It is important for Indian security agencies to pay attention to likely threats from Al Qaeda elements outside the Af-Pak region, cautions B Raman.
Adherence to legality may not be the rule in dealing with terrorism in Gujarat, fears B Raman
Faislabad was one of the places where the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan set up a presence with the help of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. Despite the offensive lunched by the Pakistani Army against it, the TTP continues to maintain its influence in the region, writes B Raman
Senior analyst B Raman in this open letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan discusses ways to plug the loopholes in the security cover of Mumbai, which has already been a terror victim for five times.
The serial blasts that rocked Mumbai on Wednesday night have left a number of haunting questions on our minds. B Raman addresses some of them:
India is willing to look at terrorism in a broader sub-continental perspective than in a purely national perspective, says security expert B Raman.
B Raman says that by giving the award to a dissident who has only limited following inside China and calling for political reforms, the Nobel Committee will only strengthen the hands of those opposing any political restructuring of the Chinese set-up
The government's policy of keeping all such information permanently classified under the Official Secrets Act has resulted in a situation in which no authentic account of national security management is available, writes B Raman.
Senior analyst B Raman scrutinises the terror attack on Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel and says its another bid of the Taliban and the Haqqani Network to make their presence felt.
Under criticism for being mum on a number of issues plaguing the nation, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is setting in motion regular interactions with senior journalists, beginning on Wednesday. But senior analysts B Raman feels the PM needs to relook at his media strategy and set up a body of mediapersons on the lines of the White House Press Corps.
It is time for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take the debate on the Jan Lokpal Bill to the people through the media as well as through direct interactions with the people during tours across the country, observes B Raman
Strategic expert B Raman examines the possible threats to the Commonwealth Games and how the various security agencies can tackle them.
The preventive patrolling by navies of different countries has not denied Somali pirates the availability of pockets where they can still pounce on unsuspecting ships and hijack them. This is because of a lack of co-ordination in patrolling, writes security expert B Raman
The Indian government should pay serious attention to the alleged evidence produced by the Channel4 TV documentary on Sri Lankan war crimes. However, it should not be used as a stick to beat the Lankan government with, but to ensure that justice is done to the relatives of the victims, writes B Raman
Senior analyst B Raman notes that newly appointed Al Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zahawiri may further advocate for a global jihadi Intifada against 'crusaders and Zionist regimes.'
Some Indian students, many of the from Andhra Pradesh, have fallen victims of the Guantanamo Bay mindset of the United States authorities which permits them to use demeaning and dehumanising methods against suspects under investigation or detention in order to prevent them from escaping and to locate them by using the Global Positioning System if they manage to escape.
Senior analyst B Raman scrutinises Mumbai crime reporter J Dey's murder in broad daylight on Saturday and tries to find out what could have been the motive behind the criminal act.
While continuing the drone strikes to keep the jihadi top guns running for cover, the US should also look for other Abbottabads strewn across Pakistan, says B Raman
The buffeted ship of the nation needs a competent, self-confident and morally sensitive captain who can take it through troubled waters, feels B Raman
Set up an auxiliary intelligence corps like the territorial army or the auxiliary air force. It should consist of part-time volunteers for intelligence collection by people in other professions who want to or are willing to help the intelligence agencies. Their links with the intelligence agencies must be protected by making the training course a short one and on an one-to-one basis, instead of holding it in a class where everyone becomes aware of the identities of others.
B Raman feels one has to emphasise the importance of balance in the television discussions while the hostage-taking situation continues.
Exposing Pakistan Navy's link to the Al Qaeda cost journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad his life. But sources say there's more to it than what meet the eye. Shahzad next expose was on ISI men who were linked the Osama bin Laden, which left the spy agency with no choice but the eliminate him, says senior analyst B Raman.
Ignominy, not executions, can end terrorist movements, asserts B Raman
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Quereshi at the special session of the UN General Assembly on August 19 had resulted in pledges worth nearly $800 million -- the major pledges being $150 million from the US and $100 million each from the UK and Saudi Arabia. Only China, which apparently suspected that the Pakistani authorities were exaggerating the estimate of the damages suffered, refrained from increasing its pledge beyond the initial amount of $10 million.
The new leadership will be to have such an introspective exercise. The RAW has done great work in the past. It is capable of similar great work in the difficult years to come with the right critical approach and self-correcting action, says strategic expert B Raman.
Co-operation with the US is India's only strategic option. The US is now as concerned as we are over Pakistani machinations in Afghanistan. It could be more amenable to feelers from India for joint moves by India and the US to prevent a return to power of the Taliban with the ISI's backing, says B Raman.
By treating Maoists and their sympathisers similarly, we will be driving more people -- who are now merely in the periphery -- into the arms of hard-core violence, warns B Raman
If a new leader emerges who is able to rally Al Qaeda cadres around and motivate them to act, we may still face new acts of mass casualty terrorism, warns B Raman
The terrorism situation on the ground is becoming more and more worrying. It is not just because the terrorists have become smarter than they were before. They have, of course, but that should not be the main cause of worry, says B Raman.
Security Expert B Raman wonders whether the operation in Abbotabad, which finally killed Osama Bin Laden was an exclusive United States operation or in collaboration with Pakistan.
After bin Laden's reported death near Islamabad, rediff.com revisits B Raman's June 2010 analysis
Though the Indian intelligence agencies were tipped off that the consignment of arms and ammunition would be dropped in Purulia, West Bengal they failed to avert the incident. Both the R
There has been public outrage in India over the humiliating searches of Indian diplomats and visiting dignitaries at airport in the United States. But should India counter a pat down with a tit-for-tat policy? B Raman says analyses the situation.
'The public perception at this stage of the battle is that the victory thus far belongs to Anna and his followers, but in reality it may turn out to be a victory of mixed proportions,' says B Raman.
The Indian Mujahideen is active, but weaker, and its remnants, which have so far escaped detection and arrest by the police, probably have a reduced capability. That is the conclusion possible on the basis of the details available so far, regarding the explosion in Varanasi, on Tuesday, says B Raman
It was evident that no preparatory exercise for political and inter-departmental consensus-building in New Delhi before embarking on the trust-building exercise in Islamabad was undertaken.
Senior analyst B Raman feels that the so called 'secular' Modi bashers are doing a great disservice to India by quarantining the Gujarat chief minister in his past. Instead, the youth power should support Modi's Gujarat development model so that it spreads to other parts of the country.
What is objectionable is not what the government has conceded to Anna Hazare's demands, but the manner in which it has conceded it, writes B Raman
The announced plans of social activist Anna Hazare to go on a fast unto death from August 16 in support of the demand of the anti-corruption movement headed by him for a stronger Jan Lok Pal Bill than the one introduced by the government in Parliament poses an executive and moral dilemma to the government of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, says B Raman.
It is important for the government to address immediately the demand for a Lok Pal and to take note of the growing public anger over the issue of corruption, says B Raman.
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