The disconcerting helplessness inflicted by the COVID-19 has exposed vital chinks in the traditional military wisdom. The frustrating inability of even the world’s best military means and technology to defend humankind against the threats posed by COVID-19 has put a big question mark over the utility of military industrial complex, which has for decades been eating away substantive chunks of countries’ budgets in the name of their defence.
While the world’s rich and the poor have all along taken pride in routing Lion’s share of their budgets to military, today this thinking appears to have bordered on sheer folly and absurdity.
Now see — USA, the sole super power has been brought to its knees by a seemingly meek and inconsequential micro-organism, an invisible virus. The way COVID-19 is tearing apart this military giant despite and inspite of its unmatched technological prowess, best in class military armaments and Gen-XY-and-Z missile defence systems, some of which are placed in and operate from outer space, is indicative of sheer redundence of not only such military means but also the thinking that spurs and patronizes investments in this sector.
Besides its own share of budgetary allocations, 80% of allocations in defence budget will have to be provisioned for health sector — to prepare and equip and arm it with necessary wherewithal to ward-off and if need be to fight and neutralize threats posed by disasters like COVID-19 pandemic. Should such a thing happen, then governments may not have to request auto giants to stop making cars and instead fabricate ventilators!
Simple take away is/has to be/must be that defence budgets now onwards have to be split in 20:80 proportion in favour of the wisdom of putting money where the mouth is. Simply put, public health has to get primacy it deserves. Besides its own share of budgetary allocations, 80% of allocations in defence budget will have to be provisioned for health sector — to prepare and equip and arm it with necessary wherewithal to ward-off and if need be to fight and neutralize threats posed by disasters like COVID-19 pandemic. Should such a thing happen, then governments may not have to request auto giants to stop making cars and instead fabricate ventilators! See the tragedy — while military warehouses are overflowing with bombs, bullets and mortars that could wipe the life out of this globe in a matter of days if not hours, there is no such thing as on date which could inflict a similar fatal strike on novel coronavirus. Given a choice to choose between a warehouse full of cartons of seemingly ordinary face masks and other PPE gear or military hardware worth millions — what would any sensible government or people opt for in today’s day and time? Aren’t those specializing in making effective hand sanitizers or manufacturing bleach more sought after today than the ones holding patent of sophisticated bulletproof vests and best in class tanks and military aircraft?
We are told that US President could access and operate with a mere press of button every single missile silo waiting his command in the depths of Pacific and Southern sea, heights of Andes and glacial caves of Himalayas or for that matter the ones placed in outer space or may be some other planet too. But is there a button Donald Trump could press to deliver his “great” nation and people from the wicked clutches of coronavirus?
If no, then there is certainly a need for rethink of priorities.
Governments world over will emerge victorious ONLY if they learn the lessons that are there for them in the challenging situation created by COVID-19. Otherwise even after winning a battle with the virus, they would still have lost the war — the one that holds a promise of bringing them tons of brains.
We are told that US President could access and operate with a mere press of button every single missile silo waiting his command in the depths of Pacific and Southern sea, heights of Andes and glacial caves of Himalayas or for that matter the ones placed in outer space or may be some other planet too. But is there a button Donald Trump could press to deliver his “great” nation and people from the wicked clutches of coronavirus?
