India, Pakistan deploy missiles

"We do not want war but war is being thrust on us and we will have to face it," Indian leader Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Ehh, that's karma.

I was being sarcastic. Sorry, I forgot to close my tags....

"Well, one result is it will decrease the number of available H1B visa applicants for programming and engineering jobs."

Don't forget - China is the second biggest source of H1B applicants!

Ban all H-1B visas now!

I forget who first said this: "There are no permanent allies or enemies, only permanent self interest."

Nevertheless, broad cultural affinity- or lack thereof- between any two nations, which are generally underpinned by the manner of expression of the moral/ethical values of the predominant religions practiced therein, can be a fairly accurate predictor for the durability of any particular kind of relationship between said countries. So I concur that India would appear to be the more rational, natural choice for an ally, despite their prior flirting (and that taught a good lesson to the Indians!!) with the Chinese.

PS- Even a cursory comparison of the primary religious texts of Islam and Hinduism will reveal to common sense that the latter poses no threat to anyone, whereas the former, well, 'ye shall know them by their fruits...'

If what I read is correct, then both India and pakistan posses crude fission nuclear weapons with short and medium range missles and bombers to deliver them with. If this is the case then, it would definitely be in the interest of the Chinese to provoke such a war. The fallout of a few dozen fission bombs will not cause nuclear winter or economic devastation, the U.S and the USSR detonated hundreds of hydrogen bombs in the cold war without serious side effects. On the economic front, the disturbance is minimal. India was a relatively small and insignificant economy compared to the major economies (japan, china, U.s, EU), and Pakistan doesn't really even have an economy. If this war turns nuclear than india and pakistan will likely lose all their major cities, thus india will be set back by a generation or more, China will not even have to expend resources to contain india. So I think we can all agree that this war should be avoided eh?

Don't know the exact number, but not that many. We have complete control of one airbase (Jacobabad) and use a couple of others. Across the border in Afghansitan, Camp Rhino is being winded down as the marines move into Kandahar airport. With this airport secured, as well as Bagram and the war in Afghanistan almost over, I don't know how many people are required in Pakistan.

India has the 4th largest economy in terms of Purchasing Power Parity. God, you lie and deceive on every thread.

Here's a breakdown of the military forces of the two countries:

Comparative Military Might
Of India And Pakistan
Amid War Clouds
By Indo-Asian News Service
12-25-1

New Delhi (IANS) - Heightened tension between India and Pakistan has led to the massing of troops along their winding border, sparking fears of a military conflict.

The following is a comparison of the military strength of the two countries:

India:

Army: 1.1 million personnel with five regional commands and 12 corps. Reserves: Territorial Army - 40,000 volunteers

Equipment : 3,400 main battle tanks, including T-55, T-72, Vijayanta. 90 light tanks 1,450 infantry combat vehicles 300 armoured personnel carriers 4,175 pieces of towed artillery, including 155mm Bofors howitzers, 130 mm guns, 105 mm guns About 200 pieces of self-propelled artillery 2,400 air defence guns Unspecified number of Searcher and other unmanned aerial vehicles 150 helicopters

Navy: 53,000 personnel with three commands and far Eastern joint command in the Andaman and Nicobar island chain. Personnel include 1,000 marine commandos.

Equipment : 10 Russian-made Kilo-class submarines, four HDW SSK submarines and two Soviet era Foxtrot submarines, one aircraft carrier with Sea King helicopters and Sea Harrier aircraft, eight guided missile destroyers, 11 frigates, seven corvettes and 39 patrol and offshore combat vessels, 18 mine warfare vessels, seven amphibious combat vessels, 32 support vessels. 20 Sea Harrier aircraft, 29 Dornier aircraft, 10 Il-38 and Tu-142 reconnaissance aircraft, some 70 helicopters, including Ka-25s.

Air Force: 110,000 personnel with five regional commands

Equipment: More than 700 combat aircraft, including Su-30, MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-29, Mirage 2000, Jaguar maritime aircraft. More than 20 attack helicopters, including Mi-25 and Mi-35. Four Boeing electronic intelligence aircraft, two reconnaissance squadrons, More than 200 transport aircraft, including Dorniers, An-32, Avros, Il-76. More than 150 transport helicopters, including Mi-8, Mi-17 and Mi-26.

Missiles: Unspecified number of Prithvi nuclear-capable short-range ballistic missiles.

Pakistan:

Army: 550,000 personnel with nine corps headquarters. Reserves: 513,000 personnel.

Equipment: 2,300 main battle tanks, including M-47, M-48, T-55, Chinese-made Type 59, Type 69, Type 85 and T-80UD. 1,150 armoured personnel carriers. 1,400 pieces of towed artillery, including 155mm, 130mm and 203mm guns. 250 pieces of self-propelled artillery. More than 2,000 air defence guns, 20 attack helicopters, more than 100 transport helicopters and unspecified number of Bravo UAVs.

Navy: 25,000 personnel, including 1,200 marines and 2,000 personnel of Maritime Security Agency. Main base at Karachi.

Equipment: 10 submarines, including French-made Agosta, Daphne armed with Harpoon missiles, eight frigates, five missile crafts, three coastal patrol boats, one inshore patrol vessel, six mine warfare and nine support vessels Five naval combat aircraft and nine armed helicopters

Air Force: 45,000 personnel with three regional commands

Equipment: More than 350 combat aircraft, including Mirage III, Mirage 5, Chinese-made Q-5. One reconnaissance squadron More than 20 transport aircraft, including C-130 Hercules, Boeing 707.

Missiles: Unspecified number of Hatf-I, Hatf-II short-range missiles