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194: BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE

 

US withdrawal from Afghanistan resulted in immediate collapse of Afghan government. Taliban just walked over them.

The list of reasons attributed to the debacle is endless (probably more than the number of analysts).  Some of the reasons include:-

  • Taliban never abided by the terms of the agreement.

 

  • Failure of Afghan military to counter the Taliban advance.

 

  • Corruption in Afghan government.

 

  • United States had forced the Afghan government to release imprisoned Taliban fighters.

 

  • US did not understand the local psyche.

 

  • US concentrated on equipment and training for Afghan military capability building, ignoring the mind factor.

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193: Do Not Go by the Looks

Whenever we meet new people, our brain automatically and immediately begins to categorize them in some way – male or female, same or different, friend or foe.

We make judgements about people in the first few seconds of meeting them. We are always evaluating others just as they are evaluating us.

This judgement is based on body language, clothing, posture, stance, eye contact, facial expressions, hand gestures and tone of voice.

 

Biases that influence our judgements are:

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190: BOOK REVIEW: THE POLITICS OF SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTES

Published by Book review literary Trust

BOOK REVIEW

THE POLITICS OF SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTES

By Nehginpao Kipgen

Review by: Air Marshal Anil Khosla (Retd) PVSM, AVSM, VM

 

The South China Sea is a semi-enclosed area measuring 3.6 million square kilometres in the Pacific Ocean. It spreads from Straits of Malacca and Karimata to Taiwan straits and is bordered in the north   by China and Taiwan, the Philippines in the east, Brunei and Malaysia in    the south, and Vietnam in the west. It contains numerous islands, rocks and reefs. Major ones being Spartley islands, Paracel islands, Pratas and Natuna islands and the Scarborough shoal. The area is believed to contain rich reserves of oil, natural gas, minerals and fishery stocks. The region is considered to be a centre of future economic growth in East Asia and is also sometimes called a “second Persian Gulf”. Major sea routes of shipping pass through this area. The strategic location and the abundant resources make it a subject of interest and concern for littoral states and the international community. The security issues around it always remain in focus and it is considered to be one of the flashpoints.

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