CHIWANSHI CHABA MU STATE HOUSE?
What kind of ghost is in State House?
There is something every Zambian must understand about the State. A president of a political party in opposition and a President sitting in State House do not possess the same information. Opposition gives you opinions, policies and promises. State House gives you access to realities that may never enter the public domain.
Japan learnt this dramatically through Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. Before taking office in 2009, Hatoyama advocated moving the American Marine Corps Air Station Futenma out of Okinawa. Once in government, the reality became considerably more complicated. Hatoyama later acknowledged that the more he learnt about the interoperability of American forces in Japan, the more he came to appreciate the deterrence argument.
He could not fulfil the undertaking he had made before becoming Prime Minister. The controversy became one of the major factors leading to his resignation after only about eight months in office. What changed? He had crossed from the world of political promises into the world of State information.
This principle becomes even more important in national security. Before Israel destroyed Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor in Operation Opera in 1981, selected Israeli pilots trained extensively for a highly specialised mission. They were not initially told precisely what operation they were preparing for. Secrecy was extraordinary. Information was compartmentalised. Only those who needed particular information received it.
When the operation was finally authorised and executed, eight F 16s supported by six F 15s flew more than 1,000 kilometres towards Iraq. The reactor was destroyed and every Israeli aircraft returned safely.
Consider also Operation Thunderbolt at Entebbe in 1976. Planning and preparations for the extraordinary hostage rescue operation proceeded while the political decision making process was still underway. The force was already airborne, subject to recall, when the final authority to proceed was given. That is how serious States sometimes operate.
Compartmentalisation means that everybody does not know everything. A “poor” Permanent Secretary at the ministry of information may genuinely not possess all the information held by a specialised security institution. A minister may know more than the Permanent Secretary. Another minister may know nothing about that particular operation. Even the President may initially be awaiting a complete security briefing. This is especially true during an active investigation involving national security or persons of security interest.
Information may deliberately be restricted because prematurely revealing one fact could expose surveillance, compromise evidence, alert other persons of interest or destroy a much larger investigation. This is why Presidents themselves sometimes tell their nations, “I am waiting to be fully briefed.” This does not necessarily mean the State does not know. It may mean that different organs of the State possess different pieces of information which are still being assembled, verified and elevated through the appropriate chain of command.
Therefore, when a serious security matter occurs, we should be cautious before immediately concluding that somebody has lied simply because information changes, expands or becomes clearer as an investigation progresses.
Demand accountability. Demand truth. Demand respect for the Constitution and the law. However, understand how a State works. The State is complex. I wish I could say more.
What the public knows is not necessarily everything the State knows. What one government official knows is not necessarily everything another security institution knows.
Sometimes even the person sitting in State House discovers the real ciwa (ghost) is due course. That ciwa is simply “THE STATE”!
Saviour Chishimba
President
United Progressive People (UPP)
UPND Alliance Partner