As long as the ‘End State’ is an improvement as desired, some collateral damage and even adverse side – effects should be accepted as inevitable consequences, eg: as in surgical operation and with strong medications. Otherwise it would only result in repetitive operations and prolonged treatment with no end in sight, like when the Security Forces are too hesitant to act as necessary and the political leaders are too

short sighted to be properly supportive. This only causes continuing unnecessary suffering and greater damage.

Our aim should be to organize against, and react to, the threats we face in the way our immune system does against an intruder; always vigilant, and ready and capable of dealing with the unexpected dynamically and effectively. It is true that even the best immune system can’t prevent the onset of all disease, but without one, even the slightest of germs could have deadly implications. Similarly we too can’t assure 100% security but working in this fashion we can ensure acceptable security. Fever and Inflammation etc are an unavoidable part of the process of our body dealing with an intruder which we have to accept as inevitable even as we try to control its effects, so too is the matter of collateral damage in Anti-insurgent / Naxal / Terrorist operations. Our efforts should be to provide acceptable levels of security to all with minimum collateral damage. The earlier and more comprehensively and firmly we respond to a threat, the less such collateral damage. We should also trust our selection and training procedures, and command and control systems, to ensure that our Security Forces Personnel will not act in any undesirable manner and that if any do, appropriate action will be taken expeditiously against them.

It may be noted that even in training for Combat, the Military accepts that for the training to be realistic some risks have to be taken. Till recently a 2% casualties risk was deemed acceptable, though many in the Military deem even this as not high enough to make the training truly realistic and effective, but political correctness today has bigotedly attempted to make this ‘zero’, only resulting in a degradation of the effectiveness of the training. Zero casualties is not attainable even in any extreme sports, to ask for this in war training and during conflict is oxymoronic.

Therefore collateral injury / damage should be viewed in a realistic manner considering that specific operation or action, though all effort should be made to keep it at the lowest levels feasible.

It may also be noted that even in actual combat situations injury / death by ‘friendly fire’ is regrettably an often happenstance and it is no one’s case that such incidents are intentional or indication of Human rights abuse. Mistakes must be looked at as mistakes and nothing else should be read into them.

Mistakes will be made, but as long as they are really mistakes and not intentional wrong actions, they should be allowed for, though the necessary lessons, if any, can be learnt there from to prevent such mistakes from happening again. Once again it is emphasized that the benefit of the doubt must go to the Forces, especially when such mistakes occur as part of actions by the Military, as their deployment is as a last resort – when failure is not an option.

5. Response to Domestic Insurgents / Naxalites:-

“There are no automatic links between

poverty and terrorism. Among millions of poor people in the world, only a few turn to terrorism.” – Gijs de Vries

“It is a struggle for the minds of the people… No cause justifies recourse to terrorism.” – Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10