12-07-2008, 07:38 AM
<b>Why M Sounds Better Than MK </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->On November 26, when terrorists struck Mumbai, national security advisor (NSA) M.K. Narayanan was at a party thrown by Congress MP from Aurangabad, Bihar, Nikhil Kumar, an ex-police officer himself. <b>Kumar confirmed to Outlook that the NSA attended the party at his residence. Sources say he left around 11.20 pm, a full two hours after the attack had begun.</b>
The fact that Narayanan, the key pointsman for national security, stayed on late, <b>delaying a meeting of the Crisis Management Group at the PMâs residence, is prime indication that government assessment of the crisis was completely inadequate. But what has appalled officials in the PMO is the fact that the NSA was partying even after he came to know Mumbai was under attack.</b>
<b>Experts say Narayananâs slow response is reflective of the rot that has set in the security apparatus (which he personally oversees).</b> In fact, all intelligence inputs are first sent to the NSC secretariat and the Joint Intelligence Committee, which come under him. Also, <b>after taking over as NSA, Narayanan virtually took over the reins of two key intelligence agenciesâIB and RAW.</b>
The UPA government had initially appointed him advisor on internal security. But Narayanan switched to a new role as the NSA after the sudden demise of J.N. Dixit. Since then, Narayanan has had to wear several hats:<b> he was a key behind-the-scenes interlocutor in the Indo-US nuclear deal.</b><b> He used IB safehouses in Delhi and worked overtime to garner support for the UPA during the no-confidence motion over the N-deal</b>. The Sino-Indian border talks and liaisoning with foreign dignitaries is also in the NSAâs purview. Did it happen that with so many responsibilities he had little time to deal with our diverse intelligence challenges?
A senior government official told Outlook, "You can either micro-manage a few key areas and delegate authority, or you can oversee everything and be inputs provider at the policy level. You canât do both.<b> The current NSA is micro-managing as well as refusing to delegate authority.... A number of key policy issues are pending on his desk. Can any man do justice to such a vast canvas?"</b>
Narayanan also dabbled in the manoeuvring over key appointments. In â05, he allowed then IB director Ajit Doval to retire and brought in E.S.L. Narasimhan. The latter was also due for retirement in a couple of months but the government approved a fixed two-year tenure for the IB director. This worked to Narasimhanâs advantage who, incidentally, was Narayananâs staff officer when he headed the IB in the early â90s. Surprisingly, <b>Narasimhan had never headed a subsidiary intelligence bureau during his tenure (considered mandatory for a director, IB appointment.)</b>
Another NSA appointments which raised eyebrows was the elevation of P.K. Hormese Tharakan as secretary, RAW. The former was serving as DGP, Kerala, and was a few months away from retirement when Narayanan asked him to head the external intelligence agency. Tharakan did have a brief stint with RAW early on but was considered an outsider since he had gone back to his parent cadre. By playing one agency against the other and favouring a few officers,<b> the NSA is currently running a faction-ridden security apparatus. Which perhaps explains why the internal security apparatus failed miserably during the Mumbai attack</b>.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
MK should be fired, All Sonia's appointment are just idiots.
The fact that Narayanan, the key pointsman for national security, stayed on late, <b>delaying a meeting of the Crisis Management Group at the PMâs residence, is prime indication that government assessment of the crisis was completely inadequate. But what has appalled officials in the PMO is the fact that the NSA was partying even after he came to know Mumbai was under attack.</b>
<b>Experts say Narayananâs slow response is reflective of the rot that has set in the security apparatus (which he personally oversees).</b> In fact, all intelligence inputs are first sent to the NSC secretariat and the Joint Intelligence Committee, which come under him. Also, <b>after taking over as NSA, Narayanan virtually took over the reins of two key intelligence agenciesâIB and RAW.</b>
The UPA government had initially appointed him advisor on internal security. But Narayanan switched to a new role as the NSA after the sudden demise of J.N. Dixit. Since then, Narayanan has had to wear several hats:<b> he was a key behind-the-scenes interlocutor in the Indo-US nuclear deal.</b><b> He used IB safehouses in Delhi and worked overtime to garner support for the UPA during the no-confidence motion over the N-deal</b>. The Sino-Indian border talks and liaisoning with foreign dignitaries is also in the NSAâs purview. Did it happen that with so many responsibilities he had little time to deal with our diverse intelligence challenges?
A senior government official told Outlook, "You can either micro-manage a few key areas and delegate authority, or you can oversee everything and be inputs provider at the policy level. You canât do both.<b> The current NSA is micro-managing as well as refusing to delegate authority.... A number of key policy issues are pending on his desk. Can any man do justice to such a vast canvas?"</b>
Narayanan also dabbled in the manoeuvring over key appointments. In â05, he allowed then IB director Ajit Doval to retire and brought in E.S.L. Narasimhan. The latter was also due for retirement in a couple of months but the government approved a fixed two-year tenure for the IB director. This worked to Narasimhanâs advantage who, incidentally, was Narayananâs staff officer when he headed the IB in the early â90s. Surprisingly, <b>Narasimhan had never headed a subsidiary intelligence bureau during his tenure (considered mandatory for a director, IB appointment.)</b>
Another NSA appointments which raised eyebrows was the elevation of P.K. Hormese Tharakan as secretary, RAW. The former was serving as DGP, Kerala, and was a few months away from retirement when Narayanan asked him to head the external intelligence agency. Tharakan did have a brief stint with RAW early on but was considered an outsider since he had gone back to his parent cadre. By playing one agency against the other and favouring a few officers,<b> the NSA is currently running a faction-ridden security apparatus. Which perhaps explains why the internal security apparatus failed miserably during the Mumbai attack</b>.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
MK should be fired, All Sonia's appointment are just idiots.