Once again I am perturbed by the level of ignorance displayed by Mr. Odipo in his editorial in the The Standard of August 30, 2010. It is amazing that the Standard and other print media often allow their editorial space to be used for publication of commentaries on issues that writers have little knowledge or no understanding about. Mr. Odipo your analysis is wrong but you managed to display your ignorance on a matter which you have little or no understanding about. It is an insult to readers especially those who are trained and experienced on matters military.
For your information the leadership of the Armed forces of the Republic of Kenya is very much aware that our neighbours are constantly engaged in espionage otherwise known as the discrete active search for secret information regarding the state of preparedness of our security forces. This kind of espionage is carried out covertly and not overtly as you seem to suggest. The methods our neighbours use to collect such intelligence is not something I may want to discuss here for obvious reasons.
For intelligence information to be useful to any government, it has to be secret, current and relevant. If such information is readily available to the rest of the world, then it is of absolutely no value to any self-respecting government. What the military displayed on Friday, August 27, 2010 is just but things which any conventional armed force is expected to have. It is nothing new to the likes of President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Museveni, Lt. Gen Paul Kagame and General Omar al Bashir who are decorated soldiers. It was perhaps new only to novices like Mr. Odipo who do not know the standard arms and equipment any Mechanized Brigade or Division of a modern conventional force is required to have. Besides, a search on the Jane's Defence Weekly would have shown that Kenya is known to possess such equipment. It is no secret Mr. Odipo. The same dealers who sell military hardware to Kenya also sell to other countries including our neighbours.
Intelligence is also classified into various types. Strategic Intelligence is gathered by countries during peacetime to asses the political stability, economic and military capabilities of their neigbours as well as to asses their foreign strategic interest and bilateral relationships. On the other hand military field commanders require tactical or operational intelligence on the weaponry, the deployment and strength of the enemy force when there is war or declared open hostilities. It is also useful for military commanders to know the likely neutral or friendly forces in times of war. Such intelligence cannot surely be gathered in an open place like Uhuru Park!
Mr. Odipo, it is simplistic to suggest that our military commanders have endangered the country by displaying ordinary military equipment last Friday. Kenya has much more and what you saw is just a drop in the ocean and very commonplace. Finally, military intelligence is a function of combat which involves things like gathering, analyzing, and making use of information, including information about the territorial deployment and ground terrain over enemy forces and the ground. It includes espionage, physical observation, technical surveillance equipment, and reconnaissance using military scouts and reconnaissance units. Kenya is not at war with any of its neighbours and hence the display was basically intended to arouse feelings of nationalism among the ordinary citizens.
As a trained military officer who did the ropes and served time at the Kenya Air Force, I would like to urge The Standard and other media in our country to refrain from publishing security matters that may bring our military commanders into contempt or lower their estimation in the eyes of the public. Modern wars are fought not just in the theatre of operation but also in the hearts and minds of the people. Publishing articles which bring our armed forces and the aptitude of their leadership into question and disrepute could lower the morale of the soldiers, create fear and despondency among the civil population and jeopardize our overall national security and defence.
Twitter: @DeCaptainCFE
