One may be hard pressed to characterise this letter by Churchill as an example of "power-writing"! The author obviously has to rely on means other than reason to achieve his ends which of course are not to be sneezed at.
Be that as it may, his justification of Dabolim's civilian status is interesting. I dont seem to have heard it before. It makes sense. But who will buy it at this late stage? Is there any scope for a PIL at the International Court of Justice? Just a stray thought. However I dont understand Churchill's explanation that the Navy was called in at Dabolim because "there was a lack of technical competence among the civilian authorities". India was bequeathed around 450 airports all over the countryside after WWII. Only 50-100 are in proper shape today. The bulk of the WWII vintage airfields have just gone to seed through neglect and disuse. The same could easily have happened to Dabolim and nobody would have been the wiser. The reason it didnt was probably because very early on the Navy recognised the value of an asset like an airport contiguous to a harbour and made sure it got it. Since then it seems to have systematically though glacially developed the airport into a quintessentially civilian facility while ensuring that it retains control for the long run. We can only wish Churchill a lot of luck in his campaign and watch how it is countered.
