How did the Sri Lankan government finally prevail in the conflict with the Tamil Tigers after 28 years of failure? Easy — instead of trying to protect the population or offer a political solution, it proceeded to wage total war, dismissing international opinion and with little regard for civilian casualties.
The Indian Defence Review, in an [...]
Archive for the ‘Sri Lanka’ Category
Sri Lanka: War According to Rajapaksa
Posted in Sri Lanka on August 28, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Sri Lanka: ‘More than 20,000′ Civilians Killed in Army Push
Posted in Sri Lanka on May 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Times appears to have scored a scoop today, reporting that “more than 20,000″ Tamil civilians were killed during the final weeks of the Sri Lankan Army’s push into the Jaffna Peninsula. I have my doubts; as often with the Times, the story is too vaguely sourced to be completely convincing. Still, let’s not forget [...]
Sri Lanka: A Legacy of Terror
Posted in Sri Lanka on May 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“The Tigers’ legacy remains intact”, warns Mia Bloom:
Their perfection of suicide bombings, their recruitment of women and children, their innovation in IEDs, have been emulated by other terrorist groups worldwide, from al-Qaeda to Hezbollah. Though they considered themselves superior to jihadi terrorists — who regularly target civilians — the Tigers opened the door to terrorism [...]
Sri Lanka: Victory without Peace
Posted in Sri Lanka on May 19, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I strongly advise anyone feeling giddy about the turn of events in Sri Lanka to hold on to the champagne a little longer — a few decades, to be more precise. The government may have crushed the LTTE, but that will not bring peace. It will simply silence the guns until a new generation of [...]
Sri Lanka: War Against Insurgents, Not Counterinsurgency
Posted in Sri Lanka on February 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I have nothing but respect for Andrew Exum and the inimitable Abu Muqawama, but today he has a misfire.
In a post titled “Sri Lanka: The Last Battle”, Exum describes the war between the Colombo government and the LTTE as an “increasingly successful counterinsurgency campaign”. If by “counterinsurgency” he simply means a war against insurgents, he’s [...]
Death in Sri Lanka: ‘And Then They Came for Me’
Posted in Sri Lanka on January 21, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I followed the conflict in Sri Lanka from the start all through the 80s and early 90s and was more aghast at what was happening on the island every time I went back, which was once or twice a year.
The slow unraveling of the country’s democracy and its descent into the lower depths of fratricidal [...]
Sri Lanka: Enough of this ‘hearts and minds’ stuff
Posted in Sri Lanka on May 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
COIN may be all the rage in the West, but the Sri Lankan government is having none of it. After 27 years of bloodshed and failed ceasefires, the Colombo government has decided to, well, just wipe out the LTTE once and for all. My advice is: while you’re at it, why not wipe out the [...]
