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US will prove to be a threat to India: Gen Padmanabhan

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Srinagar, Feb 4, IRNA -- Former chief of army staff (COAS) of 
India General S. Padmanabhan has predicted the India-United States 
bonhomie currently in full vigor will not last long. In fact, the 
celebrated General, who retired only last year, thereby privy to all 
Indo-US contacts, believes that Washington would prove a threat to 
India`s national interests at some time after 2008. 
He also forecasts an Indo-Pak war by 2017, where the Americans 
would side with Pakistan and China and Russia taking India`s sides. 
In his book `The Writing on the Wall`, published by Manas 
Publications, New Delhi General Padmanabhan has presented a brief 
history of the Westphalian model of nation-states and avers that the 
US policy of demanding `right of way` in the pursuit of her national 
aims regardless of others, is eroding the foundations of the nation- 
state system. 
"To India, this tendency of the US poses dangers to her hard-won 
independence and her right to chart her own course to progress and 
prosperity of her people," he maintained. 
He, however, praised India`s national defense plan for the next 
15 years. Disclosing that a national missile shield would be developed
and the voids in both order of battle and in terms of equipment have 
been made up, the general hopes that India will achieve a higher 
degree of modernisation of armed forces during the period 2003-2017 
in order to stand upto the US. 
Praising the political leadership for approaching systematically 
and identifying root causes of internal problems, he predicted that 
over next six year period all internal dissensions would end. 
He, however, took exception to certain political parties claiming 
patriotism as their domain. Everybody is a patriot and it is not a 
domain of a single party, he told reporters ahead of the release of 
his book. 
General, who was commander of Indian army in restive Kashmir 
before taking over the country`s top military post, also said that 
terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir has an underlying cause and that can 
be addressed only through a political process. 
He said during his service too, he believed that there can never 
be a military solution to the Kashmir problem. He said violence in 
Kashmir has deep roots embedded in people`s desperation, which need to
be addressed. 
On the external front, former army chief said a thaw in India`s 
relations with China is a single most achievement of its foreign 
policy. He hoped that the slow progress in the settlement of disputes 
with China will be replaced by a rapid resolution of the existing 
problems. This, he added, would be a deterrent to the US hegemonies. 
By 2010, General Padmanabhan envisaged India having excellent 
relations with its neighbors except Pakistan. By 2014, he foresees 
India becoming one of the founders of the Asian Security Environment. 
Divulging the future Indian policy towards Pakistan, General 
indicated that heavy costs would be put on Pakistan if it continued to
allow its territory to be used for anti-India activities and fomenting
troubles within India." 
He also predicted an Indo-Pak war by 2017 if the present 
hostilities between the countries persist. "Pakistan had reached the 
end of her tether and decided on a trial of strength with India with 
the active help and participation of her ally, the USA," he wrote. 
Finally, General Padmanabhan believes that Americans would come 
to the rescue of Pakistan and directly plunge into the war against 
India. Describing this imaginary war, he says, "Missiles were fired 
by the US Carrier Battle Groups and were destroyed by India`s fully 
effective National Missile Shield. 
India hurt the US badly by carrying out selective electro-magnetic
pulse attacks against Washington DC and the manufacturing facility for
cruise missiles in Arizona. She also carried out cyber attacks against
New York and commercial and administrative centers in USA to plunge 
her administration, commerce and banking sectors into chaos. The US 
retaliated by destroying all India`s civil and military satellites". 
General banks on China and Russia, who according to him would help
India against the United States. "The US, decided to use manned 
aircraft against our satellite earth station at Pune which was the 
hub of our re-engineered communication links using Chinese satellites.
The attacks were to be facilitated by anti-radiation missiles 
fired from accompanying aircraft in order to deny the Indian air 
defense system the advantage of early warning from their radars. 
The Indian response was to destroy the anti-radiation missiles and
also five of the eight aircraft used in this, the only air attack 
attempted by the USA in the conflict," wrote General Padmanabhan. 
2160/213/212 
End 



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