Editorial

Economics of the military disaster

When the LTTE lost three ships within the space of a day, there were celebrations in Trincomalee with the Head of State, the Defence Secretary and Navy Chief in attendance.

The authorities were quite vain about the hundreds of successful sorties carried out by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) during this phase of the Eelam war.

However, when 17 aircraft were lost in a matter of hours on Monday, the whole debacle was downplayed.

This smacks of irresponsibility.
After the east was militarily secured, there were big tamashas at public expense. But when the Muhamaalai offensive last October ended in disaster, few were willing to take the rap.

Those who are quick to take credit for military successes had better accept responsibility for the debacles.

It was former US President John F. Kennedy who aptly described this reality with his oft-quoted saying, “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.”

Rarely has a Sri Lankan military leader tendered his resignation for a major military debacle. This does not appear to be part of our local ethos. Heads don’t roll in Sri Lanka – they only swell, it appears.
This government will never learn from its mistakes, unless it is ready and willing to accept them and punish those found remiss in their duties.

Why hasn’t the government made public the results of the inquiry into the LTTE attack on the Katunayake air base this year? If it has already found officers guilty, we don’t see the logic in keeping it under wraps.

Just last week, the US Air Force punished 70 airmen involved in the accidental cross-country flight of a nuclear-armed B-52 bomber following an investigation that found widespread disregard for the rules on handling such munitions.

The B-52 was inadvertently armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and flown from Minot in North Dakota to Barksdale in Louisiana without anyone noticing the mistake for more than a day.

“There has been an erosion of adherence to weapons-handling standards at Minot Air Force Base and Barksdale Air Force Base,” said Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations) Maj. Gen. Richard Newton, who announced the results of a six-week probe into the August 29-30 incident.

A public announcement would always serve as a deterrent to prevent further negligence on the part of the security forces.

It was obvious that after the attack on Katunayake this year, the Tigers would try and target another air base. It appears that the Anuradhapura air base was a sitting duck for the Tigers, who conducted the raid with ease.

The July 24, 2001 Katunayake attack was staged out of the blue. The latest attack, however, should have been anticipated in the height of a war where the air force has wreaked havoc on the Tigers.

The authorities should accept responsibility for the Anuradhapura attack and conduct an impartial inquiry and punish the officers concerned.
Among the planes allegedly damaged or destroyed was a Beechcraft surveillance plane worth US$ 28 million, two Mi17 helicopters, two Mi24 helicopters, three unmanned aerial vehicles, a K-8 jet and eight PD6 propeller trainer aircraft, the London Telegraph reported.

The estimated loss to military aircraft and equipment is placed at a whopping US$ 40 million or roughly Rs. 4 billion.

When the budget is unveiled on November 7, how can the government seek a fresh vote for capital expenditure for the air force in the backdrop of this disaster?

The capital expenditure for the air force was increased from Rs. 5 billion in 2006 to Rs. 9 billion in 2007. The Rs. 4 billion rise went down the drain in Anuradhapura in a matter of hours.

The defence expenditure for next year has been raised to a whopping Rs. 160 billion. We urge the authorities to not only be transparent with military purchases, but to also ensure that the existing military assets are sufficiently protected.

The government should also be reminded that additional borrowing of US$ 500 million (by way of international bonds) would add to the country’s foreign debt burden and foreign debt servicing costs.

The foreign debt placed at Rs. 956,620 million at the end of 2006 rose to Rs. 1,244,500 million mid this year. By the end of this year, foreign debt would have risen further. This can only be justified if the money raised on unusually high interest rates is used for investments that bring returns.