Two No's

This is a story about an advertisement and an interesting photograph in today's national newspaper. Beyond that, this is a story about English language.

Well, here goes the first advertisement - splashed on the first page of a national daily - The Times Of India.

Have a look at the advertisement above. The sentence "Subsequent to this pre-payment the Company will have NO liability of a single paisa." has been plaguing my mind since the time I have read it.

With my limited knowledge of English language, I think the above sentence does not look correct.  However, Microsoft Word seems to give a green signal to this sentence.

In my opinion, it should have been "Subsequent to this pre-payment the Company will NOT have a liability of a single paisa."

Maybe it was the urge to showcase that bold NO that made the content writers choose the current style.

Moving onto a second picture, once again from The Times Of India.

This is a picture from Dhaka, Bangladesh of people thronging the train to head home on the occasion of Id.

The snap itself will awe you. The mass of people on the train, those inside who are not seen, and the many thousands on the platform reflects an imbalance between the needs and the resources.

In this picture, apart from the sheer number of people, the picture title registered in my mind.

Once again a No.

The sentence "We Don't Need No Reservation" seems incorrect. This time, Microsoft Word agrees with me.

The correct sentence should have been "We Don't Need Any Reservation".

They say, Two No's make a Yes. For me, it was not the case here. Although the first No is debatable, The Two No's have got a thumbs down from me.

What do you guys out there think about it??

The Corrupt Politician

Recently, while watching the movie "The Hunt For Red October", I came across a dialogue which painted a very apt picture of corrupt politicians.

The Corrupt Politician

"Listen, I'm a politician, which means I'm a cheat and a liar, and when I'm not kissing babies, I'm stealing their lollipops, but it also means that I keep my options open."

What a beautiful way to describe these cheats!! It's time to chuck these guys out of the system.

Hina Rabbani Khar

Hina Rabbani Khar - For all practical purposes, till more than a month back, she was a nondescript Pakistani lady and a Minister of State in the Government of Pakistan.

Since her appointment as The Foreign Minister of Pakistan, and her subsequent visit to India on an official mission, she has taken India and the entire Indian sub-continent by storm.

Hina Rabbani Khar In Pakistan's National Assembly

India Pakistan relations have been difficult for the last sixty years or so. Right from the time of Independence from the Britishers, there have been numerous flare ups. And as an up side , there have been several attempts to bring back things to normal.  

The 80's and 90's belonged to Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto. They alternated between power for these two decades. After a peaceful Army coup in 1999, the then Pakistani General Pervez Musharraf assumed the presidency. 

Now we have a lady who has been entrusted with the task of bringing more confidence between the nations. She is Hina Rabbani Khar. 

Hina Rabbani Khar 

All of thirty four years, a few weeks back, the lady embarked upon the most important mission of her life. As a foreign minister, she came to India.

So who exactly is Hina Khar?

Well, her vital stats first. She is a lady of 34 years. Born in 1977 to an influential and political family in Pakistan's Punjab province, she is a business woman by profession.

Hina is married and is blessed with two daughters and a son. She is passionate about polo and trekking. And being a businesswoman, she is the owner of a popular lounge in Lahore.

Hina Rabbani Khar With Her Baby Child

She has been in the dirty world of Politics since 2002. She has been elected twice to Pakistan's National Assembly twice. 

In Feb 2011, she was appointed as a Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in the Pakistani Government. And on 20 Jul 2011, she was elevated to the post of The Foreign Minister of Pakistan, after the resignation of her predecessor.

Hina Rabbani Khar In Delhi

Immediately after her appointment to this important post, she embarked on a visit to India. Most people wondered, how would a lady with minimal experience in the fluid world of international politics be able to essay this role? 

Well, all these questions were forgotten as soon as she landed in India.

Hina Khar Arriving In India

Her calmness stands out in this picture. And her eyes reflect strong determination. I think she would have been saying a small prayer as she stepped out of the Air Force plane.

Once she was out on the tarmac, India's media went frenzy with her fashion style. Her elegant blue dress, her expensive hand bag and her couture were the center of attraction. Politics had taken a back seat. Her smile had floored everyone.

Smiling Hina

And as she waved to the Indian media, they simply went ga-ga. Only if she was an Indian and with the Indian National Congress, she would have been the brand ambassador for their election symbol - "The Palm".

Hina Khar Waving

Not disturbed by the attention she received, she went about doing the tasks on her hand. Even before meeting anyone from the Government of India, she met the separatist pro-Pakistani leaders from Jammu and Kashmir. 

This meeting of hers evoked strong adverse reactions from the Indian media. She had however completed her task.

Later she had an meeting with India's Foreign Minister, SM Krishna. Krishna is 79 years old, 45 years senior to Hina. Needless to say, his political experience is more than Hina's age. Yet, she was not awed by such stats. It can be reflected in her firm handshake.

Hina Rabbani Khar and SM Krishna - Her Firm Handshake

Her poise is indomitable. Being a business woman, she has brought in a level of professionalism in her official missions.

Later she gained an audience with the BJP leader, LK Advani. Advani, who is famous for his anti-Pak rhetoric, too was impressed by Hina. He presented her with a bouquet of red roses.

Hina Khar and LK Advani - Red Roses

I wonder what Advani said to Hina, which evoked a shy smile from her.

Most importantly, she also met the Indian Prime Minister - Manmohan Singh. She listened to him with rapt attention as Manmohan shared his two cents on the future of India Pakistan relations.

Hina Khar And Manmohan Singh

In a matter of two days, she met who's who of Indian politics. Whatever little interactions she would have had with them will hold in good stead for Hina over the coming years. 

Managing the Foreign Ministry would mean dealing with bully-friend USA, rival India, "friend or a foe" Afghanistan and it's Taliban, good friend China and other such big wig countries. 

On a lighter note, her attractive looks and elegant personality have been a source of many jokes in India. 

The Hina Effect

If she ever decides to act in Indian movies, the Bollywood starlets would be left high and dry. Her charm offensive has worked wonders.

To Hina With Love  

Hina Khar

Pakistan is at a turning point with the recent killing of Osama Bin Laden. And Hina will be Pakistan's face across the world, as she jets sets across the capitals selling Pakistan.

What Works For Harry Potter?

Harry Potter has come a long way. A widely praised book and money spinner movie series, it was liked by all - young and old. Harry Potter is a reflection of how ordinary men and women like you and me love to get lost in the world of magic.

The first book of the Harry Potter series was published on 30 June 1997. Titled "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", it was an instant hit across the world. It catapulted the author J.K. Rowling to mega stardom. Since then she has published all the seven books of the series, finishing with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". 

This fantasy book series has also being converted into a successful movie franchisee. Needless to say, it's prime actors - Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have become stars.

Harry, Hermione and Ron - Daniel, Emma and Rupert

The last movie of the Harry Potter franchisee - "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2" is scheduled to release on 15 July 2011. Harry Potter fans are looking forward to this movie with a lot of excitement. It promises to be the darkest of all of them.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2

What was it about Harry Potter that worked wonders? Well, here are some points I think which can be credited to it's success.

The Story

The Harry Potter story was a classic. Rowling built it up excellently over the multiple books. And most importantly she retained the suspense till the very end.

The first book - "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" - introduced the world to the most important characters in the series - Harry himself and Lord Voldemort.

Harry Potter

The names of the seven books of the series are :-

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Each of the seven books above wove a great fantasy story revolving around Harry,  Hermione, Ron, Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Hogwarts school, the Death Eaters, and ultimately The Dark Lord. 

The theme of the book - "Victory of good over evil" was a hit.

The Narration
J.K. Rowling narrated the story beautifully. The narration was wonderful and spell binding. It had finely crafted characters you could easily relate to. 

J.K. Rowling

Most importantly, it had the element of magic - something which we all desire in our ordinary life. Harry Potter is often credited with bringing back kids to books, in the age of computers.

The School and The Teachers
It was the story about a school which we all dream about. A huge castle, big lawns, lots of hidden secrets, some wonderful teachers, some really scary teachers et al. 

The Hogwarts Castle

A major part of the story was painted in Hogwarts and most of these moments were special. Chapters like "The Battle of Hogwarts" added to the excitement.

You had interesting teachers - Albus Dumbledore who was the Head, Ms McGonagall. Severus Snape kept the audience thinking right into the seventh book on his allegiance. 

Albus Dumbledore

Dolores Umbridge, Mad-Eye Moody and Horace Slughorn lit up the intermediate books. Hagrid too was an affable character.

The Friends and The Foes
Harry Potter had an interesting mix of characters. Like in schools, it depicted friendships between diverse people. You had Hermione who was a muggle (an ordinary person like you and me), Ron who was a pure blood wizard and Harry who was a half blood (his mom was a muggle and his father was a wizard). 

Then you had other student characters who played the bad guys. All in all, it was an interesting mix and added to the beauty of the story.

Draco Malfoy

Interestingly, all students could do magic, cast interesting spells, do amazing tricks and play some really tough games. All these antics were a hit with the readers and the movie goers.

The Supporting Characters
You had other interesting characters in the book. This included ghosts, talking portraits, a Poltergeist, a Sorting Hat, a Centaur, a wand maker etc etc. All this characters played a major part in the story. 

You cannot forget Dobby, who was a house elf. Then there were Goblins, owls, a rat  (who later turned into a man), a cat and what not. Some of these characters were a reflection of real life animals, while many were imaginary. Rowling's imagination in depicting these characters and weaving them into the story was simply superb.

Dobby

Most importantly, there was a snake. That itself gave rise to many a terms - like parsletounge - which meant the ability to understand both humans and snakes.

Last but not the least, you had muggles. They were ordinary men and women like you and me.

The Magic
The book was all about magic. You had wizards, muggles and half wizards. They could cast spells, make interesting potions, fly on a broom, walk into a non-existent train platform etc etc. All this struck a chord in the hearts of the people.

Spells - Avada Kedavara

We all hope to have an element of magic in our life. This book was full of it. It would be apt to remember Rowling's line - Magic is Might.

The Dark Characters
There was no dearth of dark characters in the book. 

You had Lord Voldemort itself. He had several names like "He Who Must Not Be Named", "The Dark Lord" etc etc. He was cruel, unforgiving, brilliant, intelligent and really dark. He was Harry's chief nemesis.

To support him, there were loads of Death Eaters. And there were Dementors - who could suck the happiness out of you.

Dementors

All these dark characters casted bewitching spell, hurt people and were a threat to the lives of wizards and muggles. The battle between them and Harry and team was a primary idea of the story.

Harry Ron Hermione and Co
Last but not the least, it was a story about Harry. The Potter boy worked his magic into the hearts of the people. 

Harry, Hermione and Ron

From being without parents since he was a little boy, to suffering the cruelty at the hands of his mother's relatives, to making great friends with Ron and Hermione, and finally falling in love with Ginny - it was an incredible journey.

This book has been often criticized as a children's book. In case you have not read the book, let me assure you that it is not the case. It is something which adults too would love to read. After all, who doesn't love magic, romance, hatred and love. 

The books are extremely addictive. After reading the first 5 books well after they were published, I was hugely hooked onto the book. And I read the last two books within two days of the book being released. 

The movies too are good. Children will fancy the excitement depicted on the big screen.

All in all, this fantasy story series is a must read. Hope you read it if you haven't done till now. It is never late. And if you have read it, it will be great if you could share your experience.

Long Live Harry Potter and his cult.

The Jan Lokpal Bill

"Lokpal" is the buzz word these days in India. The second biggest buzz word is "The Civil Society". Till yesterday, I was referred to as a citizen of India. Today, I'm a member of the Civil Society. Definitely, times are changing. 

This blog post aims to discuss my views and opinions, thoughts and ideas on the Jan Lokpal Bill. The views presented here are with due respects to your opinion.

In April 2011, social crusader Anna Hazare went on a fast to insist on the passing of the Lokpal Bill. The main aim of The Lokpal Bill is to provide a better legal framework to work against corrupt officials across different public organizations and in the Government.

Anna Hazare

Taking cognizance of his fast and views, and the tremendous support that he generated across India, the Government of India has setup the Lokpal panel. It is consisting of five members of the Government and five members of the civil society. They are responsible for formulating the Lokpal Bill till 15^th August 2011.

What is the Jan Lokpal Bill? Well, for people with limited knowledge of Hindi - The Jan Lokpal Bill literally means The Citizen's Ombudsman Bill.

And who exactly is an ombudsman? Since the matter has been discussed greatly in public sphere, it would be worthwhile to understand a few definitions.

• An ombudsman is a government appointee who investigates complaints by private persons against the government.
  
  
  
• A government official who hears and investigates complaints by private citizens against other officials or government agencies.
  
  
• A commissioner who acts as independent referee between individual citizens and their government or its administration.

Let us understand the step by step argument put forth by the proponents of the Lokpal Bill.

The proponents say that there are two mechanisms to work against corruption in the functioning of the Government and other public organizations.

• The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Departmental Vigilance (DV) - responsible for managing vigilance aspect of the corruption cases.
  
  
  
• The Central Bureau of Investigation - responsible for managing the criminal aspect of the corruption cases.

Certain drawbacks are highlighted in the current mechanisms. The drawbacks highlighted are quite true and need to be addressed.

Regarding the CVC

• Lack of adequate resources - limited to less than 200 people.
  
  
  
• Just an advisory body - cannot enforce or ensure action.
  
  
• Cannot initiate independent action or inquiries against people beyond a certain level.
  
  
• Cannot register criminal cases.
  
  
• Cannot have any power over department vigilance wing.
  
  
• Appointment to the CVC is done by the ruling party.

Regarding the Departmental Vigilance Wings

• Officers responsible for vigilance are a part of the same department. This impacts their independence.
  
  
  
• Similar to the CVC, it cannot initiate independent action.
  
  
• No powers against politicians.

Regarding the CBI

• It is overburdened.
  
  
  
• Under the control of Central Government of India.
  
  
• Assumed to be unfair - since it works under orders of the Central Government.

Corruption in Judiciary

What does the Lokpal Bill Propose?

• Setting up the institution of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayukta in each state. It will be independent of the government. They will not come under the purview of the any minister or bureaucrat.
  
  
  
• Cases will be completed in one year.
  
  
• The loss caused by the corrupt individual to the state will be recovered.
  
  
• The common man can approach the Lokpal if some of his work related to the Government is not done. Lokpal will be responsible for getting this done and the guilty will be punished.
  
  
• Corrupt Lokpal officers will be punished in two months.
  
  
• CVC, Departmental Vigilance and the Anti-Corruption Branch of the CBI will be merged with the Lokpal.
  
  
• Lokpal can initiate independent proceedings.
  
  
• Lokpal will be responsible for providing protection to the people who are victimized for raising a voice against corruption.

At a face value, all these seem very promising initiatives. Most people will think that this bill will be very helpful.

However, at this moment, I would like to recollect a thought I had read somewhere – India and Indians are good at planning, poor at execution. 

This thought has rumbled through my mind every time I have failed in execution. I look back only to look with awe at my plan, only to shudder at its execution.

What is my opinion? 

With the Lokpal and Lokayukta, we are creating more institutions. Why not look at strengthening existing institutions? Why not look at empowering them to do the work they are supposed to do?

Let's take it step by step.

Addressing "The Lack of Resources".

• The lack of resources in the vigilance departments is a challenge. Staff strength of 200 to have vigilance control over an entire nation is not possible. The Lokpal Bill will not address that challenge in any way.
  
  
  
• The solution is simple. It is necessary to staff these organizations adequately. And staffing is to be done with the right kind of people, the professionals who are trained to do this duty appropriately.
  
  
• This way you will bring in more people to do the required investigations. And this will implicitly resolve the problem related to long time required for execution of the cases. With more honest people at work, the investigations can be prompt and so can be the subsequent judgement.
  
  
• As an offshoot, the Government will be generating employment.

Addressing "The Lack of Independence"

• The drawback highlighted is that the CVC and DV Wings do not have teeth. Let's give them teeth. Let's give them the power to investigate independently.
  
  
  
• Let's have a tree structure of the organization where the DV wing reports to the CVC Wing. This way the CVC can direct and have control over the DV wings. This resolves one problem mentioned earlier.
  
  
• The CVC wing in turn will report into the Prime Minister. This proposal will draw criticism from people who think that such a vigilance team should be independent of the politicians.
  
  
  Yes, that argument holds good. But you always need a leader. You cannot have a headless organization. A leader who has the responsibility and authority. And in my opinion, the Prime Minister of India is the supreme leader in India.
  
  
• The Prime Minister can appoint an individual or a team responsible for managing this entire show. And they will be responsible for its execution – end to end. The ultimate responsibility will be the Prime Minister. If the PM fails, he will be responsible to the Parliament and effectively to the country.
  
  
• The members of the DV wing will not be a part of the same department. They will be independent functionaries working under directly under the CVC.
  
  
• These vigilance commissions are to be given an authority to lodge criminal cases if the need be.
  
  
• Let us not set any boundaries on the people who can be investigated by these authorities. Everyone who is the citizen of India, including the Prime Minister and the Judges, is supposed to function under the same sphere of law and hence should be investigated by the same set of authorities.
  
  
• We will of course need to address the chance of corruption by the very people responsible for managing corruption. This will require setting up an independent control mechanism which can serve as a deterrent against corruption.
  
  
  Haven't we heard of ACB sleuths catching someone from the ACB itself taking bribes? We will need a similar structure.

The Prime Minister

Addressing "The People Question"

Let's now come to the question of the people who will be working in this anti-corruption process. The Jan Lokpal Bill suggests that these people will be elected by a transparent public participatory process.

• With due respects to everyone, we need to remember that India is a country of 120 crore people spread across a land mass of 3.2 million square kilometers. We cannot have an election to select a Lokpal and a Lokayukta. It is simply too expensive.
  
  
  
• And if indeed we need to select such people, what will form as a basis of it? Will there be some campaigning, with its associated expenditure of money? How will people know who is good and who is bad? It's simply not possible.
  
  
• What we can do instead? Well, the team can be selected by the elected representatives of the people. And when I say the elected representatives, I mean the all the members of the Parliament – cutting across party lines. This way, each and every elected representative will be responsible for choosing the vigilance team member.
  
  
• A thorough background check of the candidates must be done to ensure that they themselves are not black sheep.

Addressing "The Time Question"

Without doubt, the time required for execution is huge in corruption cases. This means that in many of the cases, the intent of the proceedings is lost. How do we resolve this problem?

• Setup goals. The Lokpal Bill says that the Lokpal should resolve cases within one year. Well, that is ambitious in some cases while extremely liberal in some cases.
  
  
  
  But yes, it's a good time line. Let's set the same timeline for the Vigilance Commissions. What's the harm? 
  
  
• Importantly, they should be empowered to execute such tasks.

Well, I may have tried to answer some of the questions which the Lokpal Bill is trying to answer. And if you have read intently till now, you might have understood my opinion. 

Summarizing, I'm not in favor of creating a parallel structure for addressing the cases of corruption. Instead we should look at strengthen existing systems and frameworks to address the situation. 

Most importantly, we are missing an important point here. We are looking at addressing the situation after corruption has taken place. Why don't we go a step back?

Why don't we evaluate why corruption take place? Corruption is social phenomenon and the causes of that problem need to be addressed. We should think about what causes people to be corrupt. 

Example of Corruption

Many a times, it is the limited salary offered in the job which causes people to be corrupt – because this gives them an opportunity to get that extra penny. This is a problem which should be resolved. 

On a long term, India should look at creating better opportunities of work and for better equitable distribution of income. This could possibly nip the corruption in the bud.

There have been cases where the well-off people and politicians are found indulging in corruption. They need to be punished strongly so that it can serve as deterrence for occurrence of such cases in future.

Net in net, I will summarize my opinion as below

• The problems highlighted by the proponents of the Lokpal Bill are correct and need to be resolved.
  
  
  
• The Lokpal Bill structure would not resolve those problems.
  
  
• The existing anti corruption organizations need to be enhanced, and empowered. Frameworks need to be created to address this enable them to work independently to yield the required results.
  
  
• The root cause of corruption needs to be addressed.

Well, different people will have different opinions. Mine might agree with yours or might be opposite to your opinion.

What do you think? What is your opinion?

Operation Geronimo Learnings

It has been less than 10 days since the American forces carried out an audacious operation in the heartland of Pakistan to kill the most wanted terrorist in the world - Osama Bin Laden. 

Executed under the code name Operation Geronimo, this military campaign will go down in history as one of the most sucessfull anti-terror operations.

Under this context, it would be worthwhile to absorb and assimilate the learning's of this complex endeavour. Significantly, these learning's can be applied in different situations and facets.

Let us start with an overview of the operation itself.

• Three to four helicopters fly from Afghanistan into Abbottabad, Pakistan, with American Navy Seals on board. 

• They descend on Osama Bin Laden's compound in the dead of the night and engage in a massive fire fight.

• Osama Bin Laden is shot dead. He is identified and his body is flown out of Pakistan. The operation is completed in approximately 40 minutes. 

• The operation is controlled from The White House, America.

The importance from the operation can be gauged from the fact that America has spent close to a decade in pursing Osama Bin Laden. They spent close to a trillion dollars, just to get this one man.

So what are the learning's from the operation?

 

Persistence Is The Key.

 

You might have heard about the quote - “Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.” - by Bill Bradley. 

 

The Americans relentlessly pursued Bin Laden and it was the persistence of the efforts which finally got them to their man. Of course, they had to throw in a lot of money. Yet, the will was never lacking.

 

Mitigate Risks With Confidence.

Think about the way the operation is executed. The Americans did not know with certainty that Osama was in that compound in Abbottabad. 

 

The armed forces were to conduct an operation in a foreign land, without the permission of the country. The odds of executing this successfully without any collateral damage were high. 

 

Osama Bin Laden Abbottabad Compound

Under such circumstances, they beleived in this quote by the American car maganate - Henry Ford.

 

No one can really guarantee the future. The best thing we can do is calculate the risks involved, size up our chances, estimate our ability to deal with them, and then make our plans with confidence.

 

The Americans did just that. And they were successfull.

Preparation and Practice Are Equally Important.

Well, after tracking down Bin Laden to that compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad, just a few miles away from Pakistan's military academy, the Americans prepared a lot for the operation. They gathered huge amount of intelligence. They did the ground work. All of this formed the basis of the  sucessfull operation.

 

In an very important comment, John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counter terrorism, said that the operation was well practiced at undisclosed locations. This practice made sure that the forces were well aware of the compound, its surrounding etc. It ensured that they do not comes across a massive unforeseen situation which would derail the operation itself.

Share Information Only On A Need-to-know Basis.

The Americans violated the sovereignty of Pakistan as a nation by carrying out an independent operation on Pakistani soil. As per current information, no one from the Pakistani Government knew about this attack before hand. Why?

 

Barack Obama During Osama Operation - Code Named Operation Geronimo

Well, here are Barack Obama's words. 

 

"If I'm not revealing to some of my closest aides what we're doing, then I sure as heck am not going to be revealing it to folks who I don't know," he said. "I didn't tell my own family."

 

Well, this says it all. Only those people who mattered were informed. This ensured that the operation was not compromised.

 

Never Underestimate. 

 

Never ever underestimate the risks in any endeavour. This will ensure that adequate back up plans are available for any kind of situation. 

This did happen in Operation Geronimo when one of the copters crashed. The Americans are supposed to have switched onto the backup plan to execute it successfully.

 

Obama himself talked about it. He wondered, "If Murphy's Law applies and something happens, Can we still get our guys out?"

Set Clear And Precise Goals

The aims and goals of the operation was set forth clearly to the men on ground.

They were 

• If it's Osama who is in there, try to capture him alive only if he is naked. Else, take him off.

• If it's Osama who isn't there, just get the hell out of there.

Well, these clear goals ensured that the men on ground did not have to think hard on what to do when they came across Osama. The rules were set forth and they were to be executed. 

Well, there will be people who will support creativity in activities. Well, creativity is important - but it is to be done in the planning phase. The execution phase has to go on with mechanical precision. Nothing more, nothing less.

Engage People In Positions Of Authority And Responsibility.

 

A key highlight of this operation was the fact that this operation was controlled and monitored from The White House and the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. President Barack Obama and his closest aides watched the operation real time from the Situation (Control) Room in the White House.

 

Operation Geronimo White House Situation Room

This ensured two things. 

 

The people who had the responsibility to execute were involved. As stakeholders, it was their job to ensure that the operation is taken to a logical conclusion.This could either mean ensuring that Osama is taken out or the American forces are flown out of the country, safely.

Importantly, the people who had the powers to take the decision were involved. They could take decisions which could make the operation a success. They could take decisions in the event of any unforeseen situation. And decisions are most important in such massive operations.  

 

Luck Is The Key. 

 

The biggest of the endeavors needs the greatest of the luck. No one has spoken  about it outright. Yet, I consider that luck was an important factor in this operation.

 

Just think how three to four helicopters fly into a country, go in undetected into a garrison town just 60 kms from the capital, and then fly out with the most wanted terrorist in the world - dead.

Well, there might be several other lessons which can be grasped from this complex military operations. The one's highlighted here are not new themselves.

 

Yet, incoporating them in any endeavor is important. All of them can be a strong tail wind in ensuring the success of a mission.