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Rishab Aiyer Ghosh wrote:
>indians and pakistanis don't worry about nuclear war because we know that
>the nuclear tests were for attention - india has had the Bomb since 1974, and
>pakistan has been known to have it for a decade. india carried out the tests
>because it felt the us was ignoring india (media coverage of "asia" typically
>limited itself to east asia) and wanted more attention. obviously pakistan had
>to show that it was as good as its neighbour. that's it.
Interesting, but where are you getting this? It's not my area, but I think
you're a being little optimistic--the only nuclear scientist I ever
met who was involved with the Indian tests struck me as being a real honest-to-
god pakistan-bashing hawk. Oh well, there's science and then there's strategy...
Here's a great pdf on the latter if anyone is interested:
India's Emerging Nuclear Posture:
Between Recessed Deterrent and Ready Arsenal
Ashley J. Tellis
http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1127/
And a quick summary:
On May 11, 1998, after a hiatus of more than two decades, India conducted a
series of nuclear tests that signaled a critical shift in its strategic
thinking. Once content to embrace a nuclear posture consisting largely
of "maintaining the option"--i.e., neither creating a nuclear arsenal nor
renouncing its right to do so--India is now on the threshold of adopting a
posture that, while stopping short of creating a ready arsenal, will take as
its goal the establishment of a "minimum but credible deterrent," known as
a "force-in-being." This book examines the forces--political, strategic,
technological, and ideational--that led to this dramatic policy shift and
describes how New Delhi's force-in-being will be fashioned, particularly in
light of the threat India faces from its two most salient adversaries, China
and Pakistan.
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