|
New
Delhi, 12 December 2004
Donald Rumsfeld was
here to appease Asian leaders with his doublespeak.
He probably told the Indian leadership that USA was
all set to lift all sanctions against Pakistan ––
its
ally in the area. This happened as per media on 11
December and comes as no surprise to us as we have
explained USA's compulsions ad nauseum. We also feel
there must be some conditions attached. It could be
Benazir and Shariff’s return to Pakistani politics
and Musharraf to stand against them in the next
elections. As Farooq Abdllah said on TV, Musharraf
is a changed man and wants peace but he is also wily
and so India has to be on guard –– its economy
is on a roll and needs to be protected.
The UPA Government
has not cleared any major defence project including
the CNS's plea for the Scorpene deal and one wonders
what ails the decision making or is it the same need
for the political party to be fully satisfied in all
respects and the French Foreign Minister was here
for that, followed by the Israeli Dy PM. Earlier
Putin told India he would not give the source codes
of equipment if India tried to arbitrarily marry
western and Russian systems, implying the BMD that
DRDO is planning with the Green Pine radar.
The need for
cohesive thinking for the three services is a must.
It needs a CDS as inter-service rivalry exists to
stymie progress and different rules exist even for
promotions and such –– as we have
recently seen in the IAF and shortages of officers
exist. The IDS has not been able to deliver on such
issues. Admittedly it has issued reams of paper on
various subjects.
Pakistan has just been given a boost of $1 billion worth of 8 PC3 Orions with Harpoon missiles and Phalanx Anti SAM guns for their not so big or potent Navy, no doubt to keep the Indian Navy at bay and TOW missiles to see that the Indian Army is kept busy and deterred. This is to keep the balance.
The F16s are receiving spares and Pakistan has tried out the Ghauri HATF 111 and Ghaznavi HATF IV so they have shown their nuclear delivery has teeth. While we do not see a war scenario, it was Adam Smith who had said, ‘national security is the first priority of the Sovereign’. In India now we have two Sovereigns, the cabinet head PM Manmohan Singh with his Cabinet, who is de facto Commander in Chief as per the Constitution and Mrs Sonia Gandhi the Chairman of the Advisory Council. Hence very grave responsibility lies on the two of them that National Defence does not get neglected.
In this vein penned
below is an extract from a book by Gen (Paddy)
Padmanabhan, former Chief of Army Staff, in which he has scripted a scenario when
India and USA clash as India tries to overrun
Pakistan. But the import of this analysis is that
the time is nearing when the Government cannot avoid
taking the decision to appoint a CDS and we predict
this will have to happen in 20005. There will be
several changes as the new Army Chief Gen JJ Singh
takes over on 31st January and a new VCOAS rumoured
that it will be Lt Gen Thakur from the Andaman
Command.
Extract
“Indian Prime
Minister’s Office, South Block
New Delhi
7 p.m
“What the devil do
you mean, 97 jawans dead and 45 wounded! This is
outrageous! How did this happen?” Prime Minister
Parashima Reddy’s voice rose as he glared at
General Ram Khurana, Chief of Defense Staff and
General Anil Chopra, Army Chief.
“How could the
militants have moved in so close to the highway? Is
this the way you protect your troops?”
General Chopra took
a deep breath before he replied, “This group is
part of the militant brigade that we’ve been
hunting down, sir. It was dusk and they took
advantage of the shadows to move close to the
road.”
“Why weren’t the
men protected?”
Chopra looked
sharply at Air Chief Marshal Krishna Lal.
“The IAF
helicopter escort showed up late, only to be
destroyed, sir.”
Lal retorted, “We
need more than a half-hour notice to protect a
convoy. The aircraft has to be scheduled, fueled and
armed.”
The Indian Prime
Minister looked away. The nation is going to be in
an uproar, he mused. Opposition leaders have already
got wind of the human losses. The armed forces
definitely need improved coordination. The excuses
are getting ridiculous.
Turning to Marshal
Lal, Prime Minister Reddy said, “I want a full
enquiry on my desk by 8 a.m. You need to explain why
the escort aircraft was delayed. I’ll see you
tomorrow.”
Krishna Lal saluted
and walked away.
The Prime Minister
turned to General Ram Khurana. “You are the Chief
of Defense Staff and you need to coordinate with the
three Chiefs. I want your recommendations to prevent
incidents like this in the future. There’s got to
be better air cover for our troops. Today’s
incident is an absolute disgrace!”
General Khurana
watched the Prime Minister carefully as he spoke,
“Sir, the Indian Air Force has its own priorities,
to obtain air superiority and destroy military
targets. Ground support to the Army is often a
secondary objective, almost a painful duty. The
troops have to be protected. The Army suffered
significant casualties in the 1965 and 1971 wars due
to inadequate air protection. My point, sir, is that
until the three services are under my direct
operational command, the problem will continue.”
Prime Minister Reddy
managed a smile as he dryly remarked, “You know as
well as I do, General Khurana, that the democratic
Indian government does not want to create a military
supreme. We have four Chiefs, all four-star and they
report to the Defense Minister. That’s the way its
going to be for a while. "
"The Indian
Army, by the way, has also missed opportunities.
Three times, as a matter of fact, 1948, ’65 and
’71, the Indian Army failed to retake
Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. So, let’s not be too
hasty in pointing fingers here.”
As the Prime
Minister walked away, he looked back, “General
Khurana, give me an update in the morning.”
|