Things warming up on Indo-Paki. Border

[Windigo]

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cheat-sheet/in-biggest-ceasefire-violation-in-10-years-pak-troops-open-fire-at-25-locations-on-international-bor-434298

hmmmm

[Martok]

Oh goody.  Just what we needed.  :-\ 

[Windigo]

Oh goody.  Just what we needed.  :-\

they'll behave... they both have nukes

[LongBlade]

Good find, Windy.

You're right about them behaving too.

The question is why stir things up if you know how they'll end?

[Staggerwing]

There undoubtedly a number of factions within both the Pakistani Military and intelligence services. Some of those factions probably stand to gain in some way every time there is some kind of flareup, possibly even at the expense of another faction. For the instigator du jure the risk of provoking a wider war may simply be the lighter of two pans in the balancing scale that is their gambler's perception.

Then, some secret orders to a local commander or a false pretext and voila!

[Con]

Good find, Windy.

You're right about them behaving too.

The question is why stir things up if you know how they'll end?

Is that refering to Pakistan or Obamacare fight......  :D

[besilarius]

One possible appeal to the Paki generals, is that america is pulling back from the amount of support we have given in the past.
Facing a shortfall in their "retirement plans", they could be courting the other wannabe big dog in the area, China.  China has built up and developed their side of the border with India, and are encroaching into Indian land.  Developing good relations with China, against Indian, might be a goal of the generals.

[LongBlade]

I hadn't thought of the China angle. Thanks.

[bayonetbrant]

You can game it

https://shop.decisiongames.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=1618

[Windigo]

Good find, Windy.

You're right about them behaving too.

The question is why stir things up if you know how they'll end?

boys will be boys - until the nukes get primed?

[Windigo]

You can game it

https://shop.decisiongames.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=1618

Thanks Bayo. Its an area of conflict that holds some interest for me.
I met more than a couple of vets from both sides of the various skirmishes they've had, also some Ghurkas and some Tamil Tigers... they have that same look and feel (vibe) around themselves - unlike say the old white Rhodesians I met who were less tightly wound. Could be an over generalization with a small sample size, but you know, just picking up what they were laying down... (legion halls up here are great, live entertainment, cheap liquor)

[Centurion40]

There undoubtedly a number of factions within both the Pakistani Military and intelligence services. Some of those factions probably stand to gain in some way every time there is some kind of flareup, possibly even at the expense of another faction. For the instigator du jure the risk of provoking a wider war may simply be the lighter of two pans in the balancing scale that is their gambler's perception.

Then, some secret orders to a local commander or a false pretext and voila!

There is nothing in the story, apart from the headline, clearly stating that any regular Pakistani Army units were involved in the skirmish.  We may assume it, but there was no direct claim.

I found this to be interesting:

Two BSF personnel were injured and one infiltrator was killed as the Indian Army foiled multiple infiltrations bids through the night.

So there was cover fire and attempts to infiltrate Indian territory.  Could have been terrorist paramilitary, perhaps the Pakistani Army looked the other way, or perhaps regular Army units were ordered to test Indian defenses.  That said, none of these scenarios are good!

In reading other sources, the Pakistani Army was given direct blame for the ceasefire violations.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-omar-abdullah-says-pakistan-ceasefire-violations-deserve-befitting-response-1906674

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Explore-other-options-if-ceasefire-violations-by-Pakistan-continue-Omar-says/articleshow/24472060.cms

Apparently, there have been 136 cease-fire violations so far in 2013!!  :o

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_India%E2%80%93Pakistan_border_skirmishes

Interestingly, the largest stretch of the Kashmir border seems to be with China.

[mirth]

You can game it

https://shop.decisiongames.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=1618

Anyone have experience with DG's Folio Series? I'm curious about some of the modern games, but I've never quite been able to pull the trigger on one.

[bayonetbrant]

they're updates to the old quad-series rules.

The Modern Battles quads are still some of my all-time favorites.  The core system underneath the modern games is pretty sound, as it's based on the old ModQuads, but the I can't speak to the chrome bolted on top of them in the reboot.

I did play - and very much enjoy - the Angola game from S&T back in '07 or so ( http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/23378/cold-war-battles-budapest-56-angola-87 ) and it uses a very similar rules set.  That particular game has some peculiar stacking limits to mimic supply challenges in Africa, but they seemed to mesh well with the situation.

[bayonetbrant]

Folio games offer: http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=4041.msg198276#msg198276