Botswana needs a sound military doctrine

Richard Moleofe | Friday October 2, 2015 12:29

Allow me to insult your intelligence a little bit by explaining the application of doctrine in a religious setting, something that will help the reader to have a full grasp of the application of the same in a military setting.

The recent proliferation of churches in Botswana has caused a lot of confusion among the population and government has also been somewhat in a state of confusion in dealing with this matter. The underlying problem with these new churches is that they are operating in the absence of a doctrine. It is rather the wishes of the pastor or prophet that becomes the deciding factor in the way the church is run.

Doctrine is the basic fundamental tenets of faith or code of belief. Any church that is founded in the absence of such will cascade and spin out of control. For the Catholics, the Virgin Mary forms the fundamental and core of what makes their deep-rooted beliefs in their approach to God and they will not deviate from this doctrine. On a similar note, it would be total insanity for the Assemblies of God to erect the statue of the Virgin Mary atop their new cathedral in the city centre. Their doctrine is not consistent with that belief.

Therefore military doctrine is the basic expression of how a military organisation intends to conduct its campaigns and major operations at peacetime and during hostilities of war. These are written in manuals and they clearly stipulate all courses of action for military commanders.

Doctrine does not only inform military commanders, it also functions as an important tool for civilian planners who seek to achieve a political goal through military campaigns. For both the military and civilian principals, it provides a common lexicon for the two groups of planners who are empowered to make strategic decisions for their country.

Military operations should at all times be informed by an existing military doctrine. So the absence of this precept of operation can spell disaster in the hour of need. The presence of this creed, be it in the military or in a church is of paramount importance.

The geopolitical strategic position of any country informs its military doctrine. In our case in Botswana, we know that our vulnerability lies in the fact that we are a landlocked country. Our military doctrine should be premised on this major factor. A good example of a sound military doctrine is that of Israel. Because of her geopolitical positioning and her biggest vulnerability in the lack of strategic depth, Israel relies heavily in the application of deterrence. Deterrence has become their number one priority in the defence of their country. Israel’s survival in a hostile Arab neighbourhood hinges closely in the application of deterrence. Israel’s military and intelligence will go to great lengths in pursuing their enemies and pour vengeance upon them.

Because of this military doctrine, I would with a greater level of certainty say that this is what has kept Israel safe and secure over all the years of their country’s existence. Israel Defence Force is operationally offensive and relies heavily on pre-emptive action. This is often financially costly but the spinoffs are realised in civilian lives saved.

Botswana Defence Force (BDF) needs to be transformed from a liberation era posture to meet our current security needs and challenges of 21st century third world. BDF has developed a great deal since its creation in 1977 but a lot of questions will need to be answered as to where we want to take our military organisation.

Then what should define our current strategic military doctrine and what policy objectives are needed to keep and maintain a profitable military organisation? These are the necessary questions that solicit for a public debate in the fashion in which we want to maintain our defence force.

The presence of doctrine helps to define policy, which may change from time to time but doing so within a set doctrinal framework. There is absolutely no reason that any country should operate its military in the absence of such.The call to a national debate on such issues which have been out of place for civilians should not become a threat to the current status quo. Civilians must not only be regarded as naïve and ignorant of military issues. They are tax payers and are important role players in getting the military funded. Most of these civilians who have often regarded Botswana’s military spending as absolutely wasteful are doing this due to lack of understanding.

It is on account of the remarks made by the BDF Commander while appearing before the Public Accounts Committee that he has challenged the public to a debate on issues surrounding our military because at the moment there exists misconceptions about this critical organization within our society.

However, the challenge to an open debate by intellectuals and the public at large will become a source of discomfort to some. Certainly the lack of a sound military doctrine that informs every aspect of our military has been a source of wealth creation for some and they will view this debate as a direct challenge as we encroach into their profits.

The BDF needs to come out of the shadows where they are always courting controversy in the manner in which defence procurement is conducted. The procurement of military hardware has always been closely associated with corruption. Defence contracts are often shrouded in a veil of secrecy across the world. But we need to be seen to be doing things differently.