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COVER
STORY: WAR ON TERRORISM
Preparation In Full Swing
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GUEST COLUMN
All The Options
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 If
after over a decade's licence to Pakistan to foment insurgency and
indulge in terrorism we appear to have eventually taken the decision
to cross the threshold of diplomacy and enter the realm of using
military power, it is assumed that our reasons are strategically
sound.
So what are our options? Militant training
camps appear to be the most discussed objective. The other alternatives
are classic conventional military targets such as forward defensive
positions, fire support and logistic support bases, command control
and communication centres.
From the cost effectiveness point of view,
surface-based firepower is the most ideal. For attacking targets
beyond the reach of artillery systems-like most training camps-we
would have to resort to the use of air power. Our air force is capable
of launching swift surprise attacks on several targets simultaneously.
One worry is that the employment of air power may make de-escalation
that much harder. The other worry is the danger of losing aircraft
to the enemy's air defence systems.
The alternative to attack by firepower
is physical assault by infantry. Para-borne or helicopter transported
forces can be employed to raid objectives in depth. However terrain
and climatic conditions impose severe restrictions on such operations.
Attack by infiltration through unoccupied areas is another option.
The final option is to carry out a conventional attack with overwhelming
force at the place and time of our choosing.
Each of the forms of attack outlined has
its unique place on the escalatory ladder. We may use them singly
or combine them to achieve the desired effect. The test of our genius
will be in the skill with which we manage the seesaw of "ignite
and diffuse" till such time as Pakistan is convinced to "lay
off".
—-Lt-General (retd)
Vinay Shankar
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The
annual winter exercises had brought the Mirage 2000s, Sukhoi 30s and Jaguars
to the airfields of Punjab. As the day rose over the mustard crop, sortie
after sortie took to the air, but this was to be no war game, for each
aircraft was armed to its limits. They
made their way to the Pir Panjal range, and began the first phase of the
air component of the war-by jamming the Pakistani air defence network
through Electronic Counter/Counter-Counter Measures. This was to enable
the waiting helicopters, MI-17s, Chetaks and Cheetahs to make casualty-evacuation
sorties. By mid-afternoon, firefights were reported from all designated
targets. And by mid-afternoon the air was charged, with not just the energy
released by soldiers but also their radio sets. Battalion, Brigade, Division
to Corps-messages passed at every level of combat. Even as the progress
of operations came to be reported, so also was the state of casualties.
Each battalion was responsible for ensuring an ad-hoc helipad. The first
flight came to be made from Poonch, to extract casualties from the raid
on the Rawalakot camp. The air force kept a vigil from over the Pir Panjal,
as the artillery continued to rain down on the Pakistani posts. Any troop
movement from Pakistan's depth areas would have to be interdicted from
the air, if artillery fire could not reach there.
By
last light, each designated camp had been struck.
Measuring damage was not the
priority now, exfiltration was. Casualties who could walk were helped
by their buddies, IV fluid in hand. Helicopters had taken away the more
serious ones, but the air force continued with their vigil in the air.
And the artillery restricted
their firing to only when requested by those manning the Forward Operating
Bases, straining their eyes forward for returning buddies, and ears to
pick up any call.
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HIGH ON ADRENALIN: The Kargil war showed that soldier morale
in Jammu and Kashmir is one of India's prime strengths
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This went on late into the night, as each raiding
party made its way back to its base. There was no deadline to meet now,
only the loud cheers of waiting buddies and villagers. Lt-General Rustom
Nanavaty waited, as he had since the previous night, in his Operations
Room. Carefully reading every Situation Report as it came in. He wouldn't
go home until all the parties were back across the Line of Control, and
by then the sun was up, and the mustard crop shone brilliantly.
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