Posted on 05/18/2002 3:49:24 PM PDT by maquiladora
PNS Special
Updated on 2002-05-19 00:50:24
SAN FRANCISCO, (PNS) India has started limited war with Pakistan evident by the serious and dangerous developments. Starting with fiery speeches in the Indian parliament and media calling for an all out war with Pakistan. Few hours ago, Pakistan's High Commissioner in India was declared persona-non-grata without citing any reasons. In the backdrop of million man Indian Army in a state of readiness already deployed by India along all of Pakistan's border since Dec 2001.
typo
Add to this the headline on The Nation:
Pakistan ready for full war: Qureshi
And The Daily Times:
Pakistan ready if India opts for war: ISPR
It's certainly one heck of a tinderbox right now though.
The last time an atomic was dropped as a munition. Will it be much longer til the next?
Plus, take a look at this:
New Delhi, May 18 - Backed by a unanimous resolution of both Houses of Parliament, Government said that all options would be considered to reach a "decisive phase" in the fight against Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism " as time has come when mere words will not suffice."
"Our armed forces have to be consulted. All options and pros and cons have to be weighed and the reply has to be in such a way that we reach a decisive phase," Home Minister L K Advani said winding up a day-long special discussion on the May 14 Kaluchak On a day when the National Security Council took stock of the situation in the presence of Army and Air chiefs and the entire political spectrum offered unqualified support to Government in combating terrorism, Parliament passed a resolution condemning the "most dastardly" attack in Jammu and pledged the nation's commitment to see an end to this menace.
To a specific demand from Opposition for the Government to come out with its strategy, Advani said "In what we respond and in what way we tell the people, you will soon know. It can be through television the Prime Minister may broadcast to the nation.
The Government will certainly do its duty in this regard," he said adding Prime Minsiter Atal Bihari Vajpayee would consult political leaders.
Yes, and I believe that it has been mentioned several times over the past few months that the theater changes in that region - when the trade winds changed in May.
Well, this is May! (sigh~~~~ok)!
The current status of delivery systems for Pakistani nuclear weapons is unclear. It is reported that Pakistan has developed and tested a nuclear weapon based on a Chinese design that was intended for delivery by an intermediate range missile. It is unclear whether Pakistan currently has the capability of delivering a nuclear weapon using missile systems. Since Pakistan probably had nuclear weapons prior to the availability of missile delivery systems, it is probable that the current Pakistani nuclear weapons inventory includes weapons designed for delivery using aircraft. In the event that Pakistan sought to deliver nuclear weapons using aircraft, one or more of the following aircraft types might be used for this purpose. There are open-source reports suggesting that several of the A-5 Fantan have been equiped to deliver air-dropped atomic weapons. Other reports have suggested that F-16 aircraft have practiced the "toss-bombing" technique that would be used to deliver nuclear weapons. For the time being(1999) it appears that the credibility of Pakistan's nuclear deterrent depends not on its limited-range missiles, but on the survivability of its strike aircraft.
They've got 60 A-5's, 180 Mirage-III's and 32 F-16. All capable of delivering nukes.
The current status of delivery systems for Indian nuclear weapons is unclear. India has developed and tested nuclear weapons that could be delivered on the Prithvi and Agni missiles, although it is unclear whether India currently has such an operational capability. Since India probably had nuclear weapons prior to the availability of these missiles, it is probable that the current Indian nuclear weapons inventory includes weapons designed for delivery using aircraft. One or more of the following aircraft types might be used for this purpose. There are no open-source reports suggesting which if any of these aircraft have been equiped to deliver air-dropped atomic weapons. The MiG-27 and the Jaguar were originally designed to perform ground attack missions, and would require only modest modification to deliver nuclear weapons. The Indian Air Force also operates several other older and less capable types of ground-attack which would seem rather less likely candidates for delivering nuclear weapons. The MiG-29, Su-30 and Mirage 2000 were originally designed to perform air-to-air combat missions, though they could potentially be modified to deliver air-dropped nuclear weapons.
Now, I didn't know this till I read up on it. India has 10 Tu-142 Bears(!) and 4 Tu-22 Backfire bombers.
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