McNamara argued both that ballistic missile defence could provoke an arms race, and that it might provoke a first strike against the nation fielding the defence. It has the highest per capita development expenditure, with government salaries contributing most to the services component of its GDP. On the other hand, having an invulnerable central national authority would be a disincentive for our leaders to behave like gods, making the minions devour each other in futile war. The nation is now required to subsidise its peaceful slumber every night too. Ironically, the perceived invulnerability of the leaders only increases the risk of irresponsible behaviour. In nuclear theology, this has come to be known as “the utility in non-use”. Even if the US catches up, the Russians are well on their way to the upgradation of the S-400 with S-600 and S-800 batteries. This is the optimal protection against a sudden attack. US satellites by now had photos of a new radar system outside Moscow that could have only been part of an ABM system.I suspect the new foreign affairs stewardship is inclined to believe that it can placate Donald Trump’s business instincts by offering to buy a costly American NASAMS-II system to counter-weigh the purchase of the S-400 system from Russia. It’s the prevention of nuclear war that should be our priority.. Pakistan uses the bluff of nuclear escalation to perpetuate its low-intensity violence campaign. It is intended to insulate India’s capital against any manner of aerial threats, ranging from drones to ballistic missiles. The sites were Moscow for the Soviet Union, and the North Dakota Safeguard Complex for the US, which were already under construction.Hence it would be far more productive if India and Pakistan initiate more nuclear CBMs and signalling systems conveying the seriousness of a crisis, like chameleons change colours to warn each other.The issue of vulnerability to a decapitating attack on the national leadership has been the subject of much discussion The 1974 Protocol reduced the number of ABM sites to one per party, largely because neither country had developed a second site. By 1972, an agreement had been reached to limit the strategic defensive systems. Nixon, and the Soviet Communist Party General Secretary, Leonid Brezhnev; and this was ratified by the US Senate on August 3, 1972.C.
That there is a tit for every tat. MIRVs (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles) further complicated the calculus. Every service in Delhi, from water to electricity to public transport to milk and sugar, is hugely subsidised. Nuclear war is unwinnable. and Moscow, each densely packed with supernumeries, were knocked out in surprise attacks, the war could still be prosecuted by a secret but pre-established chain of command. From time to time, declared and undeclared nuclear powers have tried to use nuclear weapons in this manner. We will end up only confounding the defence services even more. It just meant that if Washington D. But finally realising the foolhardiness of these developments, the two superpowers began the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks that began in November 1969 (SALT-I). These will still cost less than the NASAMs, which is just a multi-layered missile system of low level, medium level and long-range missile batteries.It was believed (and still is) that a better safeguard was to have a National Command Authority chain that cannot be broken.The 1974 Protocol reduced the number of ABM sites to one per party, largely because neither country had developed a second site. It reminds me of a Ramdhari Singh “Dinkar” line from his immortal poem “Bharat ka yeh Reshmi Nagar” — “Dilli soyi hai naram rajayi mein!”I have a question? Why should Delhi alone sleep in a silken quilt? Why is it that Delhi alone should be getting an ABM (anti-ballistic missile) system? Is it that Delhi is India’s most valuable economic asset? Or is it because it is home to national treasures like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, the Nehru-Gandhi family and others? Just the other day, a wit was telling me that India actually might be better off without Delhi, for it is now a national burden and parasite. So that Delhi can sleep soundly. Following this, the US began considering the proposal of the Sentinel and Safeguard batteries for American ABM systems. The US is also mounting pressure on India to consider its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) and Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile defence systems. The antidote to this is cross-border retaliatory raids, and not by the national leadership hiding itself under a shell like a tortoise.The treaty was signed during the 1972 Moscow summit on May 26 by the then President of the United States, Richard M.
