General David Petraeus, the commanding general of the US central command has done precisely what a thinking general should do. A military observer may agree with him that the potential danger zone has to be identified well in advance. The political commentators may say that the Obama Administration has only authorised economic sanctions through diplomacy and winning over neutral nations to the American cause. Where is the governmental sanction for the Petraeus Plan to start intelligence gathering against Iran and other centres of Islamist terror like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq and so on. I shall kill this doubt by saying that a far sighted commander has to assess the politico-military situation well in advance and take counter-measures.

Threat Perception by military commanders is a part of their duty to the nation they serve. If a commander waits for the enemy to strike as per their plan, his troops would be caught flat footed. If a commander does not perceive the threat in time, its soldiers would be killed by the enemy like sitting ducks. General Petraeus is intelligent and experienced in threat perception. He has handled difficult situations in Iraq and is doing that now in Afghanistan. he needs appreciation and support of right thinking citizens, journalists and military commentators.

It is in the exercise of this initiative as a military leader of combatant troops that the general ordered intelligence gathering by cultivating foreign businessmen, local men and women and other sources. The enemy will never reveal his plans to an adversary force. it has to be found out and interpreted correctly. The aim of exercise undertaken by General Petraeus is precisely the same. Intelligence gathering is an art that is perfected over a period of time. it is time consuming and at times frustrating. But the act has to go on.

As far as a written order of the President is concerned, it is required when a body of combatants has to go into action and a shooting war begins. For that matter, even the president of the United States of America has to go to the Congress and explain why he is committing the country to war against a particular enemy or a group of enemies. it is the constitutional practice and is followed for declaration of war.

Expanding military activities in intelligence gathering and firing a weapon or killing an adversary in self defence does not require the sanction of the US Congress. Thus the commanding general of the US  Central command has not over stepped his authority nor he has gone beyond the mandate.

LET GENERALS NOT BE CAUGHT NAPPING

In the Second World War when Hitler's Nazi Army entered France and Paris fell to invaders, the British Expeditionary Force in France was still practising rifle shoot with drill cartridges. The british Generals did not anticipate the swift advance of German army into France. Their threat perception was weak and intelligence gathering weaker. Consequently they cut a sorry figure and great Britain paid a price.

Likewise the threat perception by the British Generals in Singapore was nill and when the invading Japanese army was knocking at the door of the South-East Asian British Empire, the British big guns failed to fire.

 The commanding general of the Indian forces in areas of Ladakh and Kargil failed to perceive the Pakistani threat and the enemy sat in the Indian area for weeks undetected and blew up the Indian ammunition dumps. Initial loss of life of young soldiers and young officers could have been avoided if the threat perception and situation appreciation were correct.