Pakistan’s Missed Opportunities

The historic plan of June 3 , 1947 stipulated partition of the Indian subcontinent into two dominions on the principles of self-determination for contagious Muslim majority states for Pakistan and non-Muslims for India .
The 562 princely states were free to accede either to Pakistan or India giving due credence to communal demographic milieus .
Princely State Jammu & Kashmir ( J & K ) with 80 % Muslim majority ruled by Hindu Maharaja , and Junagadh and Hyderabad with Hindu majority but ruled by Muslim rulers , were to join Pakistan .
Hari Singh , Maharaja of J & @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pakistan remained in two minds whether to remain independent or join which country .
J & K wasn ’ t connected with India but Lord Cyril Radcliffe under the directions of Viceroy Lord Mountbatten allotted Muslim majority Gurdaspur to India , thus affording rationale of contiguity .
The Maharaja allowed India to construct the Road Samba-Kathua-Jammu to link India with Kashmir .
Aided by India , he let loose a wave of terrorism against the Muslims to subdue them .
RSS gangs , Sikhs and soldiers from Patiala State were secretly inducted into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wide-scale genocide of the Muslims was carried out to change the demography of the Jammu province .
250,000 Muslims were butchered and others forced to flee to Pakistan .
This experiment was repeated in Poonch but was resisted .
It was in reaction to the butchery of the Muslim Kashmiris that the tribesmen from FATA under Maj retired Khurshid Anwar entered Kashmir on Oct 24 .
The tribal lashkars and Azad forces captured Poonch district less the city , Mendhar , Rajauri , Bhimber , Mirpur , Koth , and area up to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after capturing Muzaffarabad and Domel and reaching Baramula on October 26 , instead of dashing forward to occupy defenseless Srinagar , they stayed there and wasted 24 hours in looting .
The Maharaja fled from Srinagar to Jammu and sought India ’ s help .
He was told by Nehru , V.P .
Menon and Mountbatten that support will be extended only after he signed the instrument of accession with India .
The same was signed on October 26 , 1947 enabling Nehru and Mountbatten to dispatch 1/11 Sikh Regiment by air to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1947 .
A great opportunity was thus missed .
Thereafter , an air bridge was formed by India under the supervision of Mountbatten for rapid induction of large numbers of Indian forces to capture J & K .
It set the stage for an unending saga of tyranny and persecution in Kashmir .
In spite of the fact that Pakistan at that time was fighting the battle of survival and had little capacity to evict the aggressors , troops from 101 Brigade in Jhelum Valley and 10 Brigade in Neelum Valley along with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up a brave fight .
Counter offensives launched in the two Valleys managed to retain one-thirds J & K .
The rest was occupied by the aggressors who had the support of air , tanks and artillery .
After the initial reverses , the situation started to tilt in Pakistan ’ s favor towards the end of 1948 due to the onset of winter and extended lines of communications that had become vulnerable to interdiction .
Rebellion in Poonch city by 50,000 ex-servicemen and serving soldiers should have been aided by the military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kashmir Valley and Jammu-Kathua road could be disrupted through organized guerrilla activities to prevent reinforcements to Jammu from East Punjab .
After taking care of Dogra Army in Poonch , and blocking Samba-Kathua road , the Poonchis and the tribesmen could then swing towards Jammu and next Srinagar to drive the final nail in the coffin of Dogra rule in J & K .
Nothing of the sort was done and the impassioned appeals of the oppressed Muslims of Poonch seeking assistance were ignored .
Supply of a few thousand weapons and volunteers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
After gobbling up the plum regions , Nehru took the case to the UNSC and desperately sought its help for a ceasefire .
PM Liaqat Ali Khan without realizing that Nehru was wanting to gain time and to consolidate India ’ s hold over captured territory , accepted his offer and ceasefire came into effect on January 01 , 1949 .
Thus Pakistan lost another opportunity to regain the lost territories .
The UN accepted Kashmiris right of self-determination vide its two resolutions dated August 13 , 1948 , and January 5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 11 , 1950 .
Both sides agreed to the formula of ceasefire , followed by demilitarization and holding of a plebiscite under the UN supervision .
The demilitarization couldn ’ t be realized due to India ’ s intransigence .
The dispute couldn ’ t be resolved due to Nehru ’ s refusal to honor his pledge of giving right of self-determination to the Kashmiris , and due to lackadaisical approach of the UN missions .
Thereon , India began its game of delaying tactics to slip out of its commitment to plebiscite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ special status enjoyed by Kashmir under the Indian Constitution .
India dropped its pretense of holding a plebiscite after Pakistan joined western pacts in 1954 .
Soviet vetoes helped India in defying the UN and getting away with it .
India forcibly annexed all the 562 princely states including Junagadh and Hyderabad on the pretext of communal affinity and contiguity .
The same approach was not applied in Kashmir .
Pakistan came across yet another opportunity in 1962 when the Chinese forces had undertaken an offensive in the Himalayas and routed the Indian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Indian military by attempting to retake the areas across the ceasefire line in J & K , but Field Marshal Ayub Khan heeded to Kennedy ’ s deceptive advice and refrained from the offensive venture , hoping that the Kashmir dispute would be resolved through talks .
Although several rounds of Swaran Singh-ZA Bhutto talks took place , no headway was made .
After losing four opportunities , Pakistan finally decided to resolve the Kashmir dispute militarily in August 1965 .
Operation Gibraltar was hastily planned and hurriedly executed without adequate preparations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kashmir ( IOK ) were militarily trained and motivated to conduct irregular warfare , nor were the irregular forces from AJK who had been infiltrated on multiple routes deep inside IOK sufficiently trained in guerilla warfare .
Even AJK political leadership was not taken into confidence .
It was naively assumed that once the pace of guerrilla efforts gained momentum , the local population would spontaneously rise to join the struggle .
Their aspirations were over-assessed .
All the hideouts of the infiltrators were disclosed by the locals to the Indian military .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ support , however , did cause a psychological paralysis to the enemy .
All the groups led by young officers were able to reach their destinations and helped in unfreezing the Kashmir problem .
Next was Operation Grand Slam launched across River Tawi to capture Chamb and Jaurian .
The objectives set were over ambitious .
Akhnur placed at 48 miles distance was to be captured by an infantry brigade and armor regiment in 48 hours .
After capturing Chamb , the command was suddenly changed and Maj Gen Akthar Ali Malik was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The midway changeover was at the cost of losing 36 precious hours .
Already a 24 hours delay had occurred in crossing Tawi and launching the next phase .
The new commander changed the next objective and instead of capturing Akhnur , he opted for middle-distance Jaurian .
These two factors enabled the disheveled Indian forces to regroup and strengthen Akhnur .
Had Akhnur been captured on Sept 3 as planned earlier , from where Rajauri as well as road Samba-Kathua could be threatened , and Indian troops bottled up in IOK , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different .
India would have thought twice to invade Lahore .
Another opportunity was missed .
Pakistan was caught off guard on the early morning of 6th Sept 1965 when India invaded Lahore without declaring war .
At the culmination of 17-day high intensity war , India after losing the battle of Lahore had fully consumed its strategic reserves ( 1 Armored Division ) in the biggest tank battle of Chawinda and had no more strategic reserves .
Pakistan Army had managed to marry up 1 and 6 Armored Divisions in the Sialkot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counter offensive , particularly because PAF had achieved air superiority .
Had India something left in its store , it would never have sought a ceasefire .
Pakistan had a definite edge , but it chose not to exploit and agreed to ceasefire .
Earlier on , after the successful battle of Khem Karan by our 1 Armored Division and 11 Division despite the initial hiccups due to problems of articulation of command , when the Indian division commander in that sector had ordered withdrawal behind River Beas , we couldn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Tashkent Declaration drove the last nail in the realization of a solution of Kashmir through the mode of use of force .
Simla agreement in 1972 converted the ceasefire line into Line of Control , and excluded third party mediation .
Policy of bilateralism froze the Kashmir issue .
India has all along played the theme that plebiscite will injure the secular stance of Indian Union , and that loss of Kashmir would not only compromise the security of Muslims in India , but would give idea to other secessionist elements @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Bogey of terrorism has been used to undermine freedom movement and to smokescreen her oppressive policies in IOK .
The fascist and racist regime of BJP under RSS man Modi espousing Hindutva has shredded the farce of secularism , and now Pakistan is taking the wind out of its false narrative of terrorism .
The Kashmiris after struggling passively from 1948 onwards , got energized after the hanging of JKLF leader Maqbool Butt in 1984 , followed by rigging in elections in 1987 , and later by the Islamic revolution in Iran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Soviets and the Khalistan movement in East Punjab .
They started an armed uprising in IOK in Oct 1989 .
At that time , India under Rajev Gandhi was politically , economically and militarily weak .
The Kashmiri youth were fully charged up to fight unto death .
India had still not inducted 7 lacs forces into the restive region .
Had Gen Ziaul Haq been alive , he would have surely exploited the golden opportunity since he had already planned to liberate Kashmir after winning the war in Afghanistan .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arms and were demanding independent Khalistan .
The Sikhs were rapidly getting aligned with the Kashmiris .
Gulbadin Hikmatyar had promised to dispatch one lac Afghan Mujahideen to repay the sacrifices rendered by the Kashmiris in their war .
We again dilly dallied and didn ’ t strike when the iron was red hot and missed the opportunity .
The Khalistan movement received a fatal blow after the list of Sikh leaders was handed over to India by the PPP regime in 1989 .
India got aligned with USA in 1991 and with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Pakistan was abetting terrorism in IOK .
The narrative was backed by the US and the West which tied our hands and we became defensive and are still defensive .
New laws framed by the USA to fight the global war on terror after 9/11 suited India the most .
She painted the freedom fighters in Kashmir as terrorists aided by Pakistan .
After tying the hands of Pakistan and slyly inking a peace deal , India embarked upon the biggest covert war against Pakistan from the Afghan soil which is still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ half of 1999 was a well-conceived and executed venture at the tactical level , but its wider implications at the logistics , operational and strategic levels were not taken into consideration .
All the power centres were not taken into confidence due to which the initial gains made couldn ’ t be optimized .
A handful of irregular forces ( NLI ) and Mujahideen were sent forward in Nov/Dec 1998 to capture heights that had been vacated by Indian forces due to severe weather conditions .
That had been the norm every winter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Dras-Kargil sectors .
Some had stretched too far forward along the Toulolong ridge which overlooked strategic road Srinagar-Leh and the troops were in a position to interdict it and cut off Indian troops based in Siachin and Leh from the rest of Kashmir .
India learnt about the intrusion in May 1999 .
The escalation started in June which soon became intense .
Vajpayee authorized the military to use everything in the arsenal less the nukes to oust the intruders .
Once no headway could be made with repeated air assaults by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Israeli supplied precision guided missiles to plaster the posts , best of the infantry units reputed for their war records were launched with a promise of heaping them with gallantry awards .
A stage came when the Indian Army had to move forward the infantry units from its strategic reserves , which became imbalanced .
As a last resort , India garnered 100-guns density of Bofors artillery guns to carry out concentrated fire on each post .
It resulted in loss of 3-4 outposts on the Toulolong ridge which caused consternation to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disrupted supply lines and devoid of food , water and ammunition , as well as air and artillery support , the defenders refused to fall back .
When the Goliath found itself floored with no chances of recovery , Vajpayee appealed to the US and the G-20 to bail out India of its predicament .
That was the time for Pak military to play its strategic cards by positioning an armor contingent south of Pir Panjal where a power vacuum had occurred in order to unhinge Indian military in IOK ; and for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the diplomatic plane to force India to come on the negotiating table and settle the Kashmir dispute .
No such thing was done .
Nor air and artillery cover provided to the besieged outposts .
Getting alarmed , it was feared that the coming days could see the fall of more posts since the defenders had no means to counter the air and artillery .
It was under such unsavory conditions that Nawaz Sharif dashed to Washington and reportedly he had the blessings of Gen Musharraf .
Since the ceasefire had become vital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made on the battleground at a very heavy cost without any returns .
Pak forces suffered much more casualties during the withdrawal phase since India didn ’ t cease fire .
India converted its military defeat into victory on the media plane .
It gave strength to India ’ s narrative that Pakistan is an aggressor and indulges in terrorism .
Another opportunity arose after the scuffle between Indian and Chinese forces in the Himalayan region in eastern Ladakh in May-June 2020 .
PLA ’ s bold intrusions on a broad front resulted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ territory across the LAC .
Since then , the Indian military is in a state of paralysis .
The 8 million Muslim Kashmiris locked up since August 5 , 2019 and undergoing worst state terrorism at the hands of Indian forces are itching for revenge and the freedom fighters are primed to restart armed uprising .
So is the case with Jihadi forces and people of Pakistan .
Perception of the world about India that it is a victim of terrorism has considerably changed , and its ugly face stands exposed .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policies of the Modi regime against all the minorities of India , its penchant for state sponsored terrorism and RAW ’ s linkage with ISIS .
The period between July and October was ideal to carryout covert operations combined with limited attacks in IOK .
Onset of winters has foreclosed this option .
To conclude , it is obvious that either we fail to exploit the situation when India is in a vulnerable position and miss the opportunity , or else whenever we make a move , the venture is not planned thoroughly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other hand undertakes its military ventures after exhaustive preparations , as was the case in 1971 .
For 23 years , India kept subverting the minds of Bengalis to inculcate hatred in their minds against the West Pakistanis .
RAW was specially created in 1968 to launch the final act of subversion .
Even then when Indira Gandhi told Gen Manekshaw to invade East Pakistan in April 1971 , he refused and sought 9 months for war preparations .
RAW has been subverting the minds of Sindhis , Muhajirs , Baloch and Pashtuns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their minds .
FATA , Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , Balochistan and Sindh are restive regions .
Pakistan agencies have no hand in the 17 separatist movements and dozens of insurgencies in various parts of India , nor has made any effort to further fan those insurgencies .
This passive and defensive approach is in spite of the fact that RAW is deeply involved in destabilizing Pakistan and the latter having collected irrefutable evidence of its involvement and Indian dangerous designs .
Pakistan has belatedly begun to respond to India ’ s hybrid war on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has so far not responded to India ’ s covert war .
The writer is a retired Brig Gen , war veteran , defence & security analyst , international columnist , author of five books , Chairman Thinkers Forum Pakistan , Director Measac Research Centre , Member CWC PESS and Veterans Think Tank .
[ email protected ]

Asif Haroon Raja for VT
The 1947-48 Kashmir war
The historic plan of June 3, 1947 stipulated partition of the Indian subcontinent into two dominions on the principles of self-determination for contagious Muslim majority states for Pakistan and non-Muslims for India. The 562 princely states were free to accede either to Pakistan or India giving due credence to communal demographic milieus.
Princely State Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) with 80% Muslim majority ruled by Hindu Maharaja, and Junagadh and Hyderabad with Hindu majority but ruled by Muslim rulers, were to join Pakistan. Hari Singh, Maharaja of J&K after signing a standstill agreement with Pakistan remained in two minds whether to remain independent or join which country. J&K wasn’t connected with India but Lord Cyril Radcliffe under the directions of Viceroy Lord Mountbatten allotted Muslim majority Gurdaspur to India, thus affording rationale of contiguity.
The Maharaja allowed India to construct the Road Samba-Kathua-Jammu to link India with Kashmir. Aided by India, he let loose a wave of terrorism against the Muslims to subdue them. RSS gangs, Sikhs and soldiers from Patiala State were secretly inducted into J&K and were armed. Wide-scale genocide of the Muslims was carried out to change the demography of the Jammu province. 250,000 Muslims were butchered and others forced to flee to Pakistan. This experiment was repeated in Poonch but was resisted.
It was in reaction to the butchery of the Muslim Kashmiris that the tribesmen from FATA under Maj retired Khurshid Anwar entered Kashmir on Oct 24. The tribal lashkars and Azad forces captured Poonch district less the city, Mendhar, Rajauri, Bhimber, Mirpur, Koth, and area up to Nowhera. In The Jhelum Valley, after capturing Muzaffarabad and Domel and reaching Baramula on October 26, instead of dashing forward to occupy defenseless Srinagar, they stayed there and wasted 24 hours in looting.
The Maharaja fled from Srinagar to Jammu and sought India’s help. He was told by Nehru, V.P. Menon and Mountbatten that support will be extended only after he signed the instrument of accession with India. The same was signed on October 26, 1947 enabling Nehru and Mountbatten to dispatch 1/11 Sikh Regiment by air to capture Srinagar airport on October 27, 1947. A great opportunity was thus missed.
Thereafter, an air bridge was formed by India under the supervision of Mountbatten for rapid induction of large numbers of Indian forces to capture J&K. It set the stage for an unending saga of tyranny and persecution in Kashmir.
In spite of the fact that Pakistan at that time was fighting the battle of survival and had little capacity to evict the aggressors, troops from 101 Brigade in Jhelum Valley and 10 Brigade in Neelum Valley along with the Azad forces and tribal lashkars put up a brave fight. Counter offensives launched in the two Valleys managed to retain one-thirds J&K. The rest was occupied by the aggressors who had the support of air, tanks and artillery.
After the initial reverses, the situation started to tilt in Pakistan’s favor towards the end of 1948 due to the onset of winter and extended lines of communications that had become vulnerable to interdiction. Rebellion in Poonch city by 50,000 ex-servicemen and serving soldiers should have been aided by the military and tribal lashkars. Simultaneously, the Kashmir Valley and Jammu-Kathua road could be disrupted through organized guerrilla activities to prevent reinforcements to Jammu from East Punjab.
After taking care of Dogra Army in Poonch, and blocking Samba-Kathua road, the Poonchis and the tribesmen could then swing towards Jammu and next Srinagar to drive the final nail in the coffin of Dogra rule in J&K. Nothing of the sort was done and the impassioned appeals of the oppressed Muslims of Poonch seeking assistance were ignored. Supply of a few thousand weapons and volunteers could have changed the course of history.
After gobbling up the plum regions, Nehru took the case to the UNSC and desperately sought its help for a ceasefire. PM Liaqat Ali Khan without realizing that Nehru was wanting to gain time and to consolidate India’s hold over captured territory, accepted his offer and ceasefire came into effect on January 01, 1949. Thus Pakistan lost another opportunity to regain the lost territories.
UN Resolutions and India’s Tactics
The UN accepted Kashmiris right of self-determination vide its two resolutions dated August 13, 1948, and January 5, 1949 and UNSC resolution of March 11, 1950. Both sides agreed to the formula of ceasefire, followed by demilitarization and holding of a plebiscite under the UN supervision. The demilitarization couldn’t be realized due to India’s intransigence.
The dispute couldn’t be resolved due to Nehru’s refusal to honor his pledge of giving right of self-determination to the Kashmiris, and due to lackadaisical approach of the UN missions.
Thereon, India began its game of delaying tactics to slip out of its commitment to plebiscite, and started to gradually erode the special status enjoyed by Kashmir under the Indian Constitution. India dropped its pretense of holding a plebiscite after Pakistan joined western pacts in 1954. Soviet vetoes helped India in defying the UN and getting away with it.
India forcibly annexed all the 562 princely states including Junagadh and Hyderabad on the pretext of communal affinity and contiguity. The same approach was not applied in Kashmir.
Another Opportunity in 1962
Pakistan came across yet another opportunity in 1962 when the Chinese forces had undertaken an offensive in the Himalayas and routed the Indian forces. Pakistan could exploit the vulnerability of Indian military by attempting to retake the areas across the ceasefire line in J&K, but Field Marshal Ayub Khan heeded to Kennedy’s deceptive advice and refrained from the offensive venture, hoping that the Kashmir dispute would be resolved through talks.
Although several rounds of Swaran Singh-ZA Bhutto talks took place, no headway was made.
Failed Attempts in Kashmir in 1965
After losing four opportunities, Pakistan finally decided to resolve the Kashmir dispute militarily in August 1965. Operation Gibraltar was hastily planned and hurriedly executed without adequate preparations. Neither the Kashmiris in Indian occupied Kashmir (IOK) were militarily trained and motivated to conduct irregular warfare, nor were the irregular forces from AJK who had been infiltrated on multiple routes deep inside IOK sufficiently trained in guerilla warfare.
Even AJK political leadership was not taken into confidence. It was naively assumed that once the pace of guerrilla efforts gained momentum, the local population would spontaneously rise to join the struggle. Their aspirations were over-assessed. All the hideouts of the infiltrators were disclosed by the locals to the Indian military.
The Gibraltar Force devoid of logistic backup support, however, did cause a psychological paralysis to the enemy. All the groups led by young officers were able to reach their destinations and helped in unfreezing the Kashmir problem.
Next was Operation Grand Slam launched across River Tawi to capture Chamb and Jaurian. The objectives set were over ambitious. Akhnur placed at 48 miles distance was to be captured by an infantry brigade and armor regiment in 48 hours. After capturing Chamb, the command was suddenly changed and Maj Gen Akthar Ali Malik was replaced by Maj Gen Yahya Khan. The midway changeover was at the cost of losing 36 precious hours.
Already a 24 hours delay had occurred in crossing Tawi and launching the next phase. The new commander changed the next objective and instead of capturing Akhnur, he opted for middle-distance Jaurian. These two factors enabled the disheveled Indian forces to regroup and strengthen Akhnur.
Had Akhnur been captured on Sept 3 as planned earlier, from where Rajauri as well as road Samba-Kathua could be threatened, and Indian troops bottled up in IOK, the outcome of war would have been different. India would have thought twice to invade Lahore. Another opportunity was missed.
The 1965 War
Pakistan was caught off guard on the early morning of 6th Sept 1965 when India invaded Lahore without declaring war. At the culmination of 17-day high intensity war, India after losing the battle of Lahore had fully consumed its strategic reserves (1 Armored Division) in the biggest tank battle of Chawinda and had no more strategic reserves.
Pakistan Army had managed to marry up 1 and 6 Armored Divisions in the Sialkot sector and was well-poised to launch a counter offensive, particularly because PAF had achieved air superiority. Had India something left in its store, it would never have sought a ceasefire. Pakistan had a definite edge, but it chose not to exploit and agreed to ceasefire.
Earlier on, after the successful battle of Khem Karan by our 1 Armored Division and 11 Division despite the initial hiccups due to problems of articulation of command, when the Indian division commander in that sector had ordered withdrawal behind River Beas, we couldn’t exploit the opportunity to seize Hareke bridges.
The Tashkent Declaration drove the last nail in the realization of a solution of Kashmir through the mode of use of force. Simla agreement in 1972 converted the ceasefire line into Line of Control, and excluded third party mediation. Policy of bilateralism froze the Kashmir issue.
India has all along played the theme that plebiscite will injure the secular stance of Indian Union, and that loss of Kashmir would not only compromise the security of Muslims in India, but would give idea to other secessionist elements and could lead to disintegration of India.
Bogey of terrorism has been used to undermine freedom movement and to smokescreen her oppressive policies in IOK.
The fascist and racist regime of BJP under RSS man Modi espousing Hindutva has shredded the farce of secularism, and now Pakistan is taking the wind out of its false narrative of terrorism.
Freedom Movement in Kashmir
The Kashmiris after struggling passively from 1948 onwards, got energized after the hanging of JKLF leader Maqbool Butt in 1984, followed by rigging in elections in 1987, and later by the Islamic revolution in Iran, victory of the Afghan Mujahideen against the Soviets and the Khalistan movement in East Punjab. They started an armed uprising in IOK in Oct 1989. At that time, India under Rajev Gandhi was politically, economically and militarily weak.
The Kashmiri youth were fully charged up to fight unto death. India had still not inducted 7 lacs forces into the restive region. Had Gen Ziaul Haq been alive, he would have surely exploited the golden opportunity since he had already planned to liberate Kashmir after winning the war in Afghanistan. The Sikhs in East Punjab were up in arms and were demanding independent Khalistan. The Sikhs were rapidly getting aligned with the Kashmiris. Gulbadin Hikmatyar had promised to dispatch one lac Afghan Mujahideen to repay the sacrifices rendered by the Kashmiris in their war.
We again dilly dallied and didn’t strike when the iron was red hot and missed the opportunity. The Khalistan movement received a fatal blow after the list of Sikh leaders was handed over to India by the PPP regime in 1989. India got aligned with USA in 1991 and with Israel in 1992 and built a narrative that Pakistan was abetting terrorism in IOK. The narrative was backed by the US and the West which tied our hands and we became defensive and are still defensive.
New laws framed by the USA to fight the global war on terror after 9/11 suited India the most. She painted the freedom fighters in Kashmir as terrorists aided by Pakistan. After tying the hands of Pakistan and slyly inking a peace deal, India embarked upon the biggest covert war against Pakistan from the Afghan soil which is still continuing.
Kargil Conflict
Kargil operation in the first half of 1999 was a well-conceived and executed venture at the tactical level, but its wider implications at the logistics, operational and strategic levels were not taken into consideration. All the power centres were not taken into confidence due to which the initial gains made couldn’t be optimized.
A handful of irregular forces (NLI) and Mujahideen were sent forward in Nov/Dec 1998 to capture heights that had been vacated by Indian forces due to severe weather conditions. That had been the norm every winter. Large numbers of outposts were established in Dras-Kargil sectors. Some had stretched too far forward along the Toulolong ridge which overlooked strategic road Srinagar-Leh and the troops were in a position to interdict it and cut off Indian troops based in Siachin and Leh from the rest of Kashmir.
India learnt about the intrusion in May 1999. The escalation started in June which soon became intense. Vajpayee authorized the military to use everything in the arsenal less the nukes to oust the intruders. Once no headway could be made with repeated air assaults by the fighter jets and gunship helicopters together with Israeli supplied precision guided missiles to plaster the posts, best of the infantry units reputed for their war records were launched with a promise of heaping them with gallantry awards.
A stage came when the Indian Army had to move forward the infantry units from its strategic reserves, which became imbalanced. As a last resort, India garnered 100-guns density of Bofors artillery guns to carry out concentrated fire on each post. It resulted in loss of 3-4 outposts on the Toulolong ridge which caused consternation to the military and civil hierarchy.
With disrupted supply lines and devoid of food, water and ammunition, as well as air and artillery support, the defenders refused to fall back. When the Goliath found itself floored with no chances of recovery, Vajpayee appealed to the US and the G-20 to bail out India of its predicament.
That was the time for Pak military to play its strategic cards by positioning an armor contingent south of Pir Panjal where a power vacuum had occurred in order to unhinge Indian military in IOK; and for the Pak govt to carryout brinkmanship on the diplomatic plane to force India to come on the negotiating table and settle the Kashmir dispute. No such thing was done. Nor air and artillery cover provided to the besieged outposts. Getting alarmed, it was feared that the coming days could see the fall of more posts since the defenders had no means to counter the air and artillery.
It was under such unsavory conditions that Nawaz Sharif dashed to Washington and reportedly he had the blessings of Gen Musharraf. Since the ceasefire had become vital, he gave up all the gains made on the battleground at a very heavy cost without any returns. Pak forces suffered much more casualties during the withdrawal phase since India didn’t cease fire. India converted its military defeat into victory on the media plane. It gave strength to India’s narrative that Pakistan is an aggressor and indulges in terrorism.
China-India Clash
Another opportunity arose after the scuffle between Indian and Chinese forces in the Himalayan region in eastern Ladakh in May-June 2020. PLA’s bold intrusions on a broad front resulted in occupation of well over 1000 km territory across the LAC. Since then, the Indian military is in a state of paralysis. The 8 million Muslim Kashmiris locked up since August 5, 2019 and undergoing worst state terrorism at the hands of Indian forces are itching for revenge and the freedom fighters are primed to restart armed uprising. So is the case with Jihadi forces and people of Pakistan.
Perception of the world about India that it is a victim of terrorism has considerably changed, and its ugly face stands exposed. This change occurred as a result of draconian policies of the Modi regime against all the minorities of India, its penchant for state sponsored terrorism and RAW’s linkage with ISIS. The period between July and October was ideal to carryout covert operations combined with limited attacks in IOK. Onset of winters has foreclosed this option.
Conclusion
To conclude, it is obvious that either we fail to exploit the situation when India is in a vulnerable position and miss the opportunity, or else whenever we make a move, the venture is not planned thoroughly and in entirety. India on the other hand undertakes its military ventures after exhaustive preparations, as was the case in 1971.
For 23 years, India kept subverting the minds of Bengalis to inculcate hatred in their minds against the West Pakistanis. RAW was specially created in 1968 to launch the final act of subversion. Even then when Indira Gandhi told Gen Manekshaw to invade East Pakistan in April 1971, he refused and sought 9 months for war preparations.
RAW has been subverting the minds of Sindhis, Muhajirs, Baloch and Pashtuns and has achieved substantial success in polluting their minds. FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh are restive regions. Pakistan agencies have no hand in the 17 separatist movements and dozens of insurgencies in various parts of India, nor has made any effort to further fan those insurgencies.
This passive and defensive approach is in spite of the fact that RAW is deeply involved in destabilizing Pakistan and the latter having collected irrefutable evidence of its involvement and Indian dangerous designs. Pakistan has belatedly begun to respond to India’s hybrid war on the media and diplomatic planes, but has so far not responded to India’s covert war.
The writer is a retired Brig Gen, war veteran, defence & security analyst, international columnist, author of five books, Chairman Thinkers Forum Pakistan, Director Measac Research Centre, Member CWC PESS and Veterans Think Tank. asifharoonraja@gmail.com


veteranstoday--2020-12-04--Italy Bans Travel Between Towns Over Christmas

Health Editor ’ s Note : Italy is taking the potential spreading of coronavirus very seriously .
The Italian COVID-19 infection curve is showing signs of flattening in the past week , but Italy is still ramping up prevention measures to prevent another surge .
Containment and decreased ability to spread coronavirus , until vaccines can be given , is the only way to stop the illnesses and deaths from COVID-19 .
I applaud the Italian efforts .
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All images within are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ About VT - Read Full Policy Notice - Comment Policy Due to the nature of independent content , VT can not guarantee content validity.We ask you toso a clear comprehension of VT 's independent non-censored media is understood and given its proper place in the world of news , opinion and media.All content is owned by author exclusively .
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Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator.
She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues.


veteranstoday--2020-12-04--UAE arms sale – “To be, or not to be, that is the question”

Senate to vote on banning $ 23 billion UAE arms sales next week [ Editor ’ s Note : Next week we will see if the UAE gets coal in its stocking , or stuffed like a turkey .
The senators in the big weapons production states will have a lot of pressure on them to bring home the arms sales bacon .
They mention below that if the US blocks the sale , the UAE will buy from someone else , and that is self evident .
Rest assured that whatever technology we were to put in UAE ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sold to others , will be transferred and sold .
The Israelis in particular have been looting US weapons technology for decades , using not only their extensive military intelligence offensive networks here , but twisting the arms of the Congressional committee chairs and even White house national security advisers to get what they want , one way or another .
The Pentagon is rife with stories about how technology transfers were denied , only to find out later that the Israelis did an end run around Congress to get what they wanted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had aggressive spied on US weapons technology under development , and they would steal it to work on themselves , and where their version came out sooner and better than ours .
Of course , such activities never saw the light of day publicly due to the political scandals that would have ensued .
Israel , like Turkey , ran what we call ‘ wholesale ’ offensive espionage here .
It would steal everything it could get its hands on , keep what it wanted , and then sell of the rest to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cost of the operation .
Even if the US found out , there was no way it could ever admit it .
As VT has published a number of times , the Jonathan Pollard operation was primarily to steal stuff for the Russians , where Israel got the million pretend-a-Jew immigrants in return to replace a million low end Palestinian jobs in Israel for ‘ enhanced security ’ .
Pollard ’ s handler was a top White house official ( never identified ) that was feeding him the file names to get , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ copy , and pass along .
They also got the entire US Eastern European Cold War agent list , 1000 people , two decades of work .
The contacts were subsequently decimated , a story too horrible to ever admit .
That is why the defense community fought so hard for so many years to prevent Pollard from being pardoned… Jim W. Dean ] Jim 's Editor ’ s Notes are solely crowdfunded via PayPal Jim 's work includes research , field trips , Heritage TV Legacy archiving & more .
Thanks for @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Senate to vote on banning $23 billion UAE arms sales next week
…from Defense News
[ Editor’s Note: Next week we will see if the UAE gets coal in its stocking, or stuffed like a turkey. The senators in the big weapons production states will have a lot of pressure on them to bring home the arms sales bacon.
They mention below that if the US blocks the sale, the UAE will buy from someone else, and that is self evident. Rest assured that whatever technology we were to put in UAE’s hands that can be transferred and sold to others, will be transferred and sold.
The Israelis in particular have been looting US weapons technology for decades, using not only their extensive military intelligence offensive networks here, but twisting the arms of the Congressional committee chairs and even White house national security advisers to get what they want, one way or another.
The Pentagon is rife with stories about how technology transfers were denied, only to find out later that the Israelis did an end run around Congress to get what they wanted. I remember one report that they had aggressive spied on US weapons technology under development, and they would steal it to work on themselves, and where their version came out sooner and better than ours.
Of course, such activities never saw the light of day publicly due to the political scandals that would have ensued. Israel, like Turkey, ran what we call ‘wholesale’ offensive espionage here. It would steal everything it could get its hands on, keep what it wanted, and then sell of the rest to Russia and China to help pay the cost of the operation.
Even if the US found out, there was no way it could ever admit it. As VT has published a number of times, the Jonathan Pollard operation was primarily to steal stuff for the Russians, where Israel got the million pretend-a-Jew immigrants in return to replace a million low end Palestinian jobs in Israel for ‘enhanced security’.
Pollard’s handler was a top White house official (never identified) that was feeding him the file names to get, where he would simply get them, copy, and pass along.
They also got the entire US Eastern European Cold War agent list, 1000 people, two decades of work. The contacts were subsequently decimated, a story too horrible to ever admit. That is why the defense community fought so hard for so many years to prevent Pollard from being pardoned… Jim W. Dean ]
Jim's Editor’s Notes are solely crowdfunded via PayPal
Jim's work includes research, field trips, Heritage TV Legacy archiving & more. Thanks for helping. Click to donate >>
First published … December 04, 2020
WASHINGTON ― The Senate will vote next week on legislation to halt the Trump administration’s $23 billion sale of F-35 fighter jets, Reaper drones and munitions to the United Arab Emirates, a lawmaker said Thursday.
Four pending joint resolutions of disapproval offer lawmakers a chance to block the Trump administration’s 11th hour proposal to transfer arms to the Emirates. Critics say the sales, meant to bolster the UAE against Iran, ignores risks to Israel and to sensitive military technology posed by UAE’s ties to Russia and China.
Asked about the legislation, Sen. Bob Menendez, who is sponsoring the effort to bar the weapons sale with Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., told reporters: “It’s ripe, it’s ready, it has privilege on the floor. We are gathering support for it and I would think sometime next week.”


veteranstoday--2020-12-04--Trumpsters: Nursing home worker goes to superspreader wedding, 10 die as a result…so far

Ten residents of Grant County have recently died of COVID-19 , including seven in long-term care centers .
Some of the deaths are under investigation for their possible connection to a large November wedding near Ritzville that turned into a COVID superspreader event .
Some of the wedding guests worked at long-term care centers and tested positive , but a conclusive link between the wedding and the deaths has not been determined , according to a Thursday evening statement from the Grant County Health District based in Moses Lake .
“ Because staff in these facilities care for entire units @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not known , ” said the health district ’ s statement .
The seven deaths reported in long-term care homes do not include four more deaths at the homes for which death certificate reviews are pending .
Outbreaks at the three homes where residents died recently were announced by the Grant County Health District .
It previously said an outbreak at an unnamed Moses Lake long-term care home and an Ephrata long-term care home had been linked to the Ritzville wedding .
Lake Ridge Center in Moses Lake had recent deaths of four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fifth resident being reviewed .
The deaths confirmed to be caused by complications of COVID include a man in his 70s , a man in his 80s and two men in their 90s .
Columbia Crest Center in Moses Lake has had recent deaths tied to COVID of two residents , a man in his 80s and a man in his 70s .
Read more..

Ten residents of Grant County have recently died of COVID-19, including seven in long-term care centers.
Hey @Twitter: Would it help to start naming names? Like the couple who hosted 300 wedding guests in Ritzville WA? https://t.co/XVhkQXXBNL #COVID19 — Karen Borchgrevink (@kborchgrevink) November 17, 2020
Some of the deaths are under investigation for their possible connection to a large November wedding near Ritzville that turned into a COVID superspreader event.
Some of the wedding guests worked at long-term care centers and tested positive, but a conclusive link between the wedding and the deaths has not been determined, according to a Thursday evening statement from the Grant County Health District based in Moses Lake.
“Because staff in these facilities care for entire units, direct contact with associated patients is not known,” said the health district’s statement.
In Washington state, more than 300 senior care facilities – a record number – have at least one active case of COVID-19 among residents and staff. A dozen facilities that had big outbreaks at the start of the pandemic are being hit again by the virus. https://t.co/rGsgndbMh5 — Paige Cornwell (@pgcornwell) November 20, 2020
The seven deaths reported in long-term care homes do not include four more deaths at the homes for which death certificate reviews are pending.
Outbreaks at the three homes where residents died recently were announced by the Grant County Health District. It previously said an outbreak at an unnamed Moses Lake long-term care home and an Ephrata long-term care home had been linked to the Ritzville wedding.
Lake Ridge Center in Moses Lake had recent deaths of four residents with the death certificate of a fifth resident being reviewed. The deaths confirmed to be caused by complications of COVID include a man in his 70s, a man in his 80s and two men in their 90s.
COVID: Fears grow over Inland Northwest hospital capacityhttps://t.co/wnA1o5fp3P — KOMO News (@komonews) November 29, 2020
Columbia Crest Center in Moses Lake has had recent deaths tied to COVID of two residents, a man in his 80s and a man in his 70s. Read more..
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/grant-county-nursing-home-covid-19-deaths-under-investigation-for-possible-ties-to-superspreader-wedding/?utm_source=marketingcloud&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning+Brief+12-4-2020_12_4_2020&utm_term=


veteranstoday--2020-12-04--A Day in the life of Dr. Fauci

A Day in the life of Dr. Fauci

VT : We read , days ago , from the right wing news sphere that 60,000 Americans have died of influenza in 2020 .
We investigated .
Michigan has no deaths listed at all and across the US , there hasn ’ t been a single pediatric flu death and no adults listed by any state health department .
IN fact , there have been no influenza outbreaks in the US whatsoever .
Lies have gone that far to cover for Trump ’ s murders .
Anthony Fauci has run the National Institutes of Health ’ s infectious diseases agency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ played key roles in virtually every public health intervention and policy since then .
That is , until his candor about the novel coronavirus pandemic contradicted President Donald Trump ’ s falsehoods .
Some good news to start the morning !
👇🏻 In 47 days Dr. Fauci gets to return to the White House , and Donald Trump gets shown its doors !
# ScienceWins https : //t.co/26nu0qxN1o — Dean Wallace 🗳🗽 ( @ deanofdublin ) December 4 , 2020 For months , the White House largely disregarded Fauci ’ s advice .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ painted the soft-spoken Brooklyn native as a villain .
Trump repeatedly threatened to terminate Fauci ’ s employment ( something he can ’ t really do ) .
Crowds at Trump rallies chanted “ Fire Fauci !
” Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said Fauci should be executed and his head placed on a pike on the White House grounds .
But Fauci has kept a relentless pace trying to correct the country ’ s coronavirus course .
“ Each day is different , ” Fauci , who turns 80 this month , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day before Thanksgiving .
“ It ’ s just , you know , drinking out of a firehose trying to keep ahead of everything that ’ s going on.
” The night before , he ’ d been awake until around 11 p.m. sorting through a mountain of email until he was too tired to continue .
“ I get like over a thousand emails a day and when they screen it , they screen it down to those few hundred that I have to deal with , ” he said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wall-to-wall , literally.
” He was back up at 5:10 a.m. on Wednesday , facing a day with a mere 20 minutes of unscheduled time .
He expected to lose that break as new business arose over the course of the day .
read more… ATTENTION READERS Due to the nature of independent content , VT can not guarantee content validity .
We ask you to Read Our Content Policy so a clear comprehension of VT 's independent non-censored media is understood and given its proper place in the world of news , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ owned by author exclusively .
Expressed opinions are NOT necessarily the views of VT , other authors , affiliates , advertisers , sponsors , partners or technicians .
Some content may be satirical in nature .
All images within are full responsibility of author and NOT VT. About VT - Read Full Policy Notice - Comment Policy Due to the nature of independent content , VT can not guarantee content validity.We ask you toso a clear comprehension of VT 's independent non-censored media is understood and given its proper place in the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is owned by author exclusively .
Expressed opinions are NOT necessarily the views of VT , other authors , affiliates , advertisers , sponsors , partners or technicians .
Some content may be satirical in nature .
All images within are full responsibility of author and NOT VT .

In 47 days Dr. Fauci gets to return to the White House, and Donald Trump gets shown its doors! #ScienceWins https://t.co/26nu0qxN1o
Anthony Fauci has run the National Institutes of Health’s infectious diseases agency since Ronald Regan was president and has played key roles in virtually every public health intervention and policy since then. That is, until his candor about the novel coronavirus pandemic contradicted President Donald Trump ’s falsehoods.
For months, the White House largely disregarded Fauci’s advice. Trump, his allies and right-wing media painted the soft-spoken Brooklyn native as a villain. Trump repeatedly threatened to terminate Fauci’s employment (something he can’t really do). Crowds at Trump rallies chanted “Fire Fauci!” Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said Fauci should be executed and his head placed on a pike on the White House grounds.
But Fauci has kept a relentless pace trying to correct the country’s coronavirus course.
“Each day is different,” Fauci, who turns 80 this month, told HuffPost in an interview on the day before Thanksgiving. “It’s just, you know, drinking out of a firehose trying to keep ahead of everything that’s going on.”
The night before, he’d been awake until around 11 p.m. sorting through a mountain of email until he was too tired to continue. “I get like over a thousand emails a day and when they screen it, they screen it down to those few hundred that I have to deal with,” he said. “Then you have a day that is wall-to-wall, literally.”
He was back up at 5:10 a.m. on Wednesday, facing a day with a mere 20 minutes of unscheduled time. He expected to lose that break as new business arose over the course of the day. read more…
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anthony-fauci-fighting-covid-19_n_5fc7fed7c5b61bea2b14e3ee?ojn%C3%A5


veteranstoday--2020-12-04--Guardian: Florida Investigation finds governor systematically lied to public on COVID risk

Both Scott Atlas and Rick DeSantis are likely to need presidential pardons .
Both may face prosecution for negligent homicide at state level , for Atlas , many states Guardian : Florida this week became the third US state to record a million coronavirus cases and yet the public there has been misled by state leadership about the extent and dangers of the pandemic , especially in the run-up to the presidential election , an investigation has concluded .
Governor Ron DeSantis ’ s administration has been engaged in a pattern of spin and concealment about Covid-19 amid the gravest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to a South Florida Sun Sentinel investigation .
According to the newspaper , Republican DeSantis influenced a state administration that “ suppressed unfavorable facts , dispensed dangerous misinformation , dismissed public health professionals , and promoted the views of scientific dissenters ” who supported the governor ’ s ambivalent approach to the disease .
DeSantis declined to be interviewed , the Sun Sentinel said , but it noted he told Fox News ’ Tucker Carlson Tonight earlier this week that the media ’ s criticism of his approach was “ all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Florida department of health ’ s county-level spokespeople stopped issuing public statements about Covid-19 between September and the 3 November election .
And earlier on in the pandemic state leaders did not release details about the earliest cases in Florida and denied the virus was spreading person to person , despite the fact that coronavirus is highly contagious .
The attitude struck by state leadership , mimicking the kind of dismissive approach of Donald Trump , the US president to whom DeSantis is a loyalist , has helped foster a public culture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and readily gather in crowded bars and parties , the newspaper said , contrary to federal public health guidelines .
The Sun Sentinel said its extensive reporting is based on interviews with scientists , doctors , politicians and officials , and reviewing thousands of pages of documents .
Read more… Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was blasted by Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber for his “ dangerous ” response to the COVID-19 pandemic as the state eclipsed 1 million cases on Tuesday .
Gelber made the remarks during an interview with CNN ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the Republican governor had ignored credible science about the virus in favor of “ a convenient ideology ” that allows him to ignore public health restrictions shown to reduce the spread of infection , like mandating the wearing of face masks .
“ He ’ s sort of adopted an ideology , a convenient ideology , but not one grounded in science , ” Gelber said .
“ He ’ s been receiving advice from these fringe scientists and doctors who pursue the wrong kinds theories on how to deal with this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread throughout our state.
” The mayor said that DeSantis was taking advice from Dr. Scott Atlas , President Donald Trump ‘ s former pandemic adviser who resigned on Monday while wishing the incoming Biden administration “ all best , ” along with other physicians who advocate a “ fringe herd immunity ” strategy .

Both Scott Atlas and Rick DeSantis are likely to need presidential pardons. Both may face prosecution for negligent homicide at state level, for Atlas, many states
Guardian: Florida this week became the third US state to record a million coronavirus cases and yet the public there has been misled by state leadership about the extent and dangers of the pandemic, especially in the run-up to the presidential election, an investigation has concluded.
Blockbuster investigation by the  @SunSentinel : Throughout the #COVIDー19 crisis, @GovRonDeSantis engaged in a pattern of spin and secrecy that misled the public on Florida's gravest health threat. https://t.co/2bfbrRDjwF
Florida Governor Ron Desantis continues his killing spree in Florida while signing an executive order that bans cities and counties from enforcing mask mandates. Bars and restaurants are open @ 100% with Florida nearing ONE million cases of covid. Please don't come to Florida.
Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration has been engaged in a pattern of spin and concealment about Covid-19 amid the gravest health threat the state has ever faced, according to a South Florida Sun Sentinel investigation.
Florida mayor slams Gov DeSantis for following "fringe" doctors as state's COVID cases surpass 1 million https://t.co/3hpEmUIPV5 — Newsweek (@Newsweek) December 1, 2020
According to the newspaper, Republican DeSantis influenced a state administration that “suppressed unfavorable facts, dispensed dangerous misinformation, dismissed public health professionals, and promoted the views of scientific dissenters” who supported the governor’s ambivalent approach to the disease.
DeSantis declined to be interviewed, the Sun Sentinel said, but it noted he told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight earlier this week that the media’s criticism of his approach was “all political”.
The investigation found that the Florida department of health’s county-level spokespeople stopped issuing public statements about Covid-19 between September and the 3 November election.
And earlier on in the pandemic state leaders did not release details about the earliest cases in Florida and denied the virus was spreading person to person, despite the fact that coronavirus is highly contagious.
The attitude struck by state leadership, mimicking the kind of dismissive approach of Donald Trump, the US president to whom DeSantis is a loyalist, has helped foster a public culture in which many defiantly shun face masks and readily gather in crowded bars and parties, the newspaper said, contrary to federal public health guidelines.
The Sun Sentinel said its extensive reporting is based on interviews with scientists, doctors, politicians and officials, and reviewing thousands of pages of documents. Read more…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/04/florida-governor-rob-desantis-covid-investigation-misled-public
and from Newsweek:
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was blasted by Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber for his “dangerous” response to the COVID-19 pandemic as the state eclipsed 1 million cases on Tuesday.
Gelber made the remarks during an interview with CNN’s Jim Sciutto. The Democratic mayor said that the Republican governor had ignored credible science about the virus in favor of “a convenient ideology” that allows him to ignore public health restrictions shown to reduce the spread of infection, like mandating the wearing of face masks.
“He’s sort of adopted an ideology, a convenient ideology, but not one grounded in science,” Gelber said. “He’s been receiving advice from these fringe scientists and doctors who pursue the wrong kinds theories on how to deal with this and the result is we have virus spread throughout our state.”
The mayor said that DeSantis was taking advice from Dr. Scott Atlas, President Donald Trump‘s former pandemic adviser who resigned on Monday while wishing the incoming Biden administration “all best,” along with other physicians who advocate a “fringe herd immunity” strategy.
Florida mayor slams Gov DeSantis for following "fringe" doctors as state's COVID cases surpass 1 million https://t.co/3hpEmUIPV5 — Newsweek (@Newsweek) December 1, 2020
.


veteranstoday--2020-12-05--Pakistan Gate Crashes into Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactors

Pakistan has successfully begun the process of fuel loading at the 1100 MW K2 unit at the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant ( KANUPP ) .
If all goes well three more reactors will be commissioned in Karachi and one at Chasma .
For Pakistan , this is a big success .
Despite being kept out of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and preferential treatment being accorded to India Pakistan has done this with assistance from China .
The fact that this plant is jointly fabricated by China and Pakistan indicates high technological standards Pakistan has achieved in peaceful use of nuclear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ catapulted towards Hybrid 4th generation Power Reactors that are more efficient , safer , easier to shut down in disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima and smaller per output .
The technology is duel use for propulsion of ships , ice breakers and nuclear submarines .
So for the future , Pakistan will keep options open .
Pressurised Water Reactors ( PWRs ) were initially designed to serve as nuclear propulsion for nuclear submarines and later adapted to power production .
Most operating in the world are 2nd Generation by USA , Russia , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many 3rd Generation reactors but the one by Pakistan is significantly advanced in technology .
To recap , nuclear fuel in the reactor pressure vessel is engaged in a fission chain reaction ( bombardment of neutrons in controlled environments ) , which produces heat .
Through the thermal cladding , this highly pressurized water is prevented from boiling at a very high temperature .
It remains a liquid despite reaching a temperature up to 315 °C under 2250 PSI .
This water slows neutrons in the reactor core and carries away heat .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the heat exchanger through hundreds or thousands of small tubes , the secondary water instantly turns to steam propelling turbines for power generation .
This heat transfer takes place without mixing the two fluids , shielding the secondary coolant from becoming radioactive .
After passing through the turbine the secondary coolant ( water-steam mixture ) is cooled , condensed and collected in a reservoir .
This is pumped back into the steam generator after heating .
What does fuel loading mean and imply ?
Fuel loading is a process prior to commissioning a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the reactor core , enriched uranium dioxide powder is fired into a high-temperature , sintering furnace .
This creates hard , ceramic pellets of enriched uranium dioxide .
These pellets or rods are clad in a corrosion-resistant zirconium metal alloy backfilled with helium to aid heat conduction and detect leakages .
These are then assembled into the main reactor core .
The Reactor is then ready to go .
These reactors are more economical in use of Uranium ( 15 % ) and safer due to highly pressurized water running around the main @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Chernobyl Ukraine and Fukushima Japan and current 3rd Generation being developed world over .
Because of the compact and safe design , this hybrid of 3rd and 4th generation technology revolutionises the propulsion of nuclear powered ships , ice breakers and submarines .
Though these projects had been undertaken a decade ago , fuel loading indicates that Pakistan has reached a very advanced stage of commissioning this reactor .
This will be followed by more reactors , providing the country cheap electricity for its development .
Mastering the technology will help Pakistani @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marine use in ships and submarines .
While Pakistan used the Uranium-Plutonium route for its military and civilian use projects , India embarked on the ambitious Thorium Based cycles in view of its depleting Uranium resources .
For a long time Indian scientists tried extracting Plutonium isotope of Thorium through these fast breeder reactors .
Slow Indian progress provided crucial time to Pakistan to catch up and build its technologies .
India has been making advances in the field of thorium-based fuels , ( 518,000 tonnes ) in the form of monazite in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ modest reserves of low-grade uranium working to design and develop a prototype for an atomic reactor using thorium and low-enriched uranium .
The long-term goal of India ’ s nuclear program has been to develop an advanced heavy-water thorium cycle .
The first stage of this employs the pressurized heavy water reactors ( PHWR ) fuelled by natural uranium which produce plutonium incidentally to their prime purpose of electricity generation .
The second stage uses fast neutron reactors burning the plutonium with the blanket around the core having uranium as well as thorium @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high-fissile Pu ) is produced as well as U-233 .
In 2017 , India Approved 10 New Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor Nuclear Units .
India ’ s government has given the state-owned Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. ( NPCIL ) the green light to develop 10 new domestically designed pressurized heavy water reactors ( PHWRs ) .
India is also facilitated in imports of low enriched uranium through the nuclear supplier group to move towards Light Water Reactors .
The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant Facilities are the first of 3rd Generation light @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These mostly belong to the old vintage and technologically not at par with the latest Hualong One facility in Pakistan .
For a third World developing country , the achievement proves that state of art technologies and their advancements can only be achieved through government run institutions .
Pakistan Atomic Energy with its well spread industry , production facilities running under the three services of armed forces , aircraft and tank factories , state of the art communication facilities and missile programs are all state run on minimum budgets .
They provide a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Defensive Deterrence , that the national economy does not keep pace with .
Pakistan Automobile Corporation , Pakistan Steel , Pakistan Railways and Pakistan International Airlines are all projects that showed promise but fell victim to mismanagement , greed and corruption is a lesser disciplined and badly controlled environment .

Brigadier Samson Simon Sharaf (Retired) for VT
Pakistan has successfully begun the process of fuel loading at the 1100 MW K2 unit at the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP). If all goes well three more reactors will be commissioned in Karachi and one at Chasma.
For Pakistan, this is a big success. Despite being kept out of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and preferential treatment being accorded to India Pakistan has done this with assistance from China. The fact that this plant is jointly fabricated by China and Pakistan indicates high technological standards Pakistan has achieved in peaceful use of nuclear technologies.
This means that Pakistan has catapulted towards Hybrid 4th generation Power Reactors that are more efficient, safer, easier to shut down in disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima and smaller per output. The technology is duel use for propulsion of ships, ice breakers and nuclear submarines. So for the future, Pakistan will keep options open.
Pressurised Water Reactors (PWRs) were initially designed to serve as nuclear propulsion for nuclear submarines and later adapted to power production. Most operating in the world are 2nd Generation by USA, Russia, France and Japan. France is operating many 3rd Generation reactors but the one by Pakistan is significantly advanced in technology.
To recap, nuclear fuel in the reactor pressure vessel is engaged in a fission chain reaction (bombardment of neutrons in controlled environments), which produces heat. Through the thermal cladding, this highly pressurized water is prevented from boiling at a very high temperature. It remains a liquid despite reaching a temperature up to 315 °C under 2250 PSI. This water slows neutrons in the reactor core and carries away heat. When this very hot water passes through the heat exchanger through hundreds or thousands of small tubes, the secondary water instantly turns to steam propelling turbines for power generation. This heat transfer takes place without mixing the two fluids, shielding the secondary coolant from becoming radioactive. After passing through the turbine the secondary coolant (water-steam mixture) is cooled, condensed and collected in a reservoir. This is pumped back into the steam generator after heating.
What does fuel loading mean and imply?
Fuel loading is a process prior to commissioning a High Pressurised Water Reactor. To build the reactor core, enriched uranium dioxide powder is fired into a high-temperature, sintering furnace. This creates hard, ceramic pellets of enriched uranium dioxide. These pellets or rods are clad in a corrosion-resistant zirconium metal alloy backfilled with helium to aid heat conduction and detect leakages. These are then assembled into the main reactor core. The Reactor is then ready to go.
These reactors are more economical in use of Uranium (15%) and safer due to highly pressurized water running around the main core. They are far more advanced that Chernobyl Ukraine and Fukushima Japan and current 3rd Generation being developed world over.
Because of the compact and safe design, this hybrid of 3rd and 4th generation technology revolutionises the propulsion of nuclear powered ships, ice breakers and submarines.
Though these projects had been undertaken a decade ago, fuel loading indicates that Pakistan has reached a very advanced stage of commissioning this reactor. This will be followed by more reactors, providing the country cheap electricity for its development.
Mastering the technology will help Pakistani scientist in developing small propulsion units for marine use in ships and submarines.
While Pakistan used the Uranium-Plutonium route for its military and civilian use projects, India embarked on the ambitious Thorium Based cycles in view of its depleting Uranium resources. For a long time Indian scientists tried extracting Plutonium isotope of Thorium through these fast breeder reactors. Slow Indian progress provided crucial time to Pakistan to catch up and build its technologies.
India has been making advances in the field of thorium-based fuels, (518,000 tonnes) in the form of monazite in beach sands, as compared to very modest reserves of low-grade uranium working to design and develop a prototype for an atomic reactor using thorium and low-enriched uranium. The long-term goal of India’s nuclear program has been to develop an advanced heavy-water thorium cycle. The first stage of this employs the pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWR) fuelled by natural uranium which produce plutonium incidentally to their prime purpose of electricity generation. The second stage uses fast neutron reactors burning the plutonium with the blanket around the core having uranium as well as thorium, so that further plutonium (ideally high-fissile Pu) is produced as well as U-233. In 2017, India Approved 10 New Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor Nuclear Units. India’s government has given the state-owned Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. (NPCIL) the green light to develop 10 new domestically designed pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs).
India is also facilitated in imports of low enriched uranium through the nuclear supplier group to move towards Light Water Reactors. The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant Facilities are the first of 3rd Generation light water reactors in with Russian assistance. These mostly belong to the old vintage and technologically not at par with the latest Hualong One facility in Pakistan.
For a third World developing country, the achievement proves that state of art technologies and their advancements can only be achieved through government run institutions. Pakistan Atomic Energy with its well spread industry, production facilities running under the three services of armed forces, aircraft and tank factories, state of the art communication facilities and missile programs are all state run on minimum budgets. They provide a capacity and capability to Pakistan’s Defensive Deterrence, that the national economy does not keep pace with. Pakistan Automobile Corporation, Pakistan Steel, Pakistan Railways and Pakistan International Airlines are all projects that showed promise but fell victim to mismanagement, greed and corruption is a lesser disciplined and badly controlled environment.


veteranstoday--2020-12-05--OANN: Biden and Harris Executed by Firing Squad Led by Trump (guaranteed true GOP news)

Published on VT by orders of the US DOJ per letter dated November 18 , 2020 , guaranteed to be true ( by the DOJ ) President Trump has amended federal execution rules to allow death by firing squad , and has ordered that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris receive this ultimate penalty once the election is overturned in his favor following the Supreme Court ’ s decision on the massive voter fraud that overwhelming evidence proves has taken place , and contingent upon a military tribunal in which Biden and Harris will be tried for treason .
This has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disappearance subsequent to election day .
Harris ’ disappearance is noteworthy – with her being the former top prosecutor in California , she knows America ’ s federal laws about fraudulent elections and treason , and also knows the grave significance of Attorney Sidney Powell having just revealed her evidence proving 10-million votes were stolen for Biden .
The claim that President Trump is going after traitors were also confirmed this week by retired US Army Major Jeffrey Prather , founder of the Warriorschool , that since 1995 , has trained the US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Force , and Coast Guard special forces , as well as most US federal law enforcement agencies such the FBI , DHS , US Marshals and Border Patrol .
In an interview with Natural News , Prather laid out how President Trump , the Department of Defense and acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller were going to defeat Deep State traitors and save America from the attempted coup .
“ Confirms that multiple raids on the servers of vote rigging systems were conducted , in three countries…Confirms that the NSA has hard evidence on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is likely being leveraged by Trump ’ s people…Confirms that Trump can use the NDAA , combined with the Sep. 12 , 2018 Executive Order , to declare domestic treasonous actors as “ enemy combatants ” …Says that the DoD and patriots inside the DIA have everything they need to defeat the deep state…Says Trump will be President on January 21st…Warns that the transition from information warfare to conventional ( kinetic ) warfare may happen very soon…Warns that the left-wing backlash against Trump ’ s victory will result in bloodshed that can not @ @ @ @

President Trump has amended federal execution rules to allow death by firing squad, and has ordered that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris receive this ultimate penalty once the election is overturned in his favor following the Supreme Court’s decision on the massive voter fraud that overwhelming evidence proves has taken place, and contingent upon a military tribunal in which Biden and Harris will be tried for treason. This has sparked rumors regarding Kamala Harris’ mysterious disappearance subsequent to election day.
Harris’ disappearance is noteworthy – with her being the former top prosecutor in California, she knows America’s federal laws about fraudulent elections and treason, and also knows the grave significance of Attorney Sidney Powell having just revealed her evidence proving 10-million votes were stolen for Biden.
The claim that President Trump is going after traitors were also confirmed this week by retired US Army Major Jeffrey Prather, founder of the Warriorschool, that since 1995, has trained the US Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard special forces, as well as most US federal law enforcement agencies such the FBI, DHS, US Marshals and Border Patrol.
In an interview with Natural News, Prather laid out how President Trump, the Department of Defense and acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller were going to defeat Deep State traitors and save America from the attempted coup.
Partial summary as follows:
“Confirms that multiple raids on the servers of vote rigging systems were conducted, in three countries…Confirms that the NSA has hard evidence on treasonous actors, and that this evidence is likely being leveraged by Trump’s people…Confirms that Trump can use the NDAA, combined with the Sep. 12, 2018 Executive Order, to declare domestic treasonous actors as “enemy combatants”…Says that the DoD and patriots inside the DIA have everything they need to defeat the deep state…Says Trump will be President on January 21st…Warns that the transition from information warfare to conventional (kinetic) warfare may happen very soon…Warns that the left-wing backlash against Trump’s victory will result in bloodshed that cannot be avoided”.
This is a developing story…


veteranstoday--2020-12-05--GOP News: Haspel Arrested for Treason, Flynn Hunting Pedo’s, Squadron of Pigs Buzzes Roswell Mother

GOP News: Haspel Arrested for Treason, Flynn Hunting Pedo’s, Squadron of Pigs Buzzes Roswell Mother Ship

VT has been asked to give equal coverage to GOP news stories and has decided to do so .
In fact , the DOJ has demanded we publish material just like this in a letter received on November 18 , 2020 .
CIA Director Gina Haspel was arrested after she was injured in the Frankfurt Germany CIA building raid to secure the servers .
The building had no guards and was unprotected .
Haspel pulled in some private special military trained security forces to protect the building from such a suspected raid .
When the raid happened Haspel was there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ along with a CIA official were killed in the raid .
Haspel was injured .
I try to get three confirmations of the soldiers being killed .
I got two , but could not get a third .
The CIA made up a cover story about the 5 soldiers and one cia operative killed and said they were killed in a helicopter crash .
Haspel was air evacuated out .
She was flown to GITMO where she was treated and received a tribunal for treason .
She agreed to help trump for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revoked if she chooses to not cooperate .
She has now turned over information on the servers , what they were for and what they did and who was involved .
There have been many flown into GITMO because that is where they are interrogating these deep state actors .
GITMO is full so they can ’ t be imprisoned there .
Some may be executed at GITMO .
Hasple will not be one of them because she has agreed to help Trump in testifying as to what the CIA did and when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was injured in the raid .
She made depositions at Gitmo and a video confession .

VT has been asked to give equal coverage to GOP news stories and has decided to do so. In fact, the DOJ has demanded we publish material just like this in a letter received on November 18, 2020.
*
CIA Director Gina Haspel was arrested after she was injured in the Frankfurt Germany CIA building raid to secure the servers.
The building had no guards and was unprotected. Haspel pulled in some private special military trained security forces to protect the building from such a suspected raid. When the raid happened Haspel was there.
Five of our special forces troops along with a CIA official were killed in the raid. Haspel was injured.
I try to get three confirmations of the soldiers being killed. I got two, but could not get a third. The CIA made up a cover story about the 5 soldiers and one cia operative killed and said they were killed in a helicopter crash.
Haspel was air evacuated out. She was flown to GITMO where she was treated and received a tribunal for treason. She agreed to help trump for a lighter sentence of life which can be revoked if she chooses to not cooperate. She has now turned over information on the servers, what they were for and what they did and who was involved.
There have been many flown into GITMO because that is where they are interrogating these deep state actors. GITMO is full so they can’t be imprisoned there. Some may be executed at GITMO. Hasple will not be one of them because she has agreed to help Trump in testifying as to what the CIA did and when.
It is unknown how badly she was injured in the raid. She made depositions at Gitmo and a video confession.


veteranstoday--2020-12-06--Astounding Success!: Hayabusa2’s Mission Returns Asteroid Sample to Earth

Health Editor ’ s Note : We at VT have been keeping up on the Hayabusa2 project and the craft has returned to earth with asteroid surface material and subsurface material as it completed its 6-year mission to the asteroid 162173 Ryugu .
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft will now begin an 11 year astronomical mission .
In 2031 , 27 years after launch and 11 years after the original mission ended , the spacecraft will approach 1998 KY26 .
Exciting news !
…Carol Hayabusa2 ’ s sample return capsule has landed in Woomera , Australia , today , 5 December — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The exact landing location is now being determined , but a tweet from the mission ’ s official account says an estimated location of landing has been identified and teams are en route to recover it .
The craft returned not just asteroid surface material , but subsurface material ( at first ) as well , and will be met by Japanese scientists after completing its six-year mission to the asteroid 162173 Ryugu .
The main Hayabusa2 spacecraft meanwhile used its remaining propellant to start an extended , 11 year astronomical mission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Agency ( JAXA ) operated mission with a dry mass of 490 kg .
It launched with four small rovers , an impactor , and five target markers on 3 December 2014 on an H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center and rendezvoused with the asteroid Ryugu on 27 June 2018 .
At Ryugu , Hayabusa2 collected samples , deployed a kinetic impactor , and tried to release four small rovers onto the asteroid ’ s surface .

Health Editor’s Note: We at VT have been keeping up on the Hayabusa2 project and the craft has returned to earth with asteroid surface material and subsurface material as it completed its 6-year mission to the asteroid 162173 Ryugu. The Hayabusa2 spacecraft will now begin an 11-year astronomical mission. In 2031, 27 years after launch and 11 years after the original mission ended, the spacecraft will approach 1998 KY26. Exciting news!…Carol
Hayabusa2’s Mission Returns Asteroid Sample to Earth
By Philip Whitehouse/NasaSpaceFlight.com
Hayabusa2’s sample return capsule has landed in Woomera, Australia, today, 5 December — or 6 December local time at Woomera. The exact landing location is now being determined, but a tweet from the mission’s official account says an estimated location of landing has been identified and teams are en route to recover it.
The craft returned not just asteroid surface material, but subsurface material (at first) as well, and will be met by Japanese scientists after completing its six-year mission to the asteroid 162173 Ryugu.
The main Hayabusa2 spacecraft meanwhile used its remaining propellant to start an extended, 11-year astronomical mission.
Spacecraft and mission profile
Hayabusa2 is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) operated mission with a dry mass of 490 kg. It launched with four small rovers, an impactor, and five target markers on 3 December 2014 on an H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center and rendezvoused with the asteroid Ryugu on 27 June 2018.
At Ryugu, Hayabusa2 collected samples, deployed a kinetic impactor, and tried to release four small rovers onto the asteroid’s surface.
Read Full Article at NasaSpaceFlight.com