This is not how terrorism ends, but it could be an intermission.Here is the link to this report on the Sri Lanke News First website.
Here is the same report on the website of The Washington Post.
In thinking about our counter insurgency efforts around the world it is the second most important thing to keep in mind—insurgencies don't end with military force, but rather with political agreement. Everything else is an intermission.
The first thing to keep in mind is that the United States can't win a counter insurgency fight in another country. Only that country can win the fight.
All that said, we can help others fight groups like al Qaeda, who would deprive all persons of rights we take for granted. If some woman you know drove a car to a store this week, by herself, and you think that was a good thing, then you are not interested in what al Qaeda has to offer. If your Mother, Sister or Daughter has a college degree and feels free to work outside the home, then you would not like al Qaeda and what it has to offer. So, you can understand why some others might wish to resist al Qaeda also.
Some of the countries we work with in the fight against al Qaeda are far from perfect. It isn't a perfect world out there. It is our job to try and make it better, step by step.
Regards — Cliff
Observing the Tamil Tigers administered a de facto government in their controlled territory over the years, (public services, taxes, the whole nine yards), I think it's a bit disingenuous to label them as nothing but terrorists, and then try to rationalize the existing situation in only those terms. We have no way of confirming whether the population under their political control all those years sensed themselves as "occupied", or simply as citizens, and that distinction is a critically important one. I'd say it's extremely dangerous to conclude anything about the present situation, other than that the organized armed opposition to the Sri Lankan government in the field has ceased.
ReplyDeleteIt could very well be that the locals on the northward side of the island consider themselves liberated, in which case let's all hope that "terrorism" does not arise to bedevil them in their new free future. However, if the locals consider themselves newly occupied, then let's all hope that they find a way to peacefully achieve their political ends, because it would stand to reason that they won't want much of the new status quo, and may very well want to continue the fight.
Enjoying as I do the fruits of an armed insurrection back in 1775, I find it very hard to assume that all violence in pursuit of political freedom is an unequivocal wrong thing. Labeling political opposition "terrorism" (or, in the case of my 1775 heroes, "traitors", but it's much the same thing) is obviously going to be the first refuge of a tyrant. The trouble is trying to tell the difference. The way I see it, "patriots and heroes" defeat tyrants, while "terrorism" is put down by the wise and the just. We just need to be very careful in assessing the distinctions, because there are a lot of folks who fled to Nova Scotia back in the day who would say we have more in common with the Tamil Tigers than we do the Sri Lankan Government, and for their part, they wouldn't be wrong.
I basically agree with Kad Barma's thoughts that the Tamil Tigers may well have been representing a group with legitimate grievances against the central government. However, that does not change the fact that they developed the tools of terrorism to a high degree. Terrorism—actions to terrorize (and control) the local population—is an established tool of insurgencies. Perhaps we don't always call it terrorism, but the assassination of local village leaders, teachers and medical personnel is part of the first stage of an insurgency.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I remember from one of Bernard Fall's books about Viet-nam was that he arrived in Saigon to do research for the book and spent some time sitting in coffee shops, reading the Obits in the local newspapers and making notes. Then he went to visit a high official in the Interior Ministry and asked about insurgency. The official said there was none. Mr Fall then opened up a map he have made of recent deaths from unnatural causes. The official looked at it and then brought out his own map, which showed the same thing. Then they got down to talking about the insurgency.
The goal of any insurgency is to replace the recognized government and to collect its own taxes and provide its own justice and public services. Look at Hezbollah. They gained political power by doing a better job than the Palestinian Authority in doing that sort of thing. It allowed them to win the election in Gaza.
So, the Tamil Tigers, and Hezbollah, and the Viet Cong, and Mao's 8th Route Army were, at one time, terrorists. If the insurgency makes the leap to the second or third stage, they gain legitimacy. But, terrorism is always there as the weapon of the weak. Sure, we condemn it, but it is legitimate to the extent that it works. And, over reaction (I give you WWI) and under reaction are equally as bad.
Regards — Cliff
I wrote Hezbollah, but meant Hamas. Not that Hezbollah isn't a terrorist organization nor that it isn't obtaining political power, but in Lebanon.
ReplyDeleteMy apologies.
Regards — Cliff
Cliff,
ReplyDeleteOn a separate note, one other thing is worth adding here -- how this affects the Great Game being played out right now on the Indian Ocean.
When the Sri Lankans went in heavy (and when I say 'heavy' I mean with none of the concerns about civilian deaths and no Sinhalese equivalent for 'collateral damage') they did so in large part with Chinese and Pakistani weapons
India, their first choice of sponsor, held back due to political considerations and the sensitivities of its own Tamil minority.
If I operated a Navy with a fleet based in the South China Sea, but was looking to take on a global reach, I'd want to make friends with people like Sri Lanka so I could refuel and refit before heading to places like the Gulf of Aden for sustained out of area ops.
Selling weapons and technology to help curry that favor (no pun intended) might not be a bad way to start..
best,
gp