12:07AM
The Sri Lankan option: details
Tuesday, June 1, 2010 at 12:07AM 
Little poor Sri Lanka is suddenly a global model of successful COIN. Everybody seems to forget how long it took (it stretches back to 1983) and instead want to know how the decisive punches were landed.
Louise Arbour, head of the International Crisis Group, sums up the model thusly:
- Full operational freedom for the Army to pursue scorched-earth tactics;
- Little concern for noncombatant deaths (pretty much a requirement for #1); and
- Dismissing international and media protests regarding #1 and #2.
Judging by Israel's latest mistakes in mishandling the protest flotilla (pen knives and deck chairs = a dozen-plus dead?), Tel Aviv is absorbing the message alright.
Reader Comments (1)
My terrorism uni course just called for a report style assessment that detailed the threat posed to Australia by 2 terrorist groups. One of those that I looked at was the LTTE. Why, because in the coming months and years I think we might see a resurgence of that group.
LTTE go from terrorist group, to insurgency, to conventional force, to defeat at the hands of the Sri Lankan military, whats the obvious next iteration,. back to their roots, out of refugee camps and via the huge Tamil diaspora.
It's by no means a definite thing, but if I was an paid analyst I'd have that one tagged for future reference.