Time looked at the victory of Sri Lanka over the Tamil Tigers, and concluded they did everything wrong, and their successful methods were exactly what we should not do. Never have I seen an analysis so utterly and spectacularly wrong as Time’s.
Only brute force could have worked with the well-funded LTTE who even had their navy and a basic air force. Tamil Tigers are the pioneers of suicide bombing in the modern times. They wanted the country divided on ethnic grounds and resorted to methods which would make any human being shudder. They achieved special distinction of using child soldiers and women suicide bombers; in fact they used one such women bomber to kill former Indian Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi 18 years back.
What Time doesn't recognize is that if Sri Lanka had even hesitated in their bombings, it would have prolonged the war even more and have caused more civilian casualties in long run. Any gaps in the bombings are used by the enemy to regroup and recover from the assault so it renders the attack useless. It also gives time for counter-attack and relocation of the valuable assets of the enemy.
Same logic applies to the negotiations which are just a delaying tactic and way of promoting propaganda. When have discussions with terrorists worked? Norway and others like it act like little UN's and just serve to prolong the agony of the people. I have lived with the specter of terrorism for a long time in India, first Sikh and now the Islamic variety. The looming threat destroys the quality of life and the terror grinds you down. You become jumpy every time you see an abandoned bag or packet and the crowded malls and market places become less inviting. You become fed up with being patted down and waiting at the inevitable roadblocks put up by the incompetent police when the terrorists have done their deed and fled.
As for the Sri Lankan tactics being old fashioned as Time puts it, as Chuck says, "old fashioned, rational tactics still work just as well as they ever did". There is a reason why they study historic battles at the West Point. Who cares how old the strategies and tactics are, as long as they work.
The conflict in Sri Lanka has dragged for decades but it took one determined leader only a couple of years to finish LTTE. There is much to be learned from the Lankan experience. So time to ignore untimely and ignorant advice from rags like Time magazine and use the lessons learnt in the fight against Islamic terrorism.
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