Gates Gets it

The American Defense Secretary has shown the way with his 2010 budget.

If the Americans are saying Aye to managing the short term and investing behind equipping themselves to fight pirates, militias and fanatics in localized skirmishes while balancing their allocations to the conventional Big War with Big enemy, we say the rest of the world ought to follow.

Especially, India. We can ill afford to ignore it and persist with delusional tendencies.

Some parts of the Gates plan ought to be blindly copied e.g.

- Special forces to combat the terrorist threat,

- Strengthening paramilitary forces,

- Revisiting specific equipment needs for the changed nature of combat,

- Prioritizing cyber defense,

- Localized logistics infrastructure instead of megalithic apparatus

In other words, unconventional investments for unconventional warfare.

We need a panchayat plan for grass roots preparedness not a parliamentary plan for pretentious super power day dreaming. Naxalites don’t have tank squadrons and suicidal terrorists cannot be detected on sophisticated radar. We need first aid before we get the MRI machines.