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