abandon Pakistan-Afghan supply route

Rupesh · Post by **Rupesh** » 08 Oct 2010 21:06

X-Posted
Jairam Ramesh scr****g up projects in NE and Bhutan

In unprecedented distancing from the government by a key minister and questioning its development works in the strategic North-East and Bhutan, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has taken up with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demands for a review of all hydel projects in the region and a “moratorium on any further clearances for hydel projects in Arunachal Pradesh” since “these are bound to be the subject of agitation” in Assam.

In a letter to the Prime Minister on September 16 after attending a meeting in Guwahati of “civil society organizations” opposed to big dams, Ramesh has highlighted the views of “some NGOs” that “we should not make Arunachal Pradesh a pawn in the race between India and China”.

This, Ramesh states, was the response to his explanation on the “strategic significance” of projects in Arunachal Pradesh. But in his letter, he only names one NGO called Adi Students Union which made a representation to him on this issue.

His visit has upset several senior Cabinet members. A senior minister told The Indian Express: “This is suo motu activism that only serves to incite passions. How can a minister discuss strategic aspects of projects with activists in such a sensitive region?”

At least ten times in the three-page letter to the Prime Minister, Ramesh refers to “sentiments”, “dominant view”, “great concern”, “concerns of the people”, “opposition building up”. ( All jholawala words )

darshhan · Post by **darshhan** » 09 Oct 2010 00:36

^^ Rupesh ji , Jairam ramesh is a Manchurian candidate,literally.In fact he is blatant about his support to chinese.Who would have thought Chinese would have their man right in Union Cabinet.With Ministers like these the work of Chinese has become a lot easier.Just check out the couple of posts that I wrote a while back.Also go through the links that I have provided.

I managed to dig out this article which was written by our environment minister a long time ago which shows his love for PRC.He is actually justifying the chinese attack on India in 1962.In this article he also suggests that India's response to Sumdrong Chu was wrong(We should have waited for the Chinese to do another 1962).Worse he states that Gen Sundarji was responsible for Indian Army's build up at Sumdrong Chu.As if Army can deploy more than 100000 soldiers without the knowledge and backing of Political leadership.In this case Rajiv Gandhi.

http://www.india-today.com/itoday/19990802/jairam.html

Seems like in Congress(I) if you establish your traitorial crendentials, you have a better chance of landing a ministership.

With leaders like these we do not need enemies.Also he used to write under the name of "Kautilya" if you notice.I wonder if "Jaichand" or "Mir jafar" would have been more appropriate.

By the way is he still working for the Chinese?In the name of environmental protection he has blocked lot of Road and Mining projects.

Seems Mr. Jairam ramesh was also against the banning of Chinese Telecom firms like Huawei and ZTE from operating in India.

http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2 ... ta-hai.htm

Take the latest one where the foot-in-the-mouth disease caught up with Ramesh, for instance: At a gathering in Beijing he criticised the Indian home ministry over its 'needless' restrictions on Chinese investments in India. He also described the ministry as paranoid when asked why India had banned the import of telecom equipment from Chinese firm Huawei.

He went on to advice the home ministry to be more relaxed and receptive when it came to Chinese investments in India.

It is truly sad to see such a person in Union cabinet.

P.S.This guy has to be continuously watched.A humble request to all the BRF posters and lurkers.Please spread awareness about Jairam Ramesh.He has continuously worked for safeguarding Chinese interests at the cost of Indian interests.At the worst he is a mole for China and at best he is a useful idiot.Do whatever you can to bring his nefarious actions to limelight.The sooner he is made to resign the better.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 09 Oct 2010 02:08

darshhan, Lets not tar a Union minister. He might be doing it under guidance from people in India too.

darshhan · Post by **darshhan** » 09 Oct 2010 02:40

Point taken, Ramana ji.I might have gone overboard in criticizing a member of the govt.But we should atleast be aware of his actions in my opinion.

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 09 Oct 2010 04:54

Threat to blow up JN Stadium, BSE keeps cops busy

MUMBAI: Mumbai police on Friday revamped their security arrangements in Mumbai after Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) received another email on Thursday night threatening to blow up either Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi or BSE or a Mumbai-Delhi flight.

Apart from Bombay Stock Exchange, Intelligence Bureau too has received similar alerts stating there was a possibility of another 26/11-like terror attack through the sea route. Heavy police bandobast has been made in and around BSE and all along the sea coast. Navy, CISF, Coast Guard personnel and fishermen have been put on high alert. Senior police officers said CISF guarding the airport has been told to be extra careful and has been asked to use sniffer dogs for patrolling the areas in and around the airport.

............

Also, police have still not been able to trace the two suspected terrorists — Kalimuddin Khan alias Rameshwar Pandit and Hafeez Sharif — who had sneaked into India via Bangladesh. Intelligence report stated the two were sent to India to disturb communal harmony. The police, after inputs from intelligence agencies on Friday, sent out an alert message to all major places of worship across Mumbai, particularly the garba mandals which play till late nights.

Hope they catch these ba$tard$!

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 10 Oct 2010 05:47

Finally, local don's Headley link found

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 13 Oct 2010 21:32

New security threat as Commonwealth Games near end

NEW DELHI: Commonwealth Games organizers have put their security advisers ``on alert'' following reports that a Pakistan-based terror group was planning an attack on the games leading up to the closing ceremonies.

Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell on Wednesday said he was unaware of any new or credible terror threat on the eve of the closing ceremonies and the men's and women's marathon along city streets, but said the games' security detail would investigate.

Police and the military seized improvised explosive devices (IEDs) last week in Jammu city, about 580 kilometers (360 miles) north of New Delhi. It came as a newspaper said the Lashkar e Taiba terror group might be planning an attack.

``We're not aware of any such threat, but having asked the question, we would certainly put our security people on alert ... and check it out,'' Fennell said.
.....

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 14 Oct 2010 03:53

30 lakh cellphones disconnected

So far, nearly 30 lakh cellphone subscribers have been disconnected from their respective networks across the country due to either incomplete or unverified customer details.

The issue relating to subscriber verification especially in the states, where the operators claimed that the involvement of police has been creating problems, came up for discussion in a meeting of telecom operators, led by Bharti Group chairman Sunil Mittal, with the Union home secretary G K Pillai on Wednesday.

The operators, sources said, informed Pillai that subscribers were being asked to be present at police stations for verification and termed it as harassment. There seems to be lack of coordination between the Centre and the states over the mechanism to be followed to complete the verification process.
........

Harassment my A$$, The one thing the Police ends up doing right, they get called up for this?? PATHETIC! Hope they keep this up and don't change the procedure

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 14 Oct 2010 03:56

X-Posting from Indian Ocean thread

Mauritius could hand over 2 islands to India

According to sources privy to the talks, the idea is to let Indian corporates develop hotels and resorts and upgrade the existing airstrip into an airport. The land could also be used for agriculture and other strategic purposes by India.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 14 Oct 2010 09:29

Craig Alpert wrote:Harassment my A$$, The one thing the Police ends up doing right, they get called up for this??

I dont think this is the standard procedure. I do have a pre-paid cell connection and the operating company just called me once to double-check their proofs. I did not have to present any details again. The chaps who are called for tea & biscuits at the local PS may be folks who are not cooperating with the service provider. If we start thinking that even going to a police station is harassment, then that it self shows how we (the people) think about security.

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 15 Oct 2010 05:37

Swami Expresses Need for Clear-Cut Policy About China

Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy today said India needs a sophisticated foreign policy combined with modern weaponry to counter China in defence preparedness.

"We need to modernise our weapons. A new mindset of countering China in the defence preparedness is required, combined with sophisticated foreign policy," he said in a panel discussion on 'India's Strategic Perspectives in 21st century' at the College of Defence Management here.

"The defence budget of India is around 2.2 to 2.3 per cent of the GDP while China has a defence budget of 6 per cent of its GDP. Its (China) military hardware is far superior in network, quantity and quality than India's, and as its recent dispute with Japan shows it already has a super power mindset which we do not have," Swamy said.

Swamy also underscored the need for identifying China's vulnerabilities.

"We need to understand China's vulnerabilities and prepare for the same," he said.

"Chinese are involved in lot of infrastructure and construction activities in PoK and even their high-level officials are visiting this region. China, which wants to emerge as an alternate power, is also helping Pakistan on nuclear technology and may also win Pakistan away from the United States," Ranade said.

Vice Admiral (Retd), SCS Bangara said India lacked a decision making structure and emphasised on the need for professional decision making agencies with scope for accountability.

Later, speaking to reporters, Swamy predicted that China, which is the second largest economy, may face a major financial crisis in the next 3-4 years.

"There will be a banking and financial crisis in China in the next 3-4 years," he said.

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 16 Oct 2010 04:24

CWG: Al-Qaida planned attacks on Oct 12, 13

NEW DELHI: The unprecedented security across the Capital might have inconvenienced Delhiites, but its aim was to prevent al-Qaida and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) from carrying out deadly attacks through `multiple shoot-outs' targeting the Commonwealth Games village, sports venues and a five-star hotel specifically on October 12 and 13.

Al-Qaida and LeT had chosen these two dates for their strikes using terrorists trained in the region along Afghan- Pakistan border.

The plan was to sneak in a number of jihadis simultaneously through Indo- Nepal or Indo- Bangladesh borders or from across the India's western border. There was also intelligence input that some others would come from West Asia, using legal channels through proper visas.

Government sources said that a Western intelligence agency had tipped off India on October 10 about these specific plans.

Alarmed by the input, the government had immediately enhanced the security of the Games venues and village from three layers to four and brought in additional forces, including armed commandos, to foil any attempt of sabotage even from air.

"The input was very specific about the venues and suggested that the terrorists would probably come from West Asia, Nepal or from across India's western border," a source said.

Security was also increased in all eight leading five-star hotels in Delhi.

There was also information that the terrorists may use paragliders to reach the venues prompting authorities to put in place anti-aircraft guns.

"Credentials of all foreign nationals arriving in international airports were checked one-by-one. Twenty Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) were deployed besides keeping ready a special team of 40 army and NSG commandos -- equipped with special weapons capable to shoot down paragliders from a distance -- near the sporting venues, including Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium," said the source.

"Though the general threat still exists, the Delhi Police and other security agencies through their meticulous planning and deployment averted any strike specifically during the CWG," the source said.

Sources said that the fresh inputs had nothing to do with what the HuJI commander and al-Qaida member Ilyas Kashmiri had threatened a month before the Games. "The latest plan was the brainchild of some other elements/modules within al-Qaida and LeT," said a source.

Incidentally, the security agencies had to do all this amid many goof-ups made by the Games Organising Committee. Already under attack for mismanagement, the OC had kept the Union home ministry and Delhi Police virtually on the edge over security issues giving them many an anxious moment even till the closing ceremony.

In fact, the closing ceremony was finalised barely two days before the Thursday's grand finale, sources privy to the arrangements said.

The drill regarding accreditation cards, transport, catering and ticketing facility had collapsed till the matter was brought before the home ministry, which had to step in on a war footing to sort out things, the sources said.

The list of participants and details of the function were handed over to the security agencies only on October 11 after which the government decided to include some more programmes. Equipment and items of the dancers could be checked only on the morning of October 14.

This should be a good AAR for them to understand what it takes to host events of this calibre and up their ante in terms of co-ordination amongst various agencies...

Raghavendra · Post by **Raghavendra** » 18 Oct 2010 09:44

Radar sensors to be set up along coastlines http://www.zeenews.com/news661905.html

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 20 Oct 2010 03:26

1962 redux?

The present Sino-Indian equation is almost irresistibly reminiscent of the run-up to the Sino-Indian border war of 1962, and provides a fascinating playback of China’s postures at that time with its disconcertingly similar sequence of claims along the McMahon Line in North East Frontier Agency (Nefa), as well as along the Uttar Pradesh-Tibet border and in Ladakh, as relics of historic injustices perpetrated in earlier days by British imperialists. A naive and militarily ill-prepared India, with an exaggerated self image of its own international relevance as a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, had sought to dissuade a determined China with platitudinous Nehruvian philosophies of anti-colonial solidarity, all of which were contemptuously disposed of by “a whiff of grapeshot” on the desolate slopes of the Namkha Chu and Rezang La. India’s collapse and a downsizing in short order in 1962 was primarily because it lacked military capability vis-a-vis China, a fatal flaw which has a disconcerting tendency of repeating itself when lessons of earlier debacles wear off from the country, as they seem to be doing now. “1962 redux” is slowly grinding into gear again, with end results unforeseeable, except that an enhanced replay at some stage (2020?) can never be totally discounted. India must not repeat its follies of the past because this time around it has been adequately forewarned.

Pretty bad vision being portrayed by: Gen. Shankar Roychowdhury former Chief of Army Staff and a former Member of Parliament

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 26 Oct 2010 09:56

New system to help intel agencies coordinate better

ToI

GANDHINAGAR: The antidote for 50 enemies is one friend, said Aristotle. In India's case that one friend is unmistakably technology. Hence, a few things that may have been thought of years ago to strengthen India`s security are being implemented now in different parts of the country.

And the most significant of them is inter-connectivity and sharing of intelligence between the Intelligence Bureau, para-military, central and state police forces and wings of the Indian Armed Forces. The Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB) has already installed a sophisticated system manufactured by one of the world`s largest information technology service provider on the premises of the central and state security agencies in Gujarat and it will be operationalised soon.

The system can do away with inter-departmental rivalry over intelligence sharing. An intelligence input with one security force on being keyed into the system would be instantly in the knowledge domain of the others too, which was not the case previously, official sources said. This would ultimately bring about a greater degree of coordination among the forces and an enhanced level of security for the countrymen.

Another important development is induction of all terrain vehicles (ATV) in the Rann of Kutch. The BSF has been for long awaiting induction of ATVs into the border state where patrolling is inaccessible. ATVs were purchased on the earliest after para-military force's director general Raman Srivastava followed it up with Union home ministry upon his two ground familiarisation visits in Kutch recently.

At least four Italian-make amphibious two-tracked armoured ATVs will be inducted into the BSF within two weeks time. BSF's Gujarat Frontier inspector general A K Sinha confirmed the news and said the ATVs would make patrolling in the inaccessible terrain of Rann of Kutch easy. He said before induction of the ATVs, the BSF personnel need to be trained with its steering and other mechanism. The two compartment ATV, worth several crores, can accommodate as many as 10 to 15 soldiers and can move into marshy land and sand dunes without much fuss.

Sinha also informed that Mahindra & Mahindra had recently carried out field trials of its high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (Humvee) for the BSF in Gujarat. The M&M had earlier conducted Humvee trials for the Indian Army too.

Raghavendra · Post by **Raghavendra** » 26 Oct 2010 18:37

Pakistani convicted of spying http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20101026/14 ... ing_1.html

New Delhi, Oct 26 (PTI) A Delhi court today convicted a Pakistani national for spying as he was found supplying secret information to his handlers in the foreign country of that country in 2005. Additional Sessions Judge Dharmesh Sharma held Asim Waseem alias Sumaar Ali guilty under Official Secrets Act and Foreigners Act.

Ali, 29, was arrested by Delhi police''s Special Cell sleuths on September 15, 2005, following a tip off that a man from Pakistan''s Rahimyar Khan district had entered the country and indulged in spying at the direction of Inter-Service Intelligence. The police acted on information that the accused was passing classified and secret details about the deployment and movement of Army through the courier.

They also recovered two driving licences from Ali issued in Agra and Hissar. After weighing the evidence and relying on the statement of witnesses, the court convicted the accused and fixed October 28 as the date for pronouncing the order on sentence.

dinesha · Post by **dinesha** » 27 Oct 2010 07:42

Northeast rebels ‘spy’ for China
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101027/j ... 105626.jsp

Beijing is using the Northeast militant groups to gain information about Indian Army deployment in Arunachal Pradesh, a National Investigation Agency probe has claimed.

Sources said National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) leader Anthony Shing, picked up from Nepal and arrested in Bihar earlier this month, had told investigators he had provided information to China on the deployment of the Agni missile in Arunachal.

The Agni-II long-range missile is said to have been deployed somewhere in the Northeast. “Shing visited China six times in the past year,” an official said....