The toll of marginalising the military is increasingly visible to the discerning few. There is an obvious need to initiate two inter-related measures. One, the NSC needs to be reorganised and reoriented, so that it shifts its focus to the formulation of long and medium term strategies. Two, and perhaps more importantly, the military must be co-opted in the decision making process. It will not only bring its considerable professional talents to the current generic stances but will also bring with it its well-entrenched methodology of doing business — comprehensively, in a timely manner and with a high degree of focus on issues that matter.

The writer is a former vice chief of army staff and is currently director of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies