[While one may very well wonder whether the "surgical strikes" were actual or fictional, the hard fact remains that since then, Pakistan far from being subdued, lives are being lost at an accelerated rate on both sides of the LoC and the nearby IB.]
http://scroll.in/article/822262/the-daily-fix-as-another-indian-soldier-is-beheaded-its-clear-that-the-surgical-strike-failed As another Indian soldier is beheaded, it’s clear that the surgical strike failed 2 hours ago Shoaib Daniyal Cannon fodder An Indian soldier was beheaded and two others killed along the Line of Control in Machil in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. This comes three weeks after Sepoy Mandeep Singh was beheaded. While the Indian government has not directly named any organisation, several media reports blamed the Pakistani Army and its Border Action Team for carrying out these mutilations. On September 29, the Union government announced that it has conducted raids against terror infrastructure along the Line of Control, in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The so-called surgical strikes were seen as a response to the September 18 attack on an Indian Army facility in Uri, Kashmir, in which militants had killed 19 soldiers. This announcement was good politics, since it helped shore up Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image as a hardliner on Pakistan. However, it wasn’t good military strategy. Rather than make life safer for the Indian soldier at the LoC, it seems to have made matters worse. The 2003 Line of Control ceasefire is now, for all practical purposes, dead. Heavy crossfire is exchanged everyday by both armies leading to loss of life – both solider and civilian – and destruction of property. The hostilities have claimed the lives of 17 Indian military personnel. This is almost equal to the death toll at Uri (19) – which precipitated the September 29 surgical strike in the first place. When India carried out the September 29 announcement, it seemed not to care that an open confrontation would only help Pakistan’s military. The army in Pakistan operates independently of civilian control and hostilities with India only increase its power within the sphere of domestic politics. It is clear that the Indian government has backed itself into a corner. The Union government made it clear in its statement that the September 29 operation was a one-off event and it did “not have any plans for further continuation”. While Pakistan has kept up a constant stream of provocation since then, the Indian government has been forced to restrain itself. It may be useful to remember how India had dealt with Pakistan on the LoC under the last regime, carrying out raids when necessary (nine times, as per one count) but not using them as a political tool. It might not have won the Union government a reputation for bravado but it was by far the more intelligent approach to securing India’s interests. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
