Intelligence Denial and Deception Critique: Strategies to Determine India’s Nuclear Testing Deception

Intelligence Denial and Deception Critique: India’s Nuclear Testing Deception
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Introduction
Denial and Deception is a theoretical framework that signifies the methods used by military intelligence to carry out secret and deceptive work. The terms, denial, and deception are distinct in definition but when placed together, they have complimentary meaning. The difference between denial and deception is that while deception must be believable for it to be effective, denial must ensure that the complete truth about military actions remain unknown to adversaries. On the one hand, deception is considered a deliberate strategy where military manipulate minds of adversaries through both simulation and dissimulation. On the other hand, denial has a major goal of blocking information so as to hide information from adversaries. For example, carrying out concealment to prevent photographic surveillance and electronic monitoring by foreign intelligence agencies or preventing media agencies from leaking out sensitive information on diplomatic and military matters is denial. The act of creating a false reality by leaking out falsified information to an adversary for example by providing false stories to the media of decoy military formations is considered as deception. D&D are vital in military intelligence and have in the recent past forced adversaries to opt for decisions that often work against them. Denial and deception campaign has been integral to India’s nuclear testing process.[Caddell, Joseph. “DECEPTION 101―PRIMER ON DECEPTION”, (2004): 2.] [Roy, Godson, and J. Wirtz James. "Strategic Denial and Deception." In Strategic Denial and Deception, pp. 1-14. Routledge, (2017): 425-437.]
India’s Denial and Deception (D&D)
The strategic D&D carried out by India took place in 1998, when their military carried out an underground nuclear test in secrecy. India conducted a set of five nuclear tests between 11 and 13 May of 1998 in an event that would forever change India’s standing on the global scene. The world was headed in a direction where countries were being urged to reduce the number of nuclear weapons, they held but some nuclear powers, including America, had stalled the signing of the pact. The Indian nation was strongly against and refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, stating that it was a move being imposed on them by the nuclear powers. The bombs were targeted at their army’s test range in the state of Pokhran in the Western region of India and after 3 days of testing, India would go beyond the status of being a nuclear power but be acknowledged on the global high table.[Department of the Army. FM 3-13.4 Army Support to Military Deception, (2019): 1-92.]
The Indian military took several D&D measures beforehand to ensure that the international community was not aware of their plans. The first move carried out by them involved Indian scientists charting the course of two satellites that the U.S used for surveillance over the Asian subcontinent to be able to carry out the nuclear tests without America knowing. Monitoring these spy satellites allowed their military to dodge a...