Unguided missile man

In endorsing General Musharraf8217;s claim, our presidential candidate has done grave damage to the national cause when he stated that nucl...

In endorsing General Musharraf8217;s claim, our presidential candidate has done grave damage to the national cause when he stated that nuclear weapons 8212; in Pakistan and India 8212; have deterred a war. If he has been misquoted, he must clarify it for public benefit. But if this is his scientific, objective assessment, then we all have a lot to worry about. Maybe Abdul Kalam did not read about Prime Minister Vajpayee8217;s promise of a 8216;8216;decisive war8217;8217; which would only be a conventional war, limited or otherwise? Or did he think that was only rhetoric? Maybe he also missed out the prime minister8217;s wistful remarks that we should have gone to war immediately after December 13? We had nuclear weapons then. Or may be Kalam does not understand the dynamics of strategy? He is an eminent scientist. But he seems to be a babe in the strategic woods of today8217;s world.

As the prospective constitutional head of this country, Kalam seems to have undermined the very rationale of the policy of this government and the governments before this. He is, of course, entitled to his personal views. But, keeping in mind the position he is to assume, he needs to be careful when his public statement rationalises Islamabad8217;s mythology that nuclear weapons neutralise the conventional superiority of India and hence deters war. It is under this assumption that cross-border terrorism has been conducted by Islamabad for 18 years. It is also under the same assumption that Pakistan launched the war in Kargil three years ago. If this logic is correct then it also means we do not have any response option available to effectively deal with continued terror from across the borders, except to possibly do the same inside Pakistan.

If Kalam actually believes that Pakistan8217;s nuclear weapons have deterred India from a war then, as the prospective Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces, he must be able to explain to them why they have been deployed on high alert on the borders for more than six months through heat, dust and tension, ready to lay down their lives? Even more important, what is then the role of our conventional forces? Surely not just as an internal security management force, or only to march at the Republic Day parade? We are a nuclear weapons state, and we need to ensure that people assuming new responsibilities in high positions are adequately briefed. Kalam, the humble man that he undoubtedly is, will need to remind himself that you do not ascend Vikramaditya8217;s throne after filing nomination papers for the post of the head of state of the largest democracy in the world. Hence it would be important for him to get himself fully briefed on national security issues and the strategy to deal with the most complex challenge that the country is facing since independence.