Re: Daniel Lak's 'Alternative to War' (#203). I doubt anyone who matters in the Royal Nepali Army has seen The Fog of War. Even if they have, no one seems to have drawn any lessons from it. I haven't seen the documentary myself, but I know that during Robert McNamara's tenure as US defence secretary, his technocrats came up with the infamous 'kill ratio' theory that was applied to gauge how the war in Vietnam was progressing. This led to fierce competition among US commanders on the ground to 'bag' as many of the 'enemy' as possible. Anyone was fair game as long as they were presumed to be on the other side. Innocent men, women and children (sometimes even infants) were killed and included in the statistics. Commanders who lagged behind in this race were seen to be less able and their careers suffered as a consequence.

From what I've been told by people close to Royal Nepali Army, something akin to this is happening in Nepal. Army commanders are under pressure to show results. And in turn they are putting pressure on officers and men below them. It is becoming increasingly a 'result oriented' army. The achievement of the troops on the ground is directly related to lucrative rewards such as being sent on foreign missions. It is not difficult to see that this can only lead to indifferent and indiscriminate action by a force that has grown weary of fighting a war that seems to have no end in sight. For a change, Daniel Lak is absolutely right, war is hell indeed.

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Kathmandu