Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Recruits flock to the Armed Forces

With the successful conclusion of the Army's first recruitment drive this year that attracted 10,000 soldiers over the last few months, another such campaign got underway again early this month, which will last till September whose aim will be to recruit at least another 10,000 soldiers into the Army.

The Army's target for the first three quarters of the year is to attract a modest 30,000 into the ranks. This is while the Sri Lanka Air Force and the Sri Lanka Navy attracts officers and men into its own ranks.

Of the recruitment drives so far, the most successful has been the Sri Lanka Army, while the Sri Lanka Air Force has attracted the second highest number. The Sri Lanka Navy too has attracted a large number of new recruits although the numbers are lesser than those of the Army and the Air Force.

Sources inside the Army claimed that with the raising of new Offensive Divisions, Semi-Offensive Divisions and Task Forces, the Army would have to appoint six (6) new Majors General in the coming months.

The choice of many new recruits to the Armed Forces has been to enlist in the elite units such as the Special Forces, Commando and the Special Boat Squadron. Thanks to this fresh impetus, the Special Forces raised its fourth Regiment and the Commandos will soon raise a fourth Regiment of their own.

The enthusiasm to join the Army is unprecedented. It is believed that the recent successes of the Armed Forces, morale of the troops, government propaganda and innovative recruitment drives are all contributing to this unprecedented success.

Above- Pictures from the 2nd phase of the recruitment drive 2008, courtesy AFP.

63 comments:

Bhairav said...

Many are joining military for obvious reasons which are bread and butter.

kuttu said...

100% true bhairav

sinhalas who joined the army think the war is a 'walk in the park'

when sinhalas get to the battlefield they find out whats the true situation...

how many sinhalas soldiers going MIA ??

Bhairav said...

Indian Journalist, Anitha Pradap, says LTTE will wait for the governments change of US and Indian next year, then only they will go for offensive against SL forces

There is partial truth in it. In fact, LTTE is care less about US election which may go in favor of LTTE or stay as what it is now as banned organization in US where many folks do not know whether Edmonton is part of Canadian city or no, so these folks do not give a damn about what's going in SL.

As far as India concern, they are big deal for LTTE. Many hardcore Eelamists are fed-up with LTTE's lack of big moves given that they were prepared well for this final Eelam war IV. Given Indian interests in this conflict, they do not want to see LTTE's upper hand in any given moment, so they will directly involve in this conflict if Jaffna liberation is imminent or SLA is on the verge of collapse. Lets say LTTE uses most of its resources for Jaffna liberation, and Jaffna is about to fall for them, then India will see this as perfect opportunity to nail LTTE as at least half of the LTTE's resources are already used up or gone in Jaffna liberation- you can correlate this move to German's ill-fated Leningrad move which eventually paid the path to Hitler's downfall.

That's why LTTE hierarchy worries lot about current Indian stand which may change in next Indian election. Meantime LTTE won't even care Indian central government if the Tamilnadu folks are in their side. I would say, until unless they change the mood in TN in favor of Eelam Tamils, LTTE may not win this battle militarily or politically regardless of what the changes happen in Indian central governments. Until then we can see a chess game in this current SLankan conflict where either party won't throw any knockout punches.

Sam Perera said...

Poor LTTE Terrorists are crying for Sinhala boys. Man, with this kind of compassion, you sure should be able to get the Eezam with Veza-pillai's leadership tomorrow. Show your true LTTE terrorist passion, kill more innocent helpless civilians.

May your brains grow bigger than a pea!

LKDOOD said...

Indian Journalist, Anitha Pradap, says LTTE will wait for the governments change of US and Indian next year, then only they will go for offensive against SL forces

__________

its going to be all over for LTTE soon

LKDOOD said...

DW

thanks for the update

LKDOOD said...

guys

whats this(tamil) ?

http://www.pathivu.com/?p=2076

Lankapura said...

This is a bit disturbing.. hope our diplomats are doing the same arse-kissing.

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=26345

Red_Alert said...

Bhairav said...

Many are joining military for obvious reasons which are bread and butter.

2 points worth considering
a) They join voluntarily for a justified cause
b) They get paid for what they do.. having adequate food supplies

Much better reason to join the war than forced conscription.. of kids!

Raptor said...

They gonna wait for governments to change? Nothing is going to change when US and Indian elections are done? So bring it on B*tch, seriously bring it on. So much farting but really there is no shit. Put your money where your mouth is and bring it.

All they have done is talk and talk and talk and they havent launched a single military move of signigicane. Just slaughtering defenseless civilians. Now that, my friens, is a true mark of a terrorist.

And Bhairav, stop shouting from Canada, come down to lanka and fight for your Eelam. Your just the same at the LTTE, all rhetoric not results.

And btw, Hitlers move on Leningrad is not what made him lose the war. It was the way he changes his battle plans and commanders when things didnt go the way he wanted them to. And they never could go the way he wanted them to go cuz he stretched the Wermacht beyond breaking point. His worst mistake was taking on the Russians, in the same way the Japanese scored an own goal by bombing Pearl Harbour.

Learn some history my friend, I heard the Canadian education system is pretty good.

Bhairav said...

[His worst mistake was taking on the Russians, in the same way the Japanese scored an own goal by bombing Pearl Harbour.]

I said Leningrad move and you said Russian, so what is the different now? If you think Leningrad is not in Russia, think other way around- what about St.Petersburg?

LKDOOD said...

Blogger Lankapura said...

Having wasted their hard-earned money supporting Hilary, the terrorist supporters seem to be after Obama now. Hope McCain wins :-)

July 16, 2008 1:01 AM

_______________________

i don't think McCain will win it

i also think that Obama will not take any actions on the Sri lanka issue

Gringo said...

[Indian Journalist, Anitha Pradap, says LTTE will wait for the governments change of US and Indian next year, then only they will go for offensive against SL forces
]

Hooo hooo... hooo...

So Anitha Prathap also ran for the LTTE and collected a few notes....

And the LTTE coolies celebrated.

My goodness... Anitha would have been writing another book... if LTTE coolies managed to stop our proud forces from liberating the East.

Many thought they a force. Never me.

They are a farce... in the face of a real force!

LKDOOD said...

LTTE refuses to disarm

The LTTE says it will not disarm for the sake of taking part in peace talks with the government.

dm

Gringo said...

["Recruits flock to the Armed Forces"]

Great opportunity, challenge and aboev all RESPECT of all Sri Lankans await those young blokes who join our PROUD forces.

Motherlanka is watching....

Make LTTE history, boys and girls!

LKDOOD said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
LKDOOD said...

LTTE refuses to disarm

The LTTE says it will not disarm for the sake of taking part in peace talks with the government.

dm

LKDOOD said...

Not a surprise

LOL

kaatikuddupaan said...

being in LTTE is worse than hell even for senior cadres. It's like a jail where everyone is always paranoid and always backstabbing each other "making thagadu"

Only the senior leaders camps get adequate food.

The rest are on perpetual concrete pittu and sothi.

The Indian rice stolen from the Jordanian ship must have finished by now as it was already expired last year.

I have seen the conditions of SLA camps in Mannar and Manal' aaru. The soldiers are given regular leave and are well fed and clothed.
Also there is no mental torture of only being able to listen to "pullikali'n kural"and often you can hear bhaila music and other news in the rear camps.

All of them have plenty of guns and ammo whereas in LTTE camps there is maybe 1 gun for every three people and its hardly zeroed and ammo supply is nothing. Only practice is 3 rounds per month.
Good weapons like T-81 or Colt commando are rarely seen.

I hope SLA is giving a chance for us Lankan Tamils to also join the forces and settle our own scores against Prabhakaran.

Sam Perera said...

gringo,

"Great opportunity, challenge and aboev all RESPECT of all Sri Lankans await those young blokes who join our PROUD forces."

Well said mate, we said. Our Special Forces and commando have reached the levels of 10 champions of Prince Gamini and the regular forces and are just a fraction of a millimeter behind them. In essence, they have become the legendry sons and daughters of Mother Lanka ranking at the levels of all historical legendry warriors. Imagine the sheer courage and skills of 12 men command team who took on 150 men LTTE elites.

Gringo said...

sam,

[they have become the legendry sons and daughters of Mother Lanka ranking at the levels of all historical legendry warriors]

Yes.

That's what's life is all about. To be a legend... and icon. How many of us can boast of that?

And only a segmant of population gets a chance to do so.

Motherlanka is worth dying for, just to prove a point to barbaric LTTE terrorists that they are destined to become rich fertilizer.

Bhairav said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
LKDOOD said...



Army Captures Vidathalthivu
-President

LINK

Bhairav said...

[Imagine the sheer courage and skills of 12 men command team who took on 150 men LTTE elites.]

Ado Sami Perera,

If they had successful mission, it is worth mentioning, otherwise it is ill-fated act by conventional war units who always have the opportunity to fight for another day when they are not in desperate position to take any drastic moves. In this move, they lost few of their squad leaders and members while they were able to inflict small damage in LTTE, so it is a failed mission by any standards.

Are you taking regular medications for your cholesterol and prostate cancer problems? At this rate you consume, you may see the end for your nightmare life.

Bhairav said...

[i don't think McCain will win it]

lkdood,

I had chat with few of the hardcore Texans, they say McCain will win for obvious reasons as for how GWB won his terms. Put patriotic cards, same sex issues and abortion rights, you can win 90% of the votes from Anglican Americans regardless of your merits for presidency.

LKDOOD said...

Bhairav

hardcore Texans are most probably members of the republican party

obviously they will say that McCain is going to win because McCain is the candidate of the republican party

i'm putting my money on Obama

November 4th is JUDGMENT DAY

Moshe Dyan said...

so this explains the bullshit story that "war is the only job in the village". these arsholes cannot stand when more and more harvestors are recruited by the SLDFs for OBVIOUS reasons.

however, 30k means an additional 13 BILLION rupees a year, every year. that is the cost of 30+ MiG27s!! or 16+ brand new Mi-24s!! it is good that forces with HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY are increasing their numbers. but the most demand is still from other forces. if we have to have 30k then there is no other way. hopefully the cost and opportunities lost are properly considered.

kaati,
i have listened to "pullikali'n kural". it was torture for a few hours NOT UNDERSTANDING ANYTHING!! i can only imagine hearing it REPEATEDLY EVERYDAY KNOWING WHAT YOU HEAR!!

So tigers are waiting for a govt. change in,
1. US
2. India
3. SL

to start their offensives. what if almost all tigers are dead by then? it will be an offensive in hell!!

Moshe Dyan said...

http://www.island.lk/2008/07/16/news2.html

i said this months b4 quoting israeli news media when some jokers said SL cannot get anymore weapons from israel due to economic ties with iran.

despicable that even former SLA guys ALSO claimed it. for them POLITIX comes first, then the war.

GroundZeroLanka said...

Update to groundzerolanka

groundzerolanka[dot]blogspot[dot]com/

Unknown said...

Guys with all things going in the US, Obama will win handsomely. His win will spell a boon for the LTTE. This is primarily because he is a black and a minority himself. It will never be a openly declared policy but they would be softer towards the LTTE.

For example even on Israel, although he needs the jewish lobby, he said yesterday in his foreign policy speech that he wants palestine to be independent. Hence the LTTE will hold out for that.

As for India, in all likelihood the BJP will sweep to power. The congress have really screwed up the economy. Billions of dollars of farmer loans waivers and mamohan has screwed up the economy big time. The rupee is plunging as well as the stock market. The BJP and it allies will be favourable to the LTTE as its since supporting their hindutuva agenda. However this underlying agenda will not be used in their campaign.

Lastly Mahindha has not had a consitent foreign policy. He goes to Israel then screws it up with Iran. Now with China and back to India. China thought it would get first rights to mannar oil. Thats what they do in Africa. In fact they are banned by the UN to sell military equipment in Sudan and yet they did so. The main reason is the oil resources.

Ofcourse each country has its own agenda when it comes to foreign policy. Likewise his domestic policies have not helped the military effort. He has not worked to a parrallel solution to the problems the country is going to face in the next 6 months.

The balance of payment is going to another issue. A buregoning armed forced coupled with a reduction in remmitace due to the increased spending needs of those remmiting money to Sri lanka will be an issue.

A larger armed forces looks only to boost employment rather than fight the LTTE. If the LTTE is getting depleted and their on a low end then increasing the armed forces runs contrary to this. In fact the police force like the STF should be increased to meet the challenges of protecting the cleared areas.

A good amount of food and other basic necessitices should be rationed to the poor to help them cope. If need be government should take full control of rice,wheat, distribution like in India and also milk .

Secondly the government should shore up liquidity to bear the fallout for the US mortage market collapse. If not all the LTTE needs to do is hold on till december and the JVP will help by staging another uprising.

Rajah said...

30k for replacement

Official figures for last 6 month
635 killed , 4253 wounded + MIA
+ hidden figure = replacement

GoldenEagle said...

Obama will most likely win in November unless he says something that will screw up his chances, or if the "Bradley effect" gets him on election day. If he becomes president he will have to walk a line he won't like otherwise risk being labelled a terrorist sympathizer, already Republicans are trying to label him so. Why would he want to give his Republican opponents ammo against him by supporting the LTTE would have had links in the past with the likes of Al-Quaeda and the Taliban(stinger missile sales).

If BJP wins and becomes pro LTTE then this will help drive Lanka into the hands of China even further. This is the new geopolitical reality with the meteoric economic rising of the red dragon. No matter what the leadership, India will have to be soft on Lanka or risk China getting a base(covertly or overtly) in Hambantota. If that happens India can kiss the dream of controlling the Indian Ocean good bye even before they spread their wings as a super power. Remember, China is modernising its navy faster and more efficiently than India.

Navindran,

Is there any truth to the rumor that China got pissed off at us for giving India first block for oil exploration? I heard it was only propaganda for a UNP website.

Moshe Dyan said...

navindran,

"Guys with all things going in the US, Obama will win handsomely. His win will spell a boon for the LTTE."

agree.

LTTE only needs to hold on.....

agree.

mohan,
but we don't know how many of the 4,253 are keeping them away from the action.
MIA figure is very small and IF there is a hidden figure, it cannot be large either.

we are certainly looking at a number less than 6k. that doesn't explain 30k!

reasons provided by DW are reasonably correct.

i'd rather prefered had we invested part of this in effective weapons that on HR.

Unknown said...

Navindran
man you guys are just unbelievable :) :) waiting till US comes and saves LTTE eh???
I'm sure you know that americans will only involve themselves in something like this is that if they get something back out of it... Don't see what good it can do to US if they go "soft" on ltte. Maybe you know better :)
I'm 100% in agreement with GoldenEagle's view

Unknown said...

SLA is in Vidattaltivu town :) :)
where are those ltte lickers who kept on saying this can never be done :) :)

DW
any updates on the latest????
heard that tigers have yet again managed to withdraw with their heavy assets without risking them in a major fire fight.

Unknown said...

ya our boys have taken Vidattaltivu!!

now lets rumble over and take the
attimoddai junc and kalliyad before raiding iluppaikkadavai!

carry on lad carry on!!

kaatikuddupaan said...

Vidathalthivu from Mannar takes about 2 hours by fibre dinghy.

Now the journey to more northern beachheads will take about 3-4 hours and increase the commision paid by LTTE to fishermen which now runs at over 15,000 Rs per trip.


Also among LTTE circles army commandos are very feared. Even the most elite black tiger or leopard LTTE units are no match 1 for 1 with army "black devil" commandos.

No surprise that 12 commandos could take out 150 disorganised or conscripts LTTE espcially if they called in arty or air strike in a surprise attack.

Army definitely needs the extra numbers just to maintain the boots on the ground to man 24 hour sentry points all over newly captured areas.

Unknown said...

nemesis
any details on what exactly was left behind by the ltte'rs?
after all this was supposed be one of the largest if not the largest sea tiger base

Unknown said...

kaatikuddupaan
your insights into real ground situ is quite amazing mate.
On fishermen helping ltte to smuggle goods... In colombo areas...all boats heading out and heading in from fishing are checked by SLN troops. Even at sea there are strict high security zones etc and FAC's are used to patrol...espcially areas like mattakkuliya, hendala, wattala, Colombo 3 etc etc...
doesn't SLN do something similar in conflict areas???

Rover said...

"Guys with all things going in the US, Obama will win handsomely. His win will spell a boon for the LTTE."

I hope Obama wins, so that he can implement long overdue plans to deal with rapid climatic change, supporting the wide usage of environmentally friendly energy sources ect. which would help save the world (and SL) in the long run.

Obama, if he wins (again I hope he does) is not going to support the LTTE as long as it remains a terrorist organization. The perceived US policy under Obama, as even happens now, will probably not favor supporting the GOSL (with the current allegations aimed at it) as well.

LTTE, if it is to garner any support from Obama adminstration will have to change dramatically. This dramatic change will have to include renouncing violence (and of course giving up terrorism). VP and a few of his closest aides, will not be able to do this as they are already wanted by Interpol, India and GOSL for various acts of terrorism (against democracies). So until VP and his clan is exterminated (or arrested), LTTE will be what it has always been.

As a side note, I also hope SL never finds oil deposits in the gulf of Mannar. We have survived for this long without our own oil, and it would be a tragedy if we keep on using almost obsolete fuels when the world is now on the verge of widely using cleaner, cheaper fuels.

Unknown said...

Ranil, the US has a policy that suits its needs. However as all along a hardliner looks pleasing at the start but in the long run he ends up a failure. Goerge Bush is a failure. He went into Iraq only to finish off what his father did not think was necessary and to prevent oil from being sold in Euro which Iran has just started.

Being sypathethic to the LTTE includes not giving military support to Sri Lanka and preventing others from doing so. With Iran being Sri Lanka's best friend now, US policy might even shift to supporting the LTTE to destabilse Iranian intrest.

China does not want Sri Lanka as a friend but sees Sri Lanka as a pawn. Secondly by selling both sides weapons, they profit from the conflict. Do remebember the China colonized Sri Lanka once. The chinese Admiral Zheng He imprisoned a Sri Lankan king and forced tribute towards China.

In all possibilities they were pissed off with Sri Lanka and if LTTE has some Chinese/North Korean made SAM out of the blue, then we know their pissed. The chinese unlike South Asians shows their displeasure through actions and not words.

Republicans are a pathethic bunch. I would vote republican simply because democrats always increase taxes. However the republicans have screwed the US economy for their greed and also for some idiotic notion of securing the oil resources of Iraq. To many rural folk who have intially joined in the bandwagon have children to the war. Likewise many soldiers today are surving compared to the second world war and vietnam but with lost limbs and legs.

Even the new yoker has published http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7505953.stm obama as a muslim etc. This is the repubilicans pathethic war cry. For the united states today to maintain some decency it needs obama to mend fences.

The LTTE has been shrewd in going to the ceasefire as it knew 9/11 was a turning point and it has baded its time. Its Indian who pulls the string in Sri Lanka till today. Its only so becuase Sri Lankan politicians are a pathethic weak lot and curl their tails each time India growls.

Prabha did not move into Jaffna for India. Prabha never forgot that he was spared and mushroomed because of Indian Intervention.

Unknown said...

Oil is an important resource but i really have my doubts of finding it in Sri Lanka. Oil has kept Malaysia peacful for so many years. Today with the oil price going up the people realise that racist policies had taken them for a ride and are ready to boot out the ruiling coalition.

Nearly trillion dollars in oil revenue has been squandered in Malaysia for many fanciful projects that have only made members of the ruiling parties rich. Today Malaysians have realised the folly of being dragged into racial politics and moving away from the spehre.

Just like in Sri Lanka, the majority held the vote bank. Politicians used race as a dividing factor (why not poverty) to gain power. In the last 50 years the Malays have not seen major wealth gain except a few who have become super rich. Singapore Malays per capita are richer then their neighbours even though the Singapore ones are not given any special reservations in schools, bussiness oportunities ect.

All human beings are qually smart, talented if put to the test. People say the Jewish people are smart and rich, yet israel is not the richest country in the world or does not produce the latest dicovery, although they have the best tank in the world. However they have had much exprience in failures and managed to upgrade based on experiences.

Moshe Dyan said...

jews are not confined to israel. they ALMOST run corporate america.
now there are a few worrying developments in the horizon. many middle eastern investors are investing in the US, etc. this can challenge the jewish domination of some key investments.

they will find a way. don't measure their success from israel ALONE.

mrkeva is NOT THE BEST tank, however. the LEOPARD and T-90 can easily outpower the m. even after the ironfist. the best tank is on the DRAWING board!

Unknown said...

http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/200418.asp ranks the Merkava fourth. Again, the edge should go to the tank that has the best crews and the most combat experience. That would be the Merkava 4. While lacking a lot of the gadgets of the other tanks mentioned above, the Merkava has an edge because of combat experience and crews with years of working together. Although most Israeli tank crews are reservists, many of the troops have combat experience and the crews often stick together for decades. This makes for very effective crews and tank units.

How I personally consider it the best. Just like the Germans outclassed the Russians although the Russians had better tanks. Its all part of fact that a good workmen know his tools and both compliment each other.

Unknown said...

Jews do not run coporate America, that a racist myth. They hold significant influence and disgruntled people always say that just like some say the tamils run Sri Lankan coporate world. The point is no race is smart or rich etc. Jews were pushed out fo their lands so they as immigrants were forced to work hard and succed and generally are better off.

GoldenEagle said...

navindran

"Being sypathethic to the LTTE includes not giving military support to Sri Lanka and preventing others from doing so. With Iran being Sri Lanka's best friend now, US policy might even shift to supporting the LTTE to destabilse Iranian intrest."
-----------------------------------

Iran does not have major interests in Lanka, they are mainly looking for as many friends as possible all over the world at the moment. The US will not support the LTTE because the LTTE has become tainted goods especially with its connections to AL Quaeda and Taliban. BTW the bra bomb used by the LTTE a few months ago showed up in Iraq, when the insurgents successfully carried out such an attack.
-----------------------------------
"China does not want Sri Lanka as a friend but sees Sri Lanka as a pawn. Secondly by selling both sides weapons, they profit from the conflict. Do remebember the China colonized Sri Lanka once. The chinese Admiral Zheng He imprisoned a Sri Lankan king and forced tribute towards China."
-----------------------------------
China as helped us throughout the last 50 years, they believe in winning many regional allies. They never really tried to control us. India on the other hand gave us the LTTE. Now who is really trying to use SL as a pawn. Throughout the last 2500 years, India has taken numerous dumps on Lanka. Compared to that the Zheng He saga is a drop in the bucket.
----------------------------------
"In all possibilities they were pissed off with Sri Lanka and if LTTE has some Chinese/North Korean made SAM out of the blue, then we know their pissed. The chinese unlike South Asians shows their displeasure through actions and not words."
-----------------------------------
Once again, its just an UNP website claiming this. Why hasn't any other news source picked up on it? hmmmm... makes you wonder eh?

By all estimates we are said to have about 1 billion barrels of oil, and the Chinese will only get to explore a fraction of it just like the rest. Its not much. Nevertheless they will take what is given to them.

China helps us because we have been good to them and we that COULD be their one of their most vital pearls in their "string of pearls" strategy. It is out of this root fear that India has been stepping up their help to the GOSL against the LTTE recently. Alarm bells rang in Delhi and RAW HQ when China got the approval to build the Hambantota port.

India is three times smaller than China but they both have about the same population each. India can not feed itself and it does not have enough raw materials to meet its own demand. India has to import so much every year, and most of that come through the Indian ocean(busiest ocean in the world). If china controls the Indian ocean, and war breaks out between India and China, then China will have India by the ballss, because they can wreck havoc on India's shipping lanes and their economy into a depression. That is one of India's greats fears.

kaatikuddupaan said...

Ranil,

I don't have insight just experience ;)

Anyways in SL, fishermen are one of the biggest threats to security due to their mobile nature.

Mannar town economy is basically driven by supplying banned items to Wanni.

If you go on to the seas of Mannar it's like a train of fishing boats each with one barrel of diesel or petrol speeding towards Vidathalthivu.

Mannar is basically the backdoor to Vanni. Once you get to Vidathalthivu there are even undersea channel markers to show the boats the way to go through the mangroves to reach the LTTE transit point.

kaatikuddupaan said...

Sorry I forgot to add, security is hard in Mannar fishing community since they have bribed some Navy and police officials.

Also there is no Navy or army presence on the beaches or the seas for some reason.

If this area belonged to LTTE and vise versa was happening. Fishermen would long ago been slaughtered or evicted and fishing banned.

TropicalStorm said...

It is true that many join the forces for employment. It was the same reason why most of the tamil youth who are becoming cannon fodder joined the LTTE during the cease-fire; all thought it was a walk in the park. War is a bad business and comes with inherent risks. Some will run. They do, on both sides.

India will never allow for an LTTE win. SL does not need India to prop us up. Those days are over, or you guys still have no idea of our real resources that are yet to be committed into this fight.
Bhairav's comments on India are spot on, but you still fail to see how far T'Nadu has moved away from the Sri Lankan issues, other than for the opportunistic political noises some politicians make simply to build their own personal platform. The Indian is Indian first. Not one of them will allow for a seperate tamil state in SL.

US elections. No matter what these guys say in political debate, once they face the realities of the threat evaluations submitted to them by the intelligence agencies and understand to what extent their decisions can come back to haunt them, it will be easiest for all of them to let the 'terrorists and bad guys' take punishment from someone else and not be their problem. That situation will not change, even if Clinton was to get in the White House.


Navindran's comments on diplomacy has some truth in it, but foreign policy is based on the principle that there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests. I am not an SLFP'r, but am impressed by how MR has so far managed to balance multiple sides without adversely playing one against the other, like JR and Sirima did. He truly is a pragmatist like Velu said, but even Velu under-estimated his commitment to end this mess.

TropicalStorm said...

The best strategy the LTTE can follow would be a peace offer to India. This may come in the form of Velu exiling himself to Norway after delivering Pottu's head to the RAW in a polythene bag and having installed his son as political head.

That may make it possible for the interested parties to negotiate along with India to effect a step-by-step power devolution package, while the LTTE disarms in stages.

Moshe Dyan said...

from defence.lk.

"Last modified on: 7/16/2008 6:05:48 PM Air Force pounds withdrawing terrorists - North of Vidattaltivu

Sri Lanka Air Force launched air strikes at the terrorists who were withdrawing towards North of Vidattaltivu this afternoon (July 16). According to the Air Force sources, MI 24 helicopter gunships attacked at two LTTE boats detected 4 km North of Vidattaltivu around 1 PM and claimed to have sunk both boats.

Meanwhile, Air Force fighter jets pounded regrouping Sea-Tiger cadres at an LTTE camp located in the Vallaipadhu area, 40 km North of Vidattaltivu around 3.30 PM. Fighter pilots have confirmed heavy damages to the terrorists, the sourced added."

i'm not complaining ANYMORE!!!! well done. this is excellent. i've been crying for this all day long!!

TropicalStorm said...

GoldenEagle

There'll never be another war between India and China. For that matter even between India-Pakistan. Those days are definitely over and we live in an era when instant communications and economic interests run higher than ever in integrated economies. Also, technological advancement in each of these nations makes it virtually impossible for surprise agendas to spark a war.
The stability is based on the reality that there's more money in peace than in war on own soil.

Moshe Dyan said...

TS,

yes war is highly unlikely. but overpowering each other is continuously happening.

as examples

1. maoist guarillas that are active in 15 states (states with high mineral deposits) are financed by china. this is how modern wars are fought. for instance the US beat the shit out of the rssians in afghanistan using the mujahidin.

2. there is a MASSIVE arms race between the 2

3. china is expanding in tibet, etc. much to the detriment of india.

4. SL is likely be the belgium of asia in their power struggle.

5. last month india test fired a missile capable of hitting BEIJING!! and called that it is part of their nuclear deterrent!! it is going to be a cold war where open war will be fought using pawns.

Moshe Dyan said...

TS,

jews run corporate america! GE is right.

anything else is simply idiotic & bullshit. jews are proud of it and have NEVER rebutted it in important fora!

i'm saying this being a jew (partly) myself!!! however this does not mean there aren't poor jews. now there is a big threat to investments from middle eastern investors in the US. relevant sections are working to find an answer and i'm sure they will.

most investments are not direct in the US and most valuable stock do not trade at all!! it is impossible to say who really owns what when it comes to some banks, etc.

however not only the j.s others are also running corporate america as you know.

i have visited telaviv plenty of times. although its the same ppl, there is a clear difference between the US crowd and the israeli crowd.

LKDOOD said...

LTTE, SLA exchange artillery fire in Jaffna FDLs

tamilnet

Sun Tzu's disciple said...

1.If the SLDF can maintain(economically) its present rate of recruitment for a year or more, it is definitely bad news for LTTE. As such, even right now there is nearly 1 SLDF for every single inhabitant under LTTE areas!

2.Obama or EU will never become pro-LTTE. However they can become anti-GoSL via prosecution of Gotabaya and Fonseka in US courts, withdrawal of GSP+, not sharing LTTE intelligence with SL etc.

3.Anita Pratap was once upon a time the journalist with the best access to LTTE hierarchy; Her book " Island of Blood" is a good read.Its not clear if she still has sources in LTTE, or she is just guessing.

4.I consider story of 12 ' Commandos ' bashing up 150 LTTEs or killing 27 of them as a load of wishful thinking.If they indeed attacked LTTE lines then it is foolishness personified. The job of Commandos is to undertake risky but high-value targets with speed and stealth--and disengage.Undertaking a 6-hour slugfest is simply not done.

5.I would like to see ViDtaltivu sea base,esp the lagoon and build up; is there a link?

6.Kaatikuduppan'
are you Rifard& Cable guy? just curious, cos' you have same ' body language' ;Pl dont take offense if no.

Unknown said...

I'd also love to see this "V" base...hopefully local tv stations will carry footage tonight :)

Kithul said...

Ranil ans Sun

you'll be dissapinted tonight. Rupavahini just gloosed over, didn't show much.

Kithul said...

i mean glossed over....

NOLTTE=Peace said...

Monkeys have had an early breakfast and gone!

wijayapala said...

Dear Bhairav,

"Many are joining military for obvious reasons which are bread and butter."

They are also joining because they believe that the government forces are winning.

Contrast this with the situation during Jayasikurui where the military would put a big show in rural areas and only get 5 recruits. Recruitment was low because everyone knew that Chandrika & friends did not give a damn about the armed forces and those who got killed.

There was a poll conducted in lankabusiness.com that showed 40% of the boys of a particular village wanted to join the military when they reached the right age. This was unheard of in previous years.

"Until then we can see a chess game in this current SLankan conflict where either party won't throw any knockout punches."

Unless of course the LTTE goes through another Karuna-type of internal rebellion that no one, particularly the pro-LTTE jackasses in the diaspora anticipates.

GoldenEagle said...

Navindran

"Prabha did not move into Jaffna for India. Prabha never forgot that he was spared and mushroomed because of Indian Intervention."
-----------------------------------
Are you serious? Man, the LTTE did try to move into Jaffna in 2000 and got grilled badly by the newly brought MBRLs. Then they tried again in 2006 with a ceaseless wave type attack and got crushed again.

VP and the LTTE never gave a damn about what India thought. The IPKF and Rajiv found this out the hard way.

Tropical storm,

"There'll never be another war between India and China. For that matter even between India-Pakistan. Those days are definitely over and we live in an era when instant communications and economic interests run higher than ever in integrated economies. Also, technological advancement in each of these nations makes it virtually impossible for surprise agendas to spark a war.
The stability is based on the reality that there's more money in peace than in war on own soil."
-----------------------------------
Absolutely true. There will not be direct wars between them, but instead there will be many proxy wars. If you look at the current global trends, it indicates that there will be more and more proxy wars in the future carried out the the major world powers again one another.

With or without direct war, China having control of the Indian Ocean will give them tremendous leverage over India. This will give the Indians many sleepless nights, especially considering the fact that about 75% of India's imports come through this ocean.

wijayapala said...

Dear Kaatikuddupaan,

Hello again. Glad to see you writing again.

"All of them have plenty of guns and ammo whereas in LTTE camps there is maybe 1 gun for every three people and its hardly zeroed and ammo supply is nothing. Only practice is 3 rounds per month.
Good weapons like T-81 or Colt commando are rarely seen."

What happened to all the weapons captured from SLA in late 1990s Unceasing Waves?

"Now the journey to more northern beachheads will take about 3-4 hours and increase the commision paid by LTTE to fishermen which now runs at over 15,000 Rs per trip."

How do you assess the capture of Vidattaltivu? Will LTTE be able to use Iluppaikadavai and/or Vellankulam as substitute Sea Tiger bases?

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