Brown Pundits

Why is that? With 18,000 Indians in Iraq and countless lives in danger, why is emergency evacuation not a consideration? Also, considering that the Kerala nurses are mostly Syrian Christians, this will attract not a molecule of mercy from the Islamists.

Also, Fuck Code Pink. Yes we really mean that (Omar help!!!)

India is served by one of the most powerful voluntary military forces in the world (yes we know that there are women troopers as well but probably not authorized for combat). She has the latest fighter planes, a million strong army (1.129 mil active troops, 0.96 mil reserve troops- ref. Wiki) and an aircraft carrier.

The last time the Indian Army launched a (defensive) war was 15 years ago in June-July 1999 in Kargil. A brief description follows (ref. Wiki):
…….
Once the scale of the Pakistani incursion was realised, the Indian Army quickly mobilised about 200,000 troops and Operation Vijay was launched. However, since the heights were under Pakistani control, India was in a clear strategic disadvantage. 

From their observation posts, the Pakistani forces had a clear line-of-sight to lay down indirect artillery fire on NH 1A, inflicting heavy casualties on the Indians. This was a serious problem for the Indian Army as the highway was its main logistical and supply route. 

Thus, the Indian Army’s first priority was to recapture peaks that were
in the immediate vicinity of NH1a. This resulted in Indian troops first
targeting the Tiger Hill and Tololing complex in Dras.
This was soon followed by more attacks on the Batalik-Turtok sub-sector
which provided access to Siachen Glacier. Point 4590, which had the
nearest view of the NH1a, was successfully recaptured by Indian forces
on 14 June.


…
Though most of the posts in the vicinity of the highway were cleared
by mid-June, some parts of the highway near Drass witnessed sporadic
shelling until the end of the war. Once NH1a area was cleared, the
Indian Army turned to driving the invading force back across the Line of
Control. The Battle of Tololing,
among other assaults, slowly tilted the combat in India’s favour.
Nevertheless, some of the posts put up a stiff resistance, including
Tiger Hill (Point 5140) that fell only later in the war. 

As the
operation was fully underway, about 250 artillery guns were brought in
to clear the infiltrators in the posts that were in the line-of-sight.
In many vital points, neither artillery nor air power could dislodge
the outposts manned by the Pakistan soldiers, who were out of visible
range. The Indian Army mounted some direct frontal ground assaults which
were slow and took a heavy toll given the steep ascent that had to be
made on peaks as high as 18,000 feet (5,500 m). Two months into the
conflict, Indian troops had slowly retaken most of the ridges they had
lost;
according to official count, an estimated 75%–80% of the intruded area
and nearly all high ground was back under Indian control.

Following the Washington accord on 4 July, where Sharif agreed to
withdraw Pakistani troops, most of the fighting came to a gradual halt,
but some Pakistani forces remained in positions on the Indian side of
the LOC. In addition, the United Jihad Council (an umbrella for all extremist groups) rejected Pakistan’s plan for a climb-down, instead deciding to fight on.
The Indian Army launched its final attacks in the last week of July; as
soon as the Drass subsector had been cleared of Pakistani forces, the
fighting ceased on 26 July. The day has since been marked as Kargil Vijay Diwas
(Kargil Victory Day) in India. 

By the end of the war, India had resumed
control of all territory south and east of the Line of Control, as was
established in July 1972 per the Shimla Accord. By the time all
hostilities had ended, the number of Indian soldiers killed during the
conflict stood at 527, while more than 700 regular members of the Pakistani Army were killed. The number of Islamist fighters, also known as Mujahideen, killed by Indian Armed Forces during the conflict stood at about 3,000.
……

A credible job by all means, mobilizing 20% of all your forces, and fighting up-hill at elevations of 18000 ft. against one of the most professional armies in the world.

Right now, we have 46 nurses from Kerala who are stranded in Tikrit, Iraq (40 other Indians have been reportedly kidnapped by the mad islamists). The re-imbursement from foreign shores keeps the Indian economy moving. Now is the time to show our gratitude and send in the troops and escort the terrified girls home (before they get kidnapped and sold off as slaves). A nation will be grateful (and cynically speaking, an un-Indian territory may well be converted to the Indian cause).

…….
The 46
Indian nurses in a hospital in the strife-torn Iraqi town of Tikrit
have sent an SOS to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure their safe
return to India. One of the nurses told TOI over telephone that they
were living in perpetual fear as ISIS rebels have been roaming the
streets outside.

“We are coordinating with the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi
and our embassy in Baghdad to ensure the safety of Indians living in
Iraq. We were approached by a leading company in the UAE who are working
on some projects seeking diplomatic help to repatriate 12 Indian
workers stranded in the strife-torn area,” Seetharam said. The contact
details of the 12 stranded workers have been handed over to the Indian
embassy in Baghdad.

……

…..

Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Our-lives-in-danger-Indian-nurses-in-Iraq-hospital-send-SOS-to-PM/articleshow/36762136.cms

…..

regards

The original battle-cry of this war is not in our name crowd from 10 years ago. Ira Chernus explores the similarities between Iraq and Vietnam. Shall we see a repeat of helicopter convoys leaving the US Embassy while abandoning thousands of south viet collaborators to torture and death?

……..
At 10:48 a.m., Martin relayed to Kissinger his desire to activate “the
FREQUENT WIND” evacuation plan; Kissinger gave the order three minutes
later. The American radio station began regular play of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” the signal for American personnel to move immediately to the evacuation points.


Under this plan, CH-53 and CH-46 helicopters were used to evacuate Americans and friendly Vietnamese to ships, including the Seventh Fleet, in the South China Sea. The main evacuation point was the DAO Compound
at Tan Son Nhat; buses moved through the city picking up passengers and
driving them out to the airport, with the first buses arriving at Tan
Son Nhat shortly after noon. 

The first CH-53 landed at the DAO compound
in the afternoon, and by the evening, 395 Americans and more than 4,000
Vietnamese had been evacuated. By 23:00 the U.S. Marines who were
providing security were withdrawing and arranging the demolition of the
DAO office, American equipment, files, and cash. Air America UH-1s also participated in the evacuation.


..
At 03:45 on the morning of April 30, the refugee evacuation was
halted. Ambassador Martin had been ordering that South Vietnamese be
flown out with Americans up to that point. Kissinger and Ford quickly
ordered Martin to evacuate only Americans from that point forward.


…
Reluctantly, Martin announced that only Americans were to be flown
out, due to worries that the North Vietnamese would soon take the city
and the Ford administration’s desire to announce the completion of the
American evacuation. Ambassador Martin was ordered by President Ford to board the evacuation helicopter.


…
The call sign of that helicopter was “Lady Ace 09”, and the pilot
carried direct orders from President Ford for Ambassador Martin to be on
board. The pilot, Gerry Berry, had the orders written in grease-pencil
on his kneepads. Ambassador Martin’s wife, Dorothy, had already been
evacuated by previous flights, and left behind her personal suitcase so a
South Vietnamese woman might be able to squeeze on board with her.

“Lady Ace 09” from HMM-165
and piloted by Berry, took off around 05:00 – had Martin refused to
leave, the Marines had a reserve order to arrest him and carry him away
to ensure his safety. 

Decades later, when the U.S. government reestablished diplomatic relations with Vietnam, the former embassy
was returned to the United States. The historic staircase that led to
the rooftop helicopter pad was salvaged and is on permanent display at
the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
……
When George W. Bush and the neocons launched their war in Iraq,
critics coined the slogan, “‘Iraq’ is Arabic for ‘Vietnam.'” The point
was obvious: Another long quagmire of a war in an inhospitable foreign
land would lead once again to nothing but death, suffering, and defeat
for America.

That was back in 2003 and 2004, when the parallel was to the Vietnam war of 1965 – 1973.



Here’s what JFK told interviewers in September, 1963, about South
Vietnam under President Ngo Dinh Diem: “I don’t think … unless a
greater effort is made by the  Government to win popular support that
the war can be won out there.”

Here’s what Barack Obama told reporters
on June 13, 2014: “Iraq’s leaders have to demonstrate a willingness to
make hard decisions and compromises on behalf of the Iraqi people in
order to bring the country together. … and account for the legitimate
interests of all of Iraq’s communities, and to continue to build the
capacity of an effective security force.”


…
JFK: “In the final analysis it is their war. They are the ones who
have to win it or lose it. We can help them, we can give them equipment,
we can send our men out there as advisers, but they have to win it.”

Obama: “We can’t do it for them. …  The United States is not
simply going to involve itself in a military action in the absence of a
political plan by the Iraqis that gives us some assurance that they’re
prepared to work together.” 


…
JFK balanced his calls for Diem to reform with what sounded like a
promise that the South Vietnamese government would get U.S. aid no
matter what it did or failed to do: “I don’t agree with those who say
we should withdraw…. This is a very important struggle even though it
is far away. … We also have to participate—we may not like it—in the
defense of Asia.”

Obama sounded a similar note: “Given the nature of these terrorists,
it could pose a threat eventually to American interests as well. Iraq
needs additional support to break the momentum of extremist groups and
bolster the capabilities of Iraqi security forces. …  They will have
the support of the United States. …  We have enormous interests
there.”


…
Just as Kennedy publicly denied that he contemplated any significant
troop buildup, Obama insisted, “We will not be sending U.S. troops back
into combat in Iraq.” Yet JFK continued pouring “advisors” into
Vietnam throughout his presidency, just as Obama promised that there
would be “selective actions by our military …  We have redoubled our
efforts to help build more capable counter-terrorism forces so that
groups like ISIL can’t establish a safe haven. And we’ll continue that
effort. “


…
In his 1963 interviews JFK explained
that Vietnam itself was not the crucial issue. It was more about the
world’s perception of America’s power. Losing Vietnam would give “the
impression that the wave of the future in southeast Asia was China and
the Communists.”

…
Obama has not come out and said anything quite like this. Yet he must
be keenly aware that his critics at home—and even some of his usual
supporters—are urging him to make sure the world knows that the U.S.
still runs the show.


…
Just a week before Mosul fell to the ISIS/ISIL forces, liberal commentator Fareed Zakaria wrote that “the
world today… rests on an order built by the United States that,
since 1989, has not been challenged by any other major player.” The big
question, he said, is: “How to ensure that these conditions continue,
even as new powers—such as China—rise and old ones—such as Russia—flex
their muscles?” Now a new power is rising in the Middle East, and the
question of preserving the world order is likely central to the
conversation in the Oval Office.


….
Indeed another usual supporter of Obama’s foreign policy, the New York Times, says that neocon Robert Kagan’s recent article “Superpowers Don’t Get to Retire”
“struck a nerve in the White House”—so much so that “the president
even invited Mr. Kagan to lunch to compare world views.” “Events in
Iraq Open Door for Interventionist Revival,” the Times’ headline declared.  


….
So Obama is stuck in much the same dilemma that faced Kennedy:
feeling compelled, both by global geopolitical and domestic political
concerns, to bolster an ally, but knowing that all the military aid in
the world won’t help such a fatally flawed ally win the military
victory that the U.S. government wants.


….
How to resolve the dilemma? JFK insisted on keeping all his options
open. Obama said: “I have asked my national security team to prepare a
range of other options that could help support Iraqi security forces,
and I’ll be reviewing those options in the days ahead.”


JFK sent a seemingly endless round of envoys to Vietnam to study the
situation and report back to him. Obama may well end up doing the same.

….
“We want to make sure that we have good eyes on the situation
there,” the current president said. “We want to make sure that we’ve
gathered all the intelligence that’s necessary so that if, in fact, I
do direct and order any actions there, that they’re targeted, they’re
precise and they’re going to have an effect.” 


Have an effect? Looking back at the outcome in Vietnam, all one can say to Mr. Obama is, “Lotsa  luck, buddy.”

…..
Link: http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?291087
…….

regards

May many a million “green corridors” bloom. Best wishes (truly a second born) to Hvovi Minocherchomji (an interesting name – Naga? – if anything).

 
It is un-imaginable that people (and society in general) are silly enough to fight between themselves instead of co-operating. The silliest fights are on the basis of ideology, as if a Hindu heart beats differently from a Muslim one. If any policy question needs resolving, just apply the rule: how does it affect women (positively, adversely)? In general, the people in power need to remove bottlenecks that tend to throttle the lives of the aam aurat and lend a helping hand (and a useful heart) whenever required.

……….

Five
people with heart failure were waiting for a second shot at life and one
got lucky on Monday. Early Monday morning changed Mumbaikar Hvovi
Minocherchomji’s life when doctors told her that she would get a new
heart.    The 21-year-old BCom student was suffering from swelling of the
heart (dilated cardiomyopathy) for four years and had decided to go to
the US for a transplant. But doctors advised her against it as the
waiting period for a heart there was two years and she had just three
months before things might turn worse.

 Two
weeks ago Minocherchomji was admitted at Fortis Malar Hospitals in Adyar
and was enrolled in the state organ transplant registry. Good news came
at 7am. “There were five patients waiting for a heart and we chose
Hvovi as her condition was worsening by the moment. The donor’s blood
group and body weight also matched only with hers,” said Dr Suresh Rao,
chief anaesthetist at Fortis Malar.




The
ambulance carrying the heart, harvested from a 27-year-old man who died
in a traffic accident and preserved in a special container at 4 degrees
Celsius, started from Government hospital at 6.44pm and reached Fortis
Malar 13 minutes and 22 seconds later, at 6.57pm. Normally, a vehicle
takes 45 minutes to cover the stretch at peak hour.

Almost simultaneously,
Karunasagar, the additional commissioner of police (traffic) was
informed about the need to transport the organ. By afternoon, the
traffic police were ready to create the green corridor, most of it along
the Beach Road and Santhome High Road, two of the busiest stretches in
the evening.

……..

Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/No-lal-batti-Chennai-halts-traffic-to-save-life/articleshow/36676797.cms

……

regards