New Delhi, July 12: The application of military power without a clear political objective could produce complex situations as was now being witnessed in post-war Iraq and seen during the 1999 Kargil war launched by Pakistan, planning commission deputy chairman K C Pant said today. "History tells us that any weakness in this area could result in gains on the battlefield being lost in the efforts to manage the post-war situation," pant, who is also a member of the Cabinet Committee on Security, said at a seminar here.


He said it was "ironical that Saddam Hussain and his regime appear to have planned better for the post-war scenario than the war itself since few of them have been killed or captured".

Referring to the Kargil war, pant said it was obvious that the Pakistan Army had launched the war "without any objective thinking and planning for its termination".


"And like its earlier aggressive wars, the end effect was a destabilisation of the country far beyond the purely military losses and defeats it suffered," he said hinting at the military coup which led to the ouster of then prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Speaking at the national seminar on "assessing the Iraq war: lessons and implications", Navy Chief Admiral Madhavendra Singh stressed on the need for an enhanced interface between political and military leadership.


Air Chief S Krishnaswamy was also present among a galaxy of serving and former armed forces officers.

Bureau Report