Intelligence & National Security Discussion

anjan · Post by **anjan** » 13 Jan 2010 00:56

Brando wrote:Do they have an "intelligence budget" ?

As I understand it, the RAW is a part of the cabinet secretariat and hence not directly accountable to Parliament. Their budget is therefore not available to the public.

Amit J · Post by **Amit J** » 13 Jan 2010 01:17

anjan wrote:
Brando wrote:Do they have an "intelligence budget" ?
As I understand it, the RAW is a part of the cabinet secretariat and hence not directly accountable to Parliament. Their budget is therefore not available to the public.

I thought the RAW reported into the PMO

Virupaksha · Post by **Virupaksha** » 13 Jan 2010 01:22

somnath wrote:Ravi_ku,

I respect B Raman's credibility, but there are others who are not all that open..Brajesh Mishra, for one, once (after 26/11) vehemently denied that we wound down covert capabilities against Pak..The reason I am sceptical about this is that India's bureaucracy is permanent, and hence it is really difficult for the political leadership to radically alter policy/capability..Morarji Desai was staunch anti-nuclear, but as Goerge Perkovich's account shows, he too bent more than he managed to bend (the bureaucracy)!For IK Gujral, running a govt on its death bed from the begining, it seems too rich..

So your defence of your position is your hollowed belief in the bureacracy?

Basically you are questioning whether Raw will follow the Prime Minister's order or not?

Brajesh Mishra was BJP's NSA, who came in AFTER Gujral. They might have restarted it on a low key, say if it was 100x, they restarted it to say 20x. So Brajesh mishra saying that they have not wound down covert capabilities =0x doesnt mean Gujral didnt brought it to 0x while BJP restarted and held on to 20x. Both are NOT opposite and one doesnt preclude other.

There are levels of intelligence or covert capabilities available. You can infiltrate an organisation right up to the level of it's chief or chaprasi. Both are "infiltrations" but the difference is in the levels of infiltration.

anjan · Post by **anjan** » 13 Jan 2010 02:30

Amit J wrote: I thought the RAW reported into the PMO

RAW is a "wing" of the cabinet secretariat and (to quote from their webpage) "The Cabinet Secretariat is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister." http://cabsec.nic.in/role.htm

somnath · Post by **somnath** » 13 Jan 2010 07:19

Interesting analysis of the FOB Chapman incident by Stratfor.

http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20100111 ... t=readmore

somnath · Post by **somnath** » 13 Jan 2010 07:37

ravi_ku wrote:So your defence of your position is your hollowed belief in the bureacracy?

Basically you are questioning whether Raw will follow the Prime Minister's order or not?

I am not "defending" any position, just expressing my scepticism in accepting the fact that policy can be changed overnight in India...There are tons of examples of how despite political directions, the bureaucracy stymies the execution substantially..Especially true for countries with permanent bureaucracies like India (in the US, the top bureaucracy changes with every new President, therefore it is easier there to make fundamental shifts)..

When IK Gujral was the PM, bureaucrats in Delhi across the board were already giving informal briefings to BJP leaders, as an early election was widely expected and BJP was the favourite to come to power...In that scenario, this seems too fundamental a shift..FWIW..

Amit J · Post by **Amit J** » 13 Jan 2010 10:51

anjan wrote:
Amit J wrote: I thought the RAW reported into the PMO
RAW is a "wing" of the cabinet secretariat and (to quote from their webpage) "The Cabinet Secretariat is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister." http://cabsec.nic.in/role.htm

IIRC the director of RAW reports only to the PM

somnath · Post by **somnath** » 13 Jan 2010 11:07

Amit J wrote:
IIRC the director of RAW reports only to the PM

Used to it seems...From ABV's time, the RAW chiefs for some reason started reporting to the NSA..Something that PC confirmed in his recent speech as well..In fact RN Kao had sent a letter to ABV saying that the arrangement of the NSA as an intel czar is not a healthy one..

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 13 Jan 2010 11:13

somnath wrote:Interesting analysis of the FOB Chapman incident by Stratfor.

http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20100111 ... t=readmore

An Analysis on Charlie Rose's show:

Transcript: (Video is available on his site)

http://www.charlierose.com/download/transcript/10803

The fact that there were 13 people standing around waiting for an
informant breaks all the rules. Informants are met one on one. I have a
series of problems with the fact that the base was -- there was no linguist
case officers that spoke Pashtun, Dari, or Arabic. I have a problem with
outsourcing our intelligence to Jordan. And I could go on and on and on.

So you put the Michael Flynn report that comes a couple days after
this in context, and we have a real problem in Pakistan. We just -- you
know, intelligence is bad, as the military says.

CHARLIE ROSE: So what do you say about Leon Panetta’s op-ed piece?

BOB BAER: Oh, he absolutely had to say that. I’m so pessimistic
about the CIA, I’m just wondering whether it shouldn’t be reorganized, you
know, take it down the studs and rebuild it. It’s in bad shape.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 13 Jan 2010 11:16

somnath wrote:
Amit J wrote:
IIRC the director of RAW reports only to the PM
Used to it seems...From ABV's time, the RAW chiefs for some reason started reporting to the NSA..Something that PC confirmed in his recent speech as well..In fact RN Kao had sent a letter to ABV saying that the arrangement of the NSA as an intel czar is not a healthy one..

esp. given that NSA's are either career IPS officers or bureaucrats who carry their own baggage to the job.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 13 Jan 2010 11:32

abhishek_sharma wrote: An Analysis on Charlie Rose's show:

Transcript: (Video is available on his site)

http://www.charlierose.com/download/transcript/10803

BOB BAER: They can do both.

But I’d like to go back to what Mark said. I mean, I appreciate what
the CIA is doing, keeping bases out there and having a lot of people out
there. But, again, it goes back to the language. How many Pashtun
speakers are there?

And what struck me at Khost -- I think I know almost everybody there.
There were no Pashtun speakers or even Dari speakers. And in that part of
Afghanistan, if you don’t speak the language, it’s virtually impossible to
get to the populace.

And the military I’ve seen internally is complaining that most of
their foreign language specialists speak Dar rather than Pashtun, which --
you know, this is same problem the British had in the three wars they
fought in Afghanistan. They had very few Pashtun speakers.

CHARLIE ROSE: This sounds like blocking and tackling in football to
me. Isn’t understanding Pashtun sort of central to being able to
understand what’s going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan?

BOB BAER: It’s crucial. It’s absolutely crucial.

CHARLIE ROSE: Should we have been -- this is all about Zawahiri --
should we have been able to with the right orders and the right freedom and
the right people have been able to have found Zawahiri and bin Laden by
now, Bob?

BOB BAER: It’s difficult. I was in Pakistan last year, and I was
amazed how just cut off foreigners are, even in Peshawar. People don’t
want to talk about him. They’re mistrustful. It’s a very dangerous place,
Afghanistan.

And I say, I should add this that I could myself -- I wouldn’t do much
better than anybody else if I were assigned to Afghanistan. It is a very,
very hostile area, and anywhere with those three letters -- CIA -- is a
target.

And there’s a good indication that the Taliban is getting to the point
where they are targeting military linguists as well on our bases. Their
intelligence is amazing at the grassroots. So the odds are stacked against
us, which adds to the rest of the problems.

somnath · Post by **somnath** » 13 Jan 2010 11:39

esp. giben that NSA's are either career IPS officers or bureaucrats who carry their own baggage to the job.

^^^ Officially, there have been only 3 NSAs till date:

Brajesh Mishra and JN Dixit were foreign serivce officers, MKN was from the IPS...Actually none of the three names are really "exceptionable"..The problem is not with the people, but the "scope" of the role..

The NSA is supposed to be the "thought leader" in the govt on areas on the intersection of intel, foreign policy and defence - directly advising the PM..The problem starts coming in when he starts being "supra somthing", as Brajesh Mishra was trying to be a supra Foreign Minister and a supra intel Czar, and MKN ended up as a "supra super" intel czar..

To me, the only person who really understood the scope was JN Dixit..

ASPuar · Post by **ASPuar** » 13 Jan 2010 12:43

somnath wrote:(in the US, the top bureaucracy changes with every new President, therefore it is easier there to make fundamental shifts)..

Im curious about how this works... is there a permanent pool of bureaucracy eligible people hanging about doing nothing, (or maybe working in think tanks/academia), who are used to fill these posts?

And what happens to the career bureaucrats? Dont they get a chance to head their agencies?

somnath · Post by **somnath** » 13 Jan 2010 13:37

ASPuar wrote: Im curious about how this works... is there a permanent pool of bureaucracy eligible people hanging about doing nothing, (or maybe working in think tanks/academia), who are used to fill these posts?

And what happens to the career bureaucrats? Dont they get a chance to head their agencies?

The US has the "best" ecosystem for most things, and that includes the govt...The degree of movement between the government, academia and the private sector is amazingly fluid and frequent..So Condi Rice came from the academia to the govt, and has gone back to Standford, Hank Paulson came from Goldman Sachs, Strobe Talbott came from the media to govt and now runs Brookings...Not just at cabinet levels, but 3 or 4 rungs below too..Neel Kashkari, who some people will remember as the person Hank Paulson brought in to administer the 700 billion TARP, came from Goldman, read recently on Bloomberg that he has joined a hedge fund...

There is a permanent bureaucracy as well, and the brightest of them do rise to the top (Frank Wisner was a career diplomat, and he rose fairly high)..

As a system, this is probably the "best" - allows for free movement of talent and enables the govt to access the "brightest and the best"...In India it happens very very selectively, and for a few cabinet/MoS level positions (like Chief Economic Advisor)...

Amit J · Post by **Amit J** » 13 Jan 2010 21:22

somnath wrote: As a system, this is probably the "best" - allows for free movement of talent and enables the govt to access the "brightest and the best"...In India it happens very very selectively, and for a few cabinet/MoS level positions (like Chief Economic Advisor)...

OT but Nandan Nilkeni joined the UID project as its head from Infosys

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 13 Jan 2010 21:59

Wisner was a rarity - the man also knew enough about Spec ops from his time in Nam

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 14 Jan 2010 06:32

NSA Narayanan may be moved out to a Raj Bhavan

The government has started the exercise to appoint governors amid indications that the formidable national security advisor, M K Narayanan, is among those shortlisted against the vacancies.

Government sources said Narayanan was being considered for West Bengal or Maharashtra, possibly in that order, in a move set to have serious repercussions on the national security apparatus as well as conduct of foreign policy.
..
...

Hmm, I wonder who will be the next NSA then? I hope they split the NSA and Internal Security advisor posts to different people, like it was during Dixit's time.

Ankit Desai · Post by **Ankit Desai** » 14 Jan 2010 10:10

Chinese Engineer arrested under Prohibition Act in Gujarat

A Chinese national working as an engineer at an under construction power plant at Mundra in Kutch district was arrested under Prohibition Act, police said on Wednesday.

such huge number of chinese presence in border state and in the one of the developing port is worrying development.

Ankit

somnath · Post by **somnath** » 14 Jan 2010 11:13

putnanja wrote: Hmm, I wonder who will be the next NSA then? I hope they split the NSA and Internal Security advisor posts to different people, like it was during Dixit's time.

It wasnt such a great idea IMHO..The NSA is supposed to work on the intersection of foreign policy, defence and intel - carving it up into two only creates tension - media was rife on the sort of tensions in the PMO that apparently (atleast partly) caused Mani Dixit's untimely demise!

In case MKN is really going, there are lots of eligible candidates..My personal predilection would be for an academic - C Raja Mohan, or Bharat Karnad or Brahma Chellaney..I think it would take an academic to really define the role properly and instituionalise the setup for future generations..

According to me, the PM should have direct oversight over RAW (and NTRO) and not allow a "middleman" to officiate..Coordination between agencies is important, but actually more important is "fusing" of information coming from various sources into discernible patterns and hard intel..That does not necessarily requie a supra agency, or intel czar..IMHO..

Amit J · Post by **Amit J** » 14 Jan 2010 11:19

Ankit Desai wrote:Chinese Engineer arrested under Prohibition Act in Gujarat

A Chinese national working as an engineer at an under construction power plant at Mundra in Kutch district was arrested under Prohibition Act, police said on Wednesday.
such huge number of chinese presence in border state and in the one of the developing port is worrying development.

Ankit

Some Chinese engineers were arrested a week back and then in China 22 Indians were arrested for smugling, and now this, is this a begining of tit for tat arrests and punishmentsa new level of tete a tae btw the dragon and the elephant perhaps

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 14 Jan 2010 11:22

If C Rajamohan becomes NSA, India will become one other poodle of USA

He is a known american lackey. Karnad and Chellany have opposed so many UPA policies that there is no way they will even make it to the shortlist. An academic without any practical experience is just a disaster waiting to happen.

Internal security is a big issue by itself, given that we have multiple levels of threats like naxals and other terrorist organizations. NSA can more effectively look at the external security threats and co-ordinate them.

The PM has too many things to worry about to also maintain total oversight of RAW. To expect the PM to daily meet multiple intelligence heads and fuze all ino into coherent analysis means he will spend more than a couple of hours every day on this, which is impractical. The NSA can look at the various information coming in and summarize it for the PM in his daily security briefings, and also the CCS as and when required. That is the role of NSA in any major country

somnath · Post by **somnath** » 14 Jan 2010 12:25

putnanja wrote:If C Rajamohan becomes NSA, India will become one other poodle of USA He is a known american lackey. Karnad and Chellany have opposed so many UPA policies that there is no way they will even make it to the shortlist. An academic without any practical experience is just a disaster waiting to happen.

Internal security is a big issue by itself, given that we have multiple levels of threats like naxals and other terrorist organizations. NSA can more effectively look at the external security threats and co-ordinate them.

Any proof of that? Actually the position of NSA (as defined by the USA from where the inspiration comes) is quite "academic" in that sense..It is of giving advice to the Chief Executive (the PM in our case), fusing info across multiple domains and deducing implications of one on the other..It is not so much an "operational" position..

The PM doesnt need to "fuse all infomration" himself - but it is important for the PM to have a first hand view of all strategic matters..In most countries therefore, the prime intel agency reports directly to the Chief Exec - MI6, Mossad, Aman, KGB/FSB..CIA used to, before they created the DNI office...

ASPuar · Post by **ASPuar** » 14 Jan 2010 13:03

^^

IMO, Secy (R) should report to the PM directly, on a regular basis. If an NSA is really necessary, then I too support the view that an academic is preferable. Aside from the considerations mentioned above, he is essentially free of the service related biases that develop over time, and can have devoted more time to strategic/geopolitical thought. For these reasons, an "outsider" might be a better idea.

Of course, the danger is that we appoint some left-wing nutjob academic, who wants to hand the country over to the Chinese on a platter.

MKN was no doubt a devoted Gandhi family loyalist, even through his time in the IB. And without doubt, he has served the political masters well. But his tenure has had a detrimental effect on R&AW, the Armed Forces, external and also internal security policy in general, IMHO.

somnath · Post by **somnath** » 14 Jan 2010 14:12

^^^ The NSA really has an interesting job..More so in today's non-linear world..How does the 1 billion credit line to Bangladesh get used, for example? Is there bigger "strategic" bang for the buck in using it for constructing the rail corridor in exchange for transit? What are theimplications of a vote against Iran in the IAEA on our support operations in Balochistan? Today, the NSA in India has the NSCS to do the grunt work on policy, besides a host of Dy NSAs (mostly retired bureaucrats or services officers)..The NSA is also supposed to be the interface between the PMO and the Strategic Policy Group (the forum of key secretaries, intel agencies and the services on broader security decitions)..

Like most positions, its importance is also linked to the incumbent..SO everyone remembers Henry Kissinger's term as NSA, how many people remember Brent Scowcroft? But Kissinger (who was/is an academic BTW) was probably the most towering of all...Its difficult to get that acumen any more..

But MKN isnt a bad choice, at least from an experience/background perspective - its just that he has continued the Brajesh Mishra habit of turf grab forward!

bart · Post by **bart** » 14 Jan 2010 19:21

somnath wrote:
putnanja wrote:If C Rajamohan becomes NSA, India will become one other poodle of USA He is a known american lackey. Karnad and Chellany have opposed so many UPA policies that there is no way they will even make it to the shortlist. An academic without any practical experience is just a disaster waiting to happen.

Internal security is a big issue by itself, given that we have multiple levels of threats like naxals and other terrorist organizations. NSA can more effectively look at the external security threats and co-ordinate them.

Any proof of that?

Just read his articles when he was strategic correspondent for the Indian Express. It will be self-obvious.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 14 Jan 2010 22:00

somnath wrote: Like most positions, its importance is also linked to the incumbent..SO everyone remembers Henry Kissinger's term as NSA, how many people remember Brent Scowcroft? But Kissinger (who was/is an academic BTW) was probably the most towering of all...Its difficult to get that acumen any more..

But MKN isnt a bad choice, at least from an experience/background perspective - its just that he has continued the Brajesh Mishra habit of turf grab forward!

er, it is not the NSA but the circumstances during that time that make them stand out in the world. Given the turbulent times of Nixon, it is no brainer that Kissinger is remembered more.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 15 Jan 2010 00:47

Three shortlisted to succeed Narayanan

...
The new NSA could be from among three seasoned diplomats: former foreign secretaries Shiv Shankar Menon and Shyam Saran, and former Indian Ambassador to the United States, Ronen Sen.

“The PM hasn’t yet taken a call on Narayanan’s successor,” the sources said. Both Menon and Sen were closely associated with the formalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal, the follow up on which is among the NSA’s responsibilities.

...
Sources said Narayanan’s departure could be a precursor to the NSA focussing on foreign policy matters and home ministry on internal security.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s “New Architecture of Security” proposes changes in the reporting lines of agencies, including those accountable to NSA, under the National Counter-Terrorism Centre.

...

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 15 Jan 2010 00:54

Shaym Saran and SS Menon have shown an awareness of the challenges India has to face in the coming decades. R Sen is quite old now.

ASPuar · Post by **ASPuar** » 15 Jan 2010 00:58

Hoho, and forgotten amongst all this lofty "Foreign Policy" and "Internal Security" talk, is strategic/military policymaking, which is the backbone of national security. We seem to be slipping into the happy delirium of the pre 1962 days, when we ran down our armed forces, and rejoiced in our "peaceful posturing". Our government seems unaware that foreign policy without a large stick backing it, is no more than hot air. I hate to sound like Im uttering fateful words, but a nation that neglects and mistreats its armed forces, is doomed to disaster.

One needs to look no further than even the US, where the current NSA is a former chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Jones. Or the current Director of National Intelligence, the apex intel adviser is a retired admiral, and chief of the US Pacific Command, to see the importance that military inputs have in the policy making of the sole surviving superpower.

We need to pull up our socks, and move on from this age old, wrongheaded, baffling, and completely unjustified military phobia/hatred, repackaged, and revived under UPA-I and II. Of course, the departure of MKN will go a long way towards achieving this, but I think that the rise of PC will bode even worse for the men in uniform.

Meanwhile, we have fallen to such depths in India, that our Army chief makes a comment in a closed military seminar, and the media pounces upon it. Then the Pakistan establishment bawls, cries, and threatens us, and our media leaps at our Army Chiefs throat, calling him a warmonger, and so called experts shake their heads and say that we should reign in our military. The situation seems to get from bad to worse.

AdityaM · Post by **AdityaM** » 15 Jan 2010 01:23

http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/92560.htm
[quote]According to Headlines Today, the “sinister attempt was made around Dec 15 last year” and “investigators are still coming to terms with the depth of the damage”.

It said the hackers had aimed at the “cream of India’s national security set-up: National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar, PM’s Special Envoy Shyam Saran and Deputy National Security Advisor Shekhar Dutt. The four and up to 26 others were squarely in the crosshairs of the hacking attempt”.[/quote]

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 15 Jan 2010 01:52

Will Shyam Saran succeed Narayanan as NSA?

In a major change in power equations in New Delhi, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan may be stepping down to give way to Shyam Saran, who is at present Prime Minister's special envoy for Climate Change.

According to a national daily, Narayanan is tipped to take over as Governor of either West Bengal or Maharashtra.

A high-level source in the government said Saran is the strongest contender to succeed Narayanan.

Sridhar · Post by **Sridhar** » 15 Jan 2010 01:54

What about G. Parthasarathy? If J.N.Dixit was the right choice for the job, with his mix of foreign policy experience and security focus combined with demonstrated academic and intellectual prowess, GP seems like a person who can fill those shoes pretty well.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 15 Jan 2010 01:57

Sridhar wrote:What about G. Parthasarathy? If J.N.Dixit was the right choice for the job, with his mix of foreign policy experience and security focus combined with demonstrated academic and intellectual prowess, GP seems like a person who can fill those shoes pretty well.

Not malleable enough.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 15 Jan 2010 01:58

Sridhar wrote:What about G. Parthasarathy? If J.N.Dixit was the right choice for the job, with his mix of foreign policy experience and security focus combined with demonstrated academic and intellectual prowess, GP seems like a person who can fill those shoes pretty well.

GP is a jingo's dream for NSA. However, there is no way in hell that the UPA govt will give him that job, as he is too practical and has lambasted quite a few UPA foreign policies, especially on Pakistan. I guess he is seen more as a hawk on foreign policy issues.

I believe this is more of MMS asserting himself now. MKN was selected as he was a Gandhi family loyalist. Shyam Saran is close to MMS and was his personal selection to lead nuclear talks with US and also on climate change. MMS obviously trusts SS more than MKN. After the UPA got a decisive mandate in 2009, I believe MMS is trying to assert himself a little more now. Internal Security will still probably go to someone close to the family.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 15 Jan 2010 02:19

GP is a jingo's dream for NSA. However, there is no way in hell that the UPA govt will give him that job, as he is too practical and has lambasted quite a few UPA foreign policies, especially on Pakistan. I guess he is seen more as a hawk on foreign policy issues.

If that happens, China and Pakistan will sh!t bricks.

Sridhar · Post by **Sridhar** » 15 Jan 2010 03:01

GP was also one of RG's blue-eyed boys. Very much an insider, whatever his public pronouncements may have been.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 15 Jan 2010 03:29

current NSA is a former chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Jones

Would not quote him as an example

have you seen him in the talk shows - as bad as MKN

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 15 Jan 2010 03:32

GP is senior in service so wont happen.

BTW GP's father was the adviser for Mrs IG on many FP issues.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 15 Jan 2010 03:50

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100115/jsp/nation/story_11986654.jspRonen Sen leads probables for NSA post

...
Sen is said to enjoy the personal trust of both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He was made ambassador to Washington soon after the UPA came to power in 2004, and was asked by Prime Minister Singh to stay on as envoy beyond his term specifically in order to see his favourite project — the Indo-US nuclear deal — through.

...
Narayanan’s departure from the NSA’s office has been in the works for a while. Although he claims to have played a major role in negotiating the nuclear deal, the former IB boss is widely seen as purely an internal security man somewhat lacking perspective and vision on diplomatic and strategic matters.

...
Since P. Chidambaram took over as home minister last winter, Narayanan’s influence and utilities as an internal security expert appear to have steadily shrunk; Chidambaram has proved a big-plate home minister, leading the work agenda on everything from counter-terrorism to the Naxalite challenge.

...

somnath · Post by **somnath** » 15 Jan 2010 06:47

Just read his articles when he was strategic correspondent for the Indian Express. It will be self-obvious.

Well, I do read him quite a bit, including his books..The "US lackey" bit is rich - in the same fashion, anyone to the left of Attila the Hun (or his equivalent in India

) will need to be classified under some "motive"..

Coming back to the choice of NSA, the preponderance of foreign service officers in the shortlist is unfortunate..Seems that the current PM wants to take control of foreign policy himself, and the NSA is the "quasi foreign minister"! That is really shrinking the scope fo the job..

AS I said before, I would personally favour an academic, but Ajit Doval is another name that would be suitable - has experience in our "near abroad", has a rich grasp of internal security issues, and is not an impractical jingo

!