Indian Special Forces (archived)

[WARREN SS]

OUR SF Units are Services-specific Units such as Army SF meant for, trained and equipped for "roles"and "Tasks". Please keep your intellectual prowess and bullshits limited to that. There is no use mentioning marines, US SOd etc etc and etc to compare them when they have no comparable "roles and "tasks". Those forces are national assets, Here we in India do not have any idea of "National Assets"...

There Ample Task for them Within Intelligence Apparatus and security situation India facing in Subcontinent

First If Raise Unconventional war or insurgency Against are Adversary

Creation Of Multi black ops units on the Line on TSD For Plausible deniability

Get me an environment, role, and tasks comparable to US Navy SEALS and mandate them accordingly. We give them one rupee and expect hundred rupees in return,,, typical Baniyas...

There are multiple theaters for Indian AFSOD
Establish black sites on the lines OF CIA inside Nepal ,Srilanka,Mynmmar Afghanistan
For Launching Ops

There thousand of Scopes If Establishment Want Real Action

Defence half of which is eaten by civilians

Wrong

1. Its Spend On Infrastructure And Salaries And Pensions Provide you health care From MH IA has To pay 3 million+ Active +retired (40%)Personnel
2. Some Spend on already Committed Projects And defense deals Like Maintenance of SFC(Nuclear)
3. Maintenance of WWR And Warehouses Some are Open for Audit Some Are classified
4. Rest goes To Maintenance of DSPU's And OFB
5. Some Committed On R&D (DRDO & LABS )
6. Rest Is Capex For Buying New weapons

Indian Military budget in ₹4,713.78 billion($66.9 Billion )+ Excluding Classified Black budget (R&AW ,NTRO,NATGRID,DIA Etc )

 

[aditya g]

Thanks for the detailed reply, apologies i did not elaborate my question. I did not mean to ask about procurement, but rather the distribution of procured goods to troops.

Who is responsible to issue uniform, small arms, BPJ, helmet, ammunition and other soldier specific items? Is it the regimental centre who allocates them or the troops receive it from the formation?

Eg: My battalion gets tasking to move to Northern Command. Do I fight with what I already have or will the command issue me with small arms etc?

Second Part of the question? Equipment -!!
This a hard nut to crack. This a big bureaucracy. Big is not sufficient to describe it. I would say it is a blind well..

As Army HQ like any other organization is divided into Staff and Line Directorates. Line directorates assess the requirements of equipment of their Corps and get an item listed as part of WET or PET and project it to staff who then procures it and provides to the troops. That mainly includes MGO and, QMG and DGOL.

Getting an item listed as authorization as part of WET or PET even if it is a needle requires the approval the concerned specialist directorate, then Babus of MoD or even higherup Cabinet depending on financial implications. When approved, then it becomes part of a general list of procurement, given to MGOS, who will tender it. tenders will be approved, items procures and given to Ordinance depots to Ordinance units so on and so on.. Item will land up with soldiers after ten years.

There is no system of procurements of items by local commanders or COs. They have no budgets and no financial powers. Only Army Commanders have limited financial powers that too to meet special requirements and not buy items in CES.

Army that way is a stupid organization where a CO can dismiss a soldier from service and award him one year rigorous punishment in Civil jail from the line of march. But the CO can not buy 10 paisa needles. The judicial power enjoyed by a CO is equivalent to a Metropolitan Magistrate but financial powers are not of even a peon.

Police COs on the other hand buy everything including food and clothing and has lots of finances at their disposal. DG BSF enjoys tremendous financial powers. They have no ordinance Services nor CGDA attached with every office to say No.

It is not only our SF but all soldiers who suffer and get victimized by the system and No General worth his salt including a plethora of maroon capped ones have been able to reform the system even a single bit. Indian generalship has miserably failed to throw off stumbling bureaucratic yoke so far. Some of them even inviting additional yokes.

Our SF have a special section in the line directorate staffed by SF officers but the system is such that they can not do anything. They have no budgets of their own. That is why there are a hue and cry in the forum on hourly basis.

For Services SF, it is now that they have started coming into limelight. The environment for them has become very competitive where one sees SPG, NSG, COBRA, Wipers, Craits, and lizard commandos all floating around flashing their foreign gizmos, well dressed due to financial powers of their institutions. and culture of showmanship.

Police is culturally groomed to showmanship - bring order by showing not by acting- whether it is borders of streets of Moradabad. The show is their main tool of a deterrent. When it comes to act, they all run away.

But in that overall SF environment, our young Services SF guys also seem to have fallen pray to that police culture. They are indeed victim of the system in spite of being the first amongst equals and I pray that the SOD will ameliorate their suffering up to a great extent.

 

[MuzzleVelocity]

Dude the basic argument is

Our boys are damn good, let's help them out a bit more.

The counter argument is

Our boys are supermen, they don't need no help.

That's it really.

 

[Rohan Naik]

Dude the basic argument is

Our boys are damn good, let's help them out a bit more.

The counter argument is

Our boys are supermen, they don't need no help.

That's it really.

I agree with the counter made that SPG are far superior compared to others.. Neta ki baat hai.

 

[COLDHEARTED AVIATOR]

Dude the basic argument is

Our boys are damn good, let's help them out a bit more.

The counter argument is

Our boys are supermen, they don't need no help.

That's it really.

Humare bhai marey hein desh k liye...

Aur yha hume log desh drohi bolte he indirectly.

Jo General coffin aur chocolate beech k khaye woh desh bhakt he shayad..

Aur hum jo bole jawano ko shoes do,ache kapde do

Hum toh psy ops kar rahe he bhai @WARREN SS

Ab toh pakde gaye..ISI bhi nhi chodegi ab mujhe.

 

[WARREN SS]

Humare bhai marey hein desh k liye...

Aur yha hume log desh drohi bolte he indirectly.

Jo General coffin aur chocolate beech k khaye woh desh bhakt he shayad..

Aur hum jo bole jawano ko shoes do,ache kapde do

Hum toh psy ops kar rahe he bhai @WARREN SS

Ab toh pakde gaye..ISI bhi nhi chodegi ab mujhe.

Bro Pakistan Army Budget 5-6 billion $ 5 times low compared to IA 26 billion $

They Matched Us in Heavy towed Artillery
Posses Superiority in SPH (Effective in RAPID Action)
Match in MBRL's (except 122mm)
Not only they have Superior KE rounds for there Tanks
are tanks don't have APS And Third gen BMS
Army Ordered more 464 tanks instead upgrading present one


List goes long
Equipment Level is more or less same for Average Jawan And SF for Both armies
And their response is Proportionate

Isn't Any logical brain will start raising warning what were we doing for two decade's after kargil war

 

[ManhattanProject]

Bro Pakistan Army Budget 5-6 billion $ 5 times low compared to IA 26 billion $

They Matched Us in Heavy towed Artillery
Posses Superiority in SPH (Effective in RAPID Action)
Match in MBRL's (except 122mm)
Not only they have Superior KE rounds for there Tanks
are tanks don't have APS And Third gen BMS
Army Ordered more 464 tanks instead upgrading present one


List goes long
Equipment Level is more or less same for Average Jawan And SF for Both armies
And their response is Proportionate

Isn't Any logical brain will start raising warning what were we doing for two decade's after kargil war

the para sf teams recieve some money of their own every year right?
where does that money go?
couldnt they save some and buy some proper binocular nvds?

 

[COLDHEARTED AVIATOR]

Bro Pakistan Army Budget 5-6 billion $ 5 times low compared to IA 26 billion $

They Matched Us in Heavy towed Artillery
Posses Superiority in SPH (Effective in RAPID Action)
Match in MBRL's (except 122mm)
Not only they have Superior KE rounds for there Tanks
are tanks don't have APS And Third gen BMS
Army Ordered more 464 tanks instead upgrading present one


List goes long
Equipment Level is more or less same for Average Jawan And SF for Both armies
And their response is Proportionate

Isn't Any logical brain will start raising warning what were we doing for two decade's after kargil war

And i am shocked that if just the topic of discussion brings so much hatred in people how does the army take care of its own assessment and inquiry?

Because as far as i remember we have a good record of higher ups fucking up not once but many times.

When people like Tej Bahadur complaints about BSF food Maj Gaurav Arya slams him as desh drohi?The guy is fighting elections and i hope he wins.

Anna Hazare ji also complained about this in late 60s in ASC where he was deployed.

All these things make me wonder where are we headed towards?

Are we a democracy with democratic values?

I dont think so that according to the constitution of the country the Indian Army cannot be questioned.

I am not the one asking about who is killed in kashmir by the army..I am the one asking why our troops are suffering?

Why some particular deals are done have become questionable now?

What is the criteria of buying things?

 

[WARREN SS]

the para sf teams recieve some money of their own every year right?

They don't have dedicated Budget All Funds-observed Withing IA Commands
Now AFSOD came hope they Might get Dedicated budget like NSG
Which has budget of US$157.0 million

couldnt they save some and buy some proper binocular nvds?

Again Corps CO holds all the funds Which is for whole corps

 

[Bhadra]

Dude the basic argument is

Our boys are damn good, let's help them out a bit more.

The counter argument is

Our boys are supermen, they don't need no help.

That's it really.

The arguments must be clear. Our boys are damn good in spite of limitations and deficiency. Let us make up the deficiency in their outfits and equipment as also in training and make them the best.

However, the argument also runs that when the country does not task them, train them and equip them, provide them the wherewithal to carry a task of US SEAL what right does anyone has to expect them to look like and perform like SEALS.
It takes money, support, supervision and a vision to have SF forces.... Nothing of that is available ...

there are many good looking well equipped and fierce-looking commando there is India sprawling like the mushroom under a cloud burst only for photo ops. They should be put through all super tasks. Let us see that happening..

Karna Dharna kuchh nahin bas idhar Bhashan dena hai.... read something somewhere cut paste that into the forum with photos and start a moral lecture...

 

[WARREN SS]

And i am shocked that if just the topic of discussion brings so much hatred in people how does the army take care of its own assessment and inquiry?

Because as far as i remember we have a good record of higher ups fucking up not once but many times.

When people like Tej Bahadur complaints about BSF food Maj Gaurav Arya slams him as desh drohi?The guy is fighting elections and i hope he wins.

Anna Hazare ji also complained about this in late 60s in ASC where he was deployed.

All these things make me wonder where are we headed towards?

Are we a democracy with democratic values?

I dont think so that according to the constitution of the country the Indian Army cannot be questioned.

I am not the one asking about who is killed in kashmir by the army..I am the one asking why our troops are suffering?

Why some particular deals are done have become questionable now?

What is the criteria of buying things?

Lack of Accountability And ethics

Lobbies have created a Parallel system within Govt functions

Its Mindset That Plagued By Nehruvian Socialism in LW +Combined With False Pride of over Patriotism RW

 

[COLDHEARTED AVIATOR]

Lack of Accountability And ethics

Lobbies have created a Parallel system within Govt functions

Its Mindset That Plagued By Nehruvian Socialism+Combined With False Pride of over Patriotism

Yea.. yesterday i was studying about TSD and the HAMAM thing that was described.

There is a mafia that runs many things.

And things like SF equipment are not much to make out of i guess.

 

[Bhadra]

the para sf teams recieve some money of their own every year right?
where does that money go?
couldnt they save some and buy some proper binocular nvds?

Wrong... all wrong....

 

[WARREN SS]

And things like SF equipment are not much to make out of i guess.

I can give a Even sadder story

Do u heard about Famous sinking of Kilo sub INS Sindhurakshak

A 2017 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India quoted the Navy's Board of Inquiry stating that "Submarine authorities concerned didn’t properly assess the crew fatigue, besides, the submarine was holding ammunition nearing life expiry"

Three sailors on board reportedly jumped off to safety. Navy divers were also brought in as there was a possibility that 18 personnel were trapped inside
One Of the Young Officer lost his life was MIT graduate

Nearly half of Russian air-to-air missiles with IAF have homing, ageing problems: CAG report

Auditor Slams Navy’s Selection Of R-77 Missile

India’s national auditor, in a report released yesterday, has said the Indian Navy chose to buy the Vympel R-77 BVR […]

www.livefistdefence.com

(2011)


This is how things Run here

 

[Bhadra]

Thanks for the detailed reply, apologies i did not elaborate my question. I did not mean to ask about procurement, but rather the distribution of procured goods to troops.

Who is responsible to issue uniform, small arms, BPJ, helmet, ammunition and other soldier specific items? Is it the regimental centre who allocates them or the troops receive it from the formation?

Eg: My battalion gets tasking to move to Northern Command. Do I fight with what I already have or will the command issue me with small arms etc?

Indian Army Logistics works on Centralised logistics nodes system outside Command theatres as also outside command theatres wherein some Ordinance and Engineers stores depot hold stocks and requirements centrally.
Most of those nodes are under Areas and Sub Areas who are responsible for establishing Communication Zones for the supply of stores during war..

Formation Ordinance Units process the demand through logistics channels and troops/units are supplied item wherever they are.

Command logistics nodes also hold arms, ammunition and stores required specifically for that Comand zones which are issued on induction and taken back on deduction.

Relief of units is categorized based on requirements of carriage of stores with or without. Your unit moving to Northen command will be given all ECC, tentage if any, arms, ammunition, and command sector stores on induction.

I can not possibly tell you anything more than that.

 

[Sridhar_TN]

oh really? What about Pathankot when Garuds got cut down by some Paki terrorists? What about EDI where PARA (SF) lost entire elements to holed up terrorists?

I’m sick of seeing this nonsense paraded around as fact. I’m yet to see any evidence that the weapon handling and tactics of these SF units is anything special. They seem to have worse capabilities than US SF had 25+ years ago- look up any training video and it will confirm this. PARA SF/Garuds/MARCOs have sloppy and haphazard drills that don’t seem to reflect modern warfighting lessons.

USAF security forces (military police) seem to have more solid room clearing tactics than India’s most elite units. Certainly they have much better equipment.

How many times do we have to have this conversation? It’s not a fetish for equipment. It’s not a superficial judgment.

Capabilities flow FROM equipment. Unless you think there’s some superhuman quality in Indian waters that gives birth to freakish unnatural abilities like seeing in the dark or having bullets bounce off their manly chests?

I do have the question the abilities of a force that thinks it’s sensible to run around today with a rag on their head, a field load carrier on their chest and a pistol holster incorrectly strapped to the front of their thigh.

it shows a lack of seriousness.


Compare them to even an modern infantry unit in the US where head to toe the equipment is heard towards enhancing combat effectiveness and has had genuine thought go into its development.

or do you actually think countries spend $100,000s on equipping individual SF operators just for fun?

take out the Tavor or M4 I’d be surprised if the average SF soldier in India gets $300 USD worth of equipment issued to them.

we are still here arguing about the pros and cons of making Indian SF not look like an African militia meanwhile the Africans themselves are emulating Western top line units.

I don’t understand why some make out this is somehow an impossible task that for some reason Indian SF are so unique that they must remain stuck in the 1960s equipment wise. That new equipment is inherently flawed and won’t make them even 1% more effective.

Stop making excuses for mediocrity, in any other discipline these losers would’ve been demoted or fired long ago. Celebrating these units perpetuates the problem.

Pathankot was a security failure. Intel and security failure. That cannot be compared to an SF failure. It’s shows how bad our homeland security apparatus is, and how poorly they are trained.

Most of SF training has been centered around jungle warfare and cross border warfare for India. That is because that is where India sees itself having most of its action in.

US defense forces have been trained in room clearances and urban warfare for decades. From SWAT teams locally to CI ops in Afghanistan, iraq etc...

I HIGHLY doubt DEVGRU or DELTA would be able to execute flawless ops in the jungles of Nepal or Kashmir. Operation redwing was just an example of how jungle warfare is extremely complex. All the Gucci gear in the world won’t help you in jungle warfare. MO for jungle ops is move silent, light, fast and agile. Sure, comtacs, nvgs etc...would definitely assist. But to say our SF is incompetent is a gross misrepresentation. Their training needs to be reoriented towards urban warfare, for them to be able to execute the kind of flawless room clearance techniques you are claiming other countries have. Forget SF, even the regular marines are trained for room clearances in the Marine Corps.

 

[ManhattanProject]

Wrong... all wrong....

hence the question marks.

 

[Lupus]

We shout - I gave you one rupee why are you not dressed like SEALS... every year India give merely 1.5 % of its GDP to Defence half of which is eaten by civilians and one-fourth of that is withdrawn by Finance Ministry to distribute amongst IAS governed districts..

I don't which parallel universe you're talking of sir but I'm yet to come across a single serious guy on this forum who blamed our SFs for being under equipped et al, everyone here understands only too well that our boys on the ground have little say in the matter. It's the system - both the Generals and civilian bureaucracy - who deserve the criticism and that's where our criticism is pointed at. Don't try to get with it by throwing all the blame onto civilians. This is no longer the 90s, most people today with a functioning brain and internet know the fuck ups of our generals.

"You're critising the SFs" "You aren't in the military" are nothing more than a standard diversionary tactics meant to avoid answering the real questions we are raising. Questions that if answered and acted upon properly would save the precious lives of our men.



Now, the second point you raised. Please don't quote the percentage of GDP. It means zilch. GDP belongs to the entire nation, not government. How can govt spend something it doesn't even own ?

Budget, not GDP, belongs to the government. Government is already spending a whopping 30% of its entire budget on military spending. And you want the govt to further increase it from 30%, and where do you think that additional money will come from ? Health, Education, Infrastructure ? Which one of these critical heads do you want to chop to be able to buy more weaponry ? The govt simply doesn't have additional money to spare sir. Rajeev Gandhi went against professional advice and increased military military spending and the result was that India went bankrupt and had to beg money from IMF to settle the BoP crisis. Do you want another economic crisis ?

The best way is to have a strong economic growth rate so if the govt can't increase the proportion of pie meant for military, let's just increase the pie itself to have more to eat with same proportion. But even that's not happening with the current languishing economy.

So the only alternative left is to smartly spend whatever little we have. That's not happening sir. Army wants to buy more soviet tanks. They want hefty pensions. Officers want four times as much pension as jawans for some inexplicable reasons.

If you are looking for GADDARS than look no further than those officers - both civil and military - who ruining our national security due to their financial illiteracy and mafioso attitude.

 

[Bhadra]

I don't which parallel universe you're talking of sir but I'm yet to come across a single serious guy on this forum who blamed our SFs for being under equipped et al, everyone here understands only too well that our boys on the ground have little say in the matter. It's the system - both the Generals and civilian bureaucracy - who deserve the criticism and that's where our criticism is pointed at. Don't try to get with it by throwing all the blame onto civilians. This is no longer the 90s, most people today with a functioning brain and internet know the fuck ups of our generals.

"You're critising the SFs" "You aren't in the military" are nothing more than a standard diversionary tactics meant to avoid answering the real questions we are raising. Questions that if answered and acted upon properly would save the precious lives of our men.



Now, the second point you raised. Please don't quote the percentage of GDP. It means zilch. GDP belongs to the entire nation, not government. How can govt spend something it doesn't even own ?

Budget, not GDP, belongs to the government. Government is already spending a whopping 30% of its entire budget on military spending. And you want the govt to further increase it from 30%, and where do you think that additional money will come from ? Health, Education, Infrastructure ? Which one of these critical heads do you want to chop to be able to buy more weaponry ? The govt simply doesn't have additional money to spare sir. Rajeev Gandhi went against professional advice and increased military military spending and the result was that India went bankrupt and had to beg money from IMF to settle the BoP crisis. Do you want another economic crisis ?

The best way is to have a strong economic growth rate so if the govt can't increase the proportion of pie meant for military, let's just increase the pie itself to have more to eat with same proportion. But even that's not happening with the current languishing economy.

So the only alternative left is to smartly spend whatever little we have. That's not happening sir. Army wants to buy more soviet tanks. They want hefty pensions. Officers want four times as much pension as jawans for some inexplicable reasons.

If you are looking for GADDARS than look no further than those officers - both civil and military - who ruining our national security due to their financial illiteracy and mafioso attitude.

When and where did I blame the SF..?

I also did not blame the Generals like you are doing it as a single point agenda...

Now SOD is coming up ... but there would be generals there too?

Is the "general" a problem? Well then you may stay in any world, that is not going to happen even if you fill the entire webspace in the world with all expletives...

Army is a witness to what happens to SFs when placed under someone else command. How empires are built around them for someone else to hog the heavy budgets and warm high ranking chairs...

 

[Waanar]

Interesting read. Draw your own conclusions.

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US elite forces ill-equipped for cold war with China
Special operations looks for a new role in Washington’s power struggle with Beijing

US special forces on a Humvee as a sandstorm starts in Najaf, central Iraq, in 2003 © Reuters

May 16, 2020 10:00 am by Katrina Manson in Washington
The elite US special operations forces are ill-equipped for high-tech warfare with China and Russia, experts warn, as the Trump administration pivots from the “war on terror” to a struggle with geopolitical rivals.
Special operations, known for kicking down doors and eliminating high-value targets, number 70,000 personnel, cost $13bn a year and have carried much of the burden of the war on terror. But it is unclear what role they will play as the Pentagon moves to redeploy troops from Afghanistan to the Indo-Pacific to counter China’s regional ambitions.
General Richard Clarke, commander of special operations command (Socom), told an industry conference this week that the US needed to develop new capabilities to “compete and win” with Russia and China. He added that Socom must develop cyber skills and focus on influence campaigns rather than “the kill-capture missions” that characterised his own time in Afghanistan after the September 11 2001 attacks. Socom’s fighters include US Navy Seals, Army Green Berets and Marine Corps Raiders.



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Defence officials say China has raised military spending and research with the aim of exploiting American vulnerabilities, while Russia has tested out new technology during combat in Syria.
“Maybe we are further behind than we know,” Colonel Michael McGuire, director of combat developments at Socom, told the annual Special Operations Industry Conference. Because of Covid-19 the event was conducted virtually for the first time. “Things just moved much more quickly than we expected,” he said of the new threats, citing the erosion of America’s traditional military advantages in the sky, space and communications.
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Col McGuire highlighted US vulnerabilities in cyber security, and soft-power tactics by America’s enemies that could “drive fissures through some of our alliances”. He proposed shifting focus to defence over attack.
While some military analysts have suggested SOF should take on more of a supporting role and expand their psychological operations, others urge speedier development of new stealth weapons and cutting-edge technology.
“You could have hundreds and thousands of engagements every single day in a fight against China. We are just not fast enough, dynamic enough or scaleable enough to handle that challenge,” said Chris Brose, chief strategy officer at Anduril, a start-up defence technology company, which supplies SOF. He added that satellites could be blinded or shot out of orbit.
But he said the battle with Beijing would probably fall far short of all-out war. “Most of the US-China competition is not going to be fighting world war three,” he said. “It’s going to be kicking each other under the table.” He cited reconnaissance, influence operations and sabotage.
“It’s not going to be Abbottabad; this is going to look very different,” he said of the 2011 US Navy Seal raid on a Pakistan compound in which al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed.
US special operators have for years had the run of the battlefield. But they face very different conditions in any fight against China, which has developed an arsenal of missiles, fighter jets, spy planes and other eavesdropping and jamming techniques that would make it hard for America to conceal troops, transport and communications.

Special operations forces are not ready for operations against a near-peer foe, such as China, in a direct engagement
Former SOF commander

A former SOF commander said Socom would need to plan operations without GPS or access to satellites, which help with targeting, communications and beaming down intelligence. They would need to develop cheaper, more plentiful and easily replaced equipment in case satellites were shot out of the sky.
“Special operations forces are not ready for operations against a near-peer foe, such as China, in a direct engagement,” the former commander told the Financial Times.
“We need special operations forces to find a way to operate in running gun battles and other scenarios without communications,” he said. He added that units would have to be cut off from higher command and execute plans on the ground with “substantially less oversight than we have practised in the recent war on terror”.
A former SOF intelligence officer said the traditional culture of the troops had been changed by the demand for direct battle in counter-terrorism operations. He called for a return to their cold war roots.
“Vintage special operations forces is about stealth, cunning and being able to blend in — they were triathletes rather than muscle-bound infantrymen with tattoos,” said the former officer. Such attributes, he added, would be more useful in efforts to counter China.
Special operations troops already undergo language training and regularly train, advise and assist foreign militaries in allied countries that face aggressive encroachment from China and Russia.
Tom Mahnken, president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington DC think-tank, said US special forces needed to “regain proficiency across the spectrum” in order to counter China. However, they were likely to face “gravitational pull” from ongoing counter-terrorism operations, which would remain a priority.
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David Maxwell, a former Green Beret and military analyst, is among those who favour a shift towards political warfare. One such idea of his would involve a popular writer being commissioned to pen “the Taiwanese Tom Clancy” — fictionalised war stories based in Taiwan — intended to discourage Beijing from invading the self-governing island.
He told a gathering of Pacific special forces operators in February that fictional losses could “tell the stories of the demise of Chinese soldiers who are the end of their parents’ bloodline”. He argued that Beijing’s former one-child policy could be weaponised to convince China that war would be too costly.
But Mr Maxwell said such ideas have yet to catch on. He added that psyops officers lamented to him that it was “easier to get permission to put a hellfire missile on the forehead of a terrorist than it is to get permission to put an idea between his ears”.