National Security: Can we mute terror and military attacks?

US builds drone bases in Africa, Arab Peninsula: report
Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:46am GMT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is building a ring of secret drone bases in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as part of an aggressive campaign against al Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. officials.
One base for the unmanned aircraft is being established in Ethiopia and another base has been installed in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, the newspaper reported.
A small fleet of "hunter-killer" drones resumed operations in the islands this month after an experimental mission demonstrated that the unmanned drones could effectively patrol Somalia from there, the report said.
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China does some chest thumping
By ANI | ANI – 1 hour 27 minutes ago
New Delhi, Sep.21 (ANI): China's rulers have a problem. They are not sure if they can continue to portray the image of a country interested in a peaceful rise without this coming into direct conflict with a desire to reassert newly defined core interests.
All of 2010 saw a more assertive Chinese foreign policy activity in its periphery, including India, reflecting possibly a tussle of some sorts in Beijing between an assertive People's Liberation Army (PLA) which may want a bigger role in foreign policy in the decade ahead, and a political leadership that is now going to be in transition as Mr Hu Jintao prepares to hand over power to his selected successor, Xi Jinping, by 2012?
And therefore, this exercise of display of assertiveness with each power centre, notably the PLA and the party hierarchy, positioning themselves inside China and positioning themselves against the US where there will be presidential elections in end-2012.
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/462614.php

Can India prevent Islamic Terror Attack?
The Islamic fundamentalist terrorist stands emboldened by New Delhi’s weak, confused and politicized policies to attack the Delhi High Court twice within months. I will not be surprised if after the PWD wakes up finally and installs the CCTV cameras, the terrorists decide to attack the High Court again just to prove the softness of the Indian State.
There is nothing that can be termed as ‘Hindu terrorism’ for the simple reason that neither Indian state nor the Indian Army, unlike Pakistan Army or ISI, trains, nourishes, funds, or attempts to use ‘export of terrorism’ as a foreign policy tool.
There are multiple reasons of the nation-state’s confusion. First, by not improving the role of the ‘Beat Constable’ or the ‘Thana Police’ system has resulted in negligence of intelligence collection at the lowest rung of policing. Second, instead of improving the existing resources and organizations, the Home Minister tried to create a super-structure called NIA to divert attention from the 26/11 attack and to show major activity to the public. Third, since a young man out of ignorance or bias told the Americans as per the Wikileaks that the nation is threatened more by ‘Hindu terrorism’ than anything else, his colleagues dependent on his patronage are promoting Hindu terrorism to curry favours. It does not exist, but is a ploy to create confusion for the purpose of vote-bank politics. These diversionary tactics have resulted in failure of investigations in the last six terrorist attacks.
Why India cannot stop Terror Attacks

China flexes muscles in disputed waters
China, which imports more than half its oil, will nearly double its demand for it over the next quarter-century, according to the International Energy, and its demand for natural gas is projected to more than quadruple.
By Andrew Higgins The Washington Post
PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines — When China's largest offshore petroleum producer launched a $1 billion oil rig this summer from Shanghai, Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban, the commander of Philippine military forces 1,500 miles away in the South China Sea, began preparing for trouble.
The drilling platform, China said, would soon be heading in the general's direction — southward into waters rich in oil and natural gas, and also in volatile fuel for potential conflict.
"We started war-gaming what we could do," said Sabban, a barrel-chested, U.S.-trained marine who, as chief of the Philippines' Western Command, is responsible for keeping out intruders from a wide swath of sea that Manila views as its own but that is also claimed by Beijing.
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