April Tidings
April, 2008, witnessed some significant historic developments: China and Taiwan had political contacts at the highest level when the Chinese President Hu Jintao met a 12-member Taiwanese delegation led by Taiwan Vice-President-elect Vincent Slew in the Southern Chinese resort of Boao, the Maoists in Nepal registered a ‘stunning show” by coming good through democratic election and the Indian scientists scored a record by sending up 10 (ten) satellites in one rocket blast.
The violence quotient remained high in the so-called “traditional areas’, namely, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Srilanka. Other areas affected during the month of April were: Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar and Spain. While Al Qaeda has been planning for taking on a “western look” as an operational tactic, the Talibans have vowed to hang the Pak President Pervez Musharraf. The Afghan President survived an assassination attempt but a Srilankan minister was killed in a suicidal attack. The LTTE once again displayed their ability to launch an air strike on the government forces. It has also quietly succeeded in setting up a base in the US.
The internal security scenario in India continued to be adversely affected by both the SIMI (Student Islamic Movement of India) and the Maoists. A huge network of the SIMI, which has been building up bases in Karnataka, Kerala & Madhya Pradesh, was unearthed with the arrest of a senior SIMI functionary in Madhya Pradesh. SIMI is working out its women’s wing, recruiting children and is reported to have literature-based military training system. The Maoists in India again struck at the state, when they attacked a railway station, carried away arms and ammunition from the attached police station. They also struck at a important industrial outfit in Dantewada district of Chhatisgarh. In the state of West Bengal, they gunned down a CPM leader. The Maoist shadow has again been noticeed in the state of Punjab.
While the CIA has been trying to make use of Google Earth for spy work, terrorists and drug syndicates in New Delhi have come to notice for increasingly taking to using encrypted chatrooms and e-payment gateways to transfer key documents and carry out transactions. HSBC has reported loss of data disk for over 400,000 customers. Internet crime in the US registered an all-time high loss to the tune of $ 240 million in 2007. Citizens in New Delhi can now lodge FIRs to mobile police vans. ‘Smart Homes’ are on the way, and lest you are taken by surprise, the new internet would be 10000 times faster than the present one.
Would you not also like to read how a mother helps her children learn through ‘failed experiments?’ ‘May also like to look up the very educative illustration of how leaders manage failure by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. While the Britishers are imparting Hindu teachings to their armymen before going to Iraq or Afghanistan, the Spanish Prime Minister has created a record of sorts by inducting more women than men in his cabinet.
It may be worthwhile at this stage to share with you an interesting piece on: “Risk of Nuclear Attack”.
D. C. Nath, IPS (Retd.)
Former Special Director, IB (MHA), Govt. of India,
Executive President & CEO,
International Institute of Security and Safety Management,
New Delhi, India.
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Risk of Nuclear Attack on Rise
Washington Post (04/16/08) P. B4; Sheridan, Mary Beth
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs held a hearing April 16 to analyze the consequences of a nuclear attack on Washington D.C. Security experts speaking before the panel said that the risk of a nuclear attack on the U.S. is rising because of the growth of worldwide terrorist organizations and wider availability of nuclear technology. The committee looked at two different scenarios: a 1-kiloton nuclear device hidden in a suitcase and a 10-kiliton explosive hidden in a van. If they exploded near the White House, the smaller device would kill approximately 25,000 people and the large device would kill around 100,000. Almost every building within a half-mile radius would be destroyed and a lethal radioactive plume would drift over the city, most likely blown east by the wind. However, most city residents would survive the attack and the government can take steps in advance to save more people from a potential attack. The radioactive plume most likely wouldn't reach the eastern edge of the city for 30 to 60 minutes after the attack, giving people time to escape from its path. One major concern is the stress such an attack would put on the local medical system. An expert estimated that 95 percent of burn victims would be unable to receive care because of a lack of specialized burn facilities. Overall, the entire country only has such facilities for 1,500 patients. The Department of Homeland Security recently conducted an exercise with the D.C. mayor and the governors of Maryland and Virginia on how to communicate with the public after such an attack. The district has many emergency communications tools, including a reverse 911 calling system and the Emergency Alert System.
Security Management Daily – April 16, 2008
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