Russian defense plans suffer from secrecy

MOSCOW, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Two major defense planning documents appeared at about the same time. In June, Paris published a White Paper on Defense and National Security. Six weeks later, Moscow issued a so-called Concept for the Development of Russia's Armed Forces Through 2030.

Why "so-called"? Because, unlike the French White Paper, submitted to the French president at a ceremony attended by 3,000 top-ranking officials from the republic's military and political establishment and guests from other countries, the Russian concept has no sponsors. Its authors are unknown, and no one in the Russian Defense Ministry has commented on it.

Not a word has been uttered in the Russian Security Council or other agencies concerned with defense or security. It is almost as if it never existed. There is no official response, although the press has debated and commented on it at length.

This is not surprising. Russia's leadership had not even reacted to the new military doctrine published at the end of last year by the Academy of Military Sciences in Moscow. What, then, can be said of the "new look for the armed forces," as the concept is described in the press? It has never been seriously discussed.

The French White Paper is different. It is an example of how a country's leadership and society view their security. To begin with, French President Nicolas Sarkozy instructed Jean-Claude Mallet, a member of the Conseil d'Etat (Council of State), to set up and head a commission to draft a new paper on defense as soon as he was inaugurated on July 31, 2007. The commission included 35 leading specialists. In addition to representatives from the Defense Ministry and other government agencies, figures from the military industry, Parliament and independent experts were invited.

Wide-ranging debates, TV and online conferences, and closed and open roundtables, attended not only by French experts but also by professionals from other countries, took place. A special Internet Web site was opened for everyone to contribute their proposals on "how to organize our army," what it should do, and how it must go about its mission. In 11 months of the commission's work, more than 250,000 people visited the site. The response was nationwide.

In Russia, such a method of addressing matters of state significance has yet to be established. Russian officials will not discuss the concept, which appears to be an orphan. Instead, the Russian debate has to go back to 2003, when the Russian Defense Ministry issued its own "white paper on defense," printed on high-quality paper and lavishly illustrated.

Although only a small number of copies were published, the print run was enough for experts and foreign military attaches. It was called "Current Tasks for the Development of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation."

Then-President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov presented the paper. True, no one had discussed it previously. Discussions followed only after it had been approved by the country's leadership, although there was by then nothing to discuss, the order of the day being its fulfillment.

The tasks must have had little public support. Five years later, few in Russia, if any, can recall them, either among the expert community or in the Defense Ministry itself.

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(In Part 2: French President Nicholas Sarkozy's new White Paper on national defense lists five basic functions that the national armed forces and government agencies must fulfill.)

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(Nikita Petrov is a Russian military commentator. This article is published by permission of RIA Novosti. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.)

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(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)