General David Petraeus, the US military commander in Iraq, in a report delivered to the United States Senate Armed Forces Committee, recommended a suspension of troop withdrawals after July 2008 to protect security gains in Iraq. Petraeus stated that while real progress had been made, it was fragile and reversible. He recommended that the planned draw down of 20,000 troops should continue to July, after which there should be a 45-day period of consolidation and evaluation. Petraeus also accused Iran of funding and training Shia militias through cells which the US call "special groups". David Crocker, the ambassador to Iraq, also announced that the US and Iraq were negotiating a long-term agreement on their relations.
Indian soldiers quit over pay row Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.
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Lower level Indian army officers (Junior Commisioned Officers) have begun submitting their resignations after generals won higher pay hikes in a move that threatens the military's combat readiness. Sixty-nine middle-rung officers have sought early retirement from the armed forces since March 24, when India hiked wages by 15 percent for majors and brigadiers. The officers are upset because senior civil servants and three-star generals won annual hikes of 40 percent in the 10-year salary revision for India's four million government employees. Defence ministry officials warned that more officers would seek jobs in India's blossoming private sector, which laps up military personnel with lavish pay and perks.
The toD verdict: The resignations come at a bad time for Indian army which is already facing a shortage of 11,153 officers, and the recent developments have merely added salt to a protracted wound. Infantry battalions are facing an unprecedented officer crunch and the situation is likely to worsen. Faced with internal security challenges in Kashmir and elsewhere, the Indian army is now interested in reducing its overall strength and using available revenue for force modernisation. Increasing the use of light army forces, including the counter insurgency force Rashtriya Rifles (RR), to fulfill missions in Kashmir and elsewhere could reduce the need for regular army forces in an internal-security role and help realize cuts. Such a move would better meet the real security threats with which India must contend.
Pakistan's nuclear command unchanged
The command and control system for Pakistan's nuclear weapons will stay unchanged under the country's new government, made up of opponents of President Pervez Musharraf. Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is overseen by a National Command Authority (NCA) headed by the president and with the prime minister as its vice chairman. Key cabinet ministers and the heads of the army, navy and air force are also members of the NCA, which controls all aspects of the country's nuclear program, including deployment and, if ever necessary, the use of the weapons.
Indo-Pak nuclear war would cause ozone hole
Apart from the human devastation, a small-scale nuclear war between India and Pakistan would destroy much of the ozone layer, leaving the DNA of humans and other organisms at risk of damage from the Sun's rays. Michael Mills of the University of Colorado at Boulder, US, and colleagues used computer models to study how 100 Hiroshima-sized bombs would affect the atmosphere. They say that their scenario - in which each country launches 50 devices of 15 kilotons - is realistic, given the countries' nuclear arsenals. "The figure of 100 Hiroshima-sized bombs compares pretty accurately to the approximately 110 warheads that both states reportedly possess between them," agrees Wyn Bowen, professor of non-proliferation and international security in the War Studies Group at King's College, UK. The significance of the research in part lies in the revelation that small scale, regional conflicts are just as able as large scale wars to have global repercussions.
NWFP sets up committee for dialogue with Swat militants
Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province government launched a fresh peace process aimed at the violence-hit district of Swat on Tuesday by constituting a ministerial committee to initiate dialogue with numerous groups of militants. The provincial cabinet in its first meeting had decided to reactivate the "jirga system" (meetings of clan and tribal elders) to resolve the issue of militancy through peaceful means.
Russia prepares to secure former military sites
The Russian National Antiterrorist Committee announced on 8 April that it will be taking urgent measures to ensure the security of former military proving grounds, bases and arms depots given the level of threat from terrorism. Speaking in Moscow, Nikolay Patrushev, head of the Federal Security Service and chair of the committee, said: "As a result of our analysis carried out by the apparatus of the committee, it has been established that the existing shortcomings in the organisation of physical protection and work to clear theses territories does not make it possible to ensure the complete detection and making safe of explosive items... which does not rule out the possibility of persons involved in terrorist activities having access to them... [This] requires urgent measures to be taken."
