ON JANUARY 3, 2020, US president Donald Trump took a brief break from his Christmas vacation at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to make a dramatic announcement. He told journalists that the US military had “successfully executed a flawless precision strike” that killed Qasim Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Quds Force that had allegedly injured or killed hundreds of American civilians and military personnel. “He was a monster, but he is no longer a monster,” Trump said. “He is dead.”
Apparently, the operation was as dramatic as the announcement. Two MQ-9 Reaper drones had taken off from an airbase in Kuwait, travelled 600km to hover over Baghdad International Airport. When the green light came, the drones launched the missiles which took out two cars that were leaving the airport. The attack killed Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, head of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (popular mobilisation forces), an Iran-backed militia in Iraq. The Reapers’ precision stunned the world.
Months earlier, Trump had cleared the sale of MQ-9 Reapers to India, making it the first non-NATO country to get the clearance. Now, India is concluding the acquisition process. The drones, also called Predator B, would be distributed among the three services —10 each for the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The Reapers come fitted with smart bombs and Hellfire missiles and will form part of India’s response to the Chinese combat drone Wing Loong II, which Pakistan is buying.
This story is from the October 03, 2021 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 03, 2021 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
