India goes to South Pole: Love of science or future security in mind?

A team of eight scientists has just left for the South Pole, first Indian trip to the (technically) end of the world. While the scientists have put forth their agenda to study the climate change in the region, I can't help but wonder that some in New Delhi may have an eye on the nation's future security.

27 countries have their research stations in Antarctica (the continent with South Pole.) Maitri, the Indian research station on the continent is the second one, first having been abandoned in 1990. We have been there for thirty years! Why is India spending so much money on the coldest place in the world? I suspect not all of it has to do with the love of science.

Antarctica, although not a well explored part of the world, is believed to have oil, gas, coal, iron and gold. Currently, all exploitation of minerals is banned in the region under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, which will stay in place until 2048, unless the scarcity of minerals jacks the oil prices so high that it becomes economical and lucrative to mine them out of literally anywhere on the planet. I am pretty sure no one is going on war over breaking the Protocol on Environmental ...whatever mumbo-jumbo it was.

With that in mind, we already have twelve countries including US, Russia, UK and Norway. Notice that some of these countries are as far away from Antarctica as I am from winning a Grammy (although a Grammy would be nice to put along the Oscar that I am sure to get.) And they sure as hell don't want Antarctica to open up beach resort. The only significance that the continent has is resources. And India getting its own foot in the door for future leverage. Not that our scientists won't learn something about climate change as well.

A similar case was made in 2007, when the Russians went ahead and planted their flag on the North Pole. Again the North Pole is expected to be surrounded by oceans of oil.

If they didn't have a treaty, moon as well would have been divided by now.

Image Credit: Wikimedia

Monday Backgrounder: Terrorism is a Tough Business

As mentioned before, Monday Backgrounder is a weekly feature of Dreams of a Typewriter (DoT) that lays out the basic information about a recent issue. With everyone going crazy over the UPS Terror Plot, this Backgrounder ponders over the difficulties of being a terrorist and why do they fail so often.

In the last few months we have seen one after another failed attempts of terrorist attacks - the attempted bombing of New York Time Square, the attack on Jama Masjid in October (which was foiled by a stone-throwing rickshaw driver) and who can forget the memorable underwear bomber. These stories don't exactly fit with our mental image of evil geniuses with amazing amount of training, unlimited resources and single-minded efforts towards destruction. The reality is terrorist groups have just as much (if not more) lethargy, internal politics, lack of resources and psychological problems as any other organization in the world.

It is precisely for this reason that we have to stop looking at them as these alien powerful forces and start seeing them as they really are- weak, scared and sometimes highly ineffective loose groups. Only then can one stop fearing them and face them with confidence and courage.

Inefficiency

Terrorists are not efficient. If they were efficient, ambitious and goal-oriented workaholics, they would not have chosen this line of career. While many terrorists are from rich families and are well-read, acquiring a terror-izing (?) mindset requires a certain amount of alienation from society, a certain amount of failure in the past that fuels the disgruntlement. More often than not, this happens when the guy himself is not exactly keen on hard work and diligence. In addition, let's face it. MBAs are not exactly falling over themselves to join up Al Qaeda. There is a lot of mismanagement in this industry.

If you have received this memo, your performance has been
deemed unsatisfactory by the HR Department

Internal Politics

Like any other office, terrorist organizations are home to professional jealousy and fierce competition. Considering that their co-workers murder and blow up people for a living, most terrorist choose to resolve their professional dispute not by a stinker but by killing their competitor. Even the great Osama Bin Laden is not above a little office politics. It is strongly suspected that the original Al Qaeda was behind the information that led US forces to kill Al Qaeda in Iraq's leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Both factions had had a falling out  some time ago.

Lack of Resources and Training

Terrorism is a sophisticated business and needs proper training and equipment. Although we may be convinced that Pakistan is flooding terrorists with the best guns and training, the reality is a little different. Many of the training camps consist of a couple of monkey bars and terrible living conditions. Terrorists are probably taught a fraction of combat training that a low-level army soldier anywhere in the world receives. And then there are the technical problems. Despite what movies would have you believe, making a bomb is a difficult job and making a bomb that does fancy stuff (like a time bomb) is harder still. 

Psychological Issues

And of course there are the psychological issues. Terrorists, unlike criminals, are not on their home ground. Imagine the 9/11 attackers who lived in the US for more than a year, constantly looking over their shoulders and knowing that they are on a suicide mission. Away from all those who have brainwashed their minds into believing that theirs is righteous course. You throw a party and ten people change their minds at the last moment. And these guys are not going to a party. They are going to kill someone and may be die in the process. So the psychological factors are of critical importance.

Given these factors, it is a surprise these guys don't fail more often.

Image Credit: http://www.jroller.com, http://www.wpclipart.com

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