Pakistan/Iran – Souring diplomacy

March 28, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

Iran suspects its guards had been taken to the Pakistan border region and that the onus of rescuing them from their captors lies with Islamabad. The reported killing of one of the five Iranian border guards abducted in the Sistan-Balochestan province of Iran last month has soured the mood in Tehran. Our western neighbor suspects its guards had been taken to the Pakistan border region and that the onus of rescuing them from their captors lies with Islamabad. While Pakistan swiftly condemned the kidnapping incident, and offered to act on any credible intelligence made available to it, its investigations so far have, … Continue reading Pakistan/Iran – Souring diplomacy

Guardians of the High Frontier – Air Force Space Command & United States Space Surveillance Network

March 24, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) is a major command of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. AFSPC supports U.S. military operations worldwide through the use of many different types of satellite, launch and cyber operations. Operationally, AFSPC is under the Combatant Commander of the U.S. Strategic Command. More than 40,000 people perform AFSPC missions at 88 locations worldwide, including military, civilians and contractors. This includes approximately 22,000 military personnel and 9,000 civilian employees, although their missions overlap. On 1 December 2009, the intercontinental ballistic missile mission was transferred to the new Air Force Global Strike Command. AFSPC gained the cyber operations mission … Continue reading Guardians of the High Frontier – Air Force Space Command & United States Space Surveillance Network

Arthashastra

March 22, 2014March 22, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

Kautilya’s Arthashastra is an excellent treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy. it is said to have been written by Kautilya, also known by the name Chanakya or Vishnugupta, the prime minister of India’s first great emperor, Chandragupta Maurya. In Arthashastra, Kautilya mixes the harsh pragmatism for which he is famed with compassion for the poor, for slaves, and for women. He reveals the imagination of a romancer in imagining all manner of scenarios which can hardly have been commonplace in real life. Centrally, Arthaśāstra argues for an autocracy managing an efficient and solid economy. It discusses the ethics of economics … Continue reading Arthashastra