Buzz words from Sri Lankan counter-insurgency resonate in the West

Buzz words surrounding Sri Lanka's counter insurgency attracted many folks in the West. They signified the war was ending soon. The buzzing intensified: sticking it to the enemy, mission critical, beleaguered in Vanni, trapped and boxed in, fleeing Tiger foot prints on Mullaitivu beach, pin-point bombing (with GPS accuracy), un-impenetrable naval blockade and snooping out guerilla bases were sometimes paraded as replicable in Iraq and Afghanistan as many talk about the Tigers' demise. The terror-fighting vocabulary got enhanced substantially. Buzz words are convenient ways of saying what ought to be said, Goerge Orwell once stated.

There is a popular joke among the bloggers doing the rounds: a terrorist leader in the Mid-East advised his comrades "never think of shutting off even a leaking water tap like they did in Sri Lanka, you will be doomed", referring to how the Armed Forces struck back with deadly force when Mavil Aru anicut was cut off by the LTTE.

Buzzwords give authority to self-styled experts trying to show off their military prognosis. This is something that the US viewers are used to. They see or watch the advertising hyperbole written to sell new technologies by Ad men often converting technical terms into buzzwords, and then used by the salesman in selling something to the customer. Buzzwords often end up as much used jargon: carbon footprint, paradigm change, flip-flop, get off the dime etc.

Minister  Rohitha Bogollagama	Minister MahindaSamarasinghe	Ambassador Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka

A TV talk show host was heard saying "winning is great, more than that it is the only thing that matters. "The almost 30-year old war against terrorism had aroused a great deal of interest as to how Sri Lanka routed the most ruthless terrorists in the world by superlative technical and military skills with predictable precision. Sri Lanka's media blitz that outdistanced the LTTE dominance is also cited as part of the winning formula.

Quality of empathy

That quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles, as an essential ingredient of success was also repeated by many analysts. The President and Defence Secretary were both credited with a deep understanding of the war strategy based on people-oriented execution. Defence.lk was the web site that out-distanced all counter propaganda produced by the Tigers.

Phrase like a commitment to approach decisions without any particular ideology but on ground realities was another attribute that won the victory some argued. Total immersion with a purpose driven agenda were also connotative of the success story.

The quest for divining the right causes of winning a hard fought war was capped with a news story from Geneva when Sri Lanka won a crucial vote at the UNHRC against odds considered insurmountable. Sri Lankan policy makers have become world renowned poker players. They never showed their hand while dumb-founding even the most seasoned diplomatic wizards seated round a table in Geneva. There was no bubbling over with emotion as they approach this vote. They had the poker faces on until they triumphed.

Depth of diplomacy

Ambassador Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka and Ministers Samarasinghe and Bogollagama were spoken highly of by many a commentator. Meanwhile, statement by UNHCR President Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi (Nigeria) commending Sri Lankan delegation for facing and discussing human rights allegations was also mentioned by others as a sign of the depth of diplomacy achieved by the country.

The well-orchestrated cohesion of the three fighting units also came in for praise. While the army took the battle to the enemy, the Air Force bombed the daylights out of the bunker-hopping LTTE leaders. The navy sealed off the supply lines pretty well. Jane's Defence Weekly of London noted that cutting off the Tigers' fortified supply along the nearly 200 mile long beach front from Batticaloa-Trincomalee-Mullaitivu in the East to Mannar and Puttalam on the West was crucial to knocking out the Tigers lock, stock and sinker.

The hectic final hours of the diplomatic see-saw with the Western emissaries also kept many on the edge of the seats.

What was reserved for the self-destructive stupor and bonded insanity of the LTTE leadership could be described in one line: the prolonged inevitability of their hair-brained freedom fight was dastardly as the protective human shield dissipated into the liberators in army uniform. How thousands came to fall for a vicious charade due to a persuasive bias implanted by three decades of propaganda that brainwashed them. Fatalism had taken firm root among the blind followers of Prabhakaran. The mobs that harassed citizens in London and Toronto could only be explained that way.

The ephemeral nature of power was illustrated vividly by the death of Prabhakaran who controlled what was perhaps the most powerful guerilla organization in the world and was raised to divine status as 'Sooriyathevan' (Sun God) by his sycophantic followers.

The final days of the battle was relayed over and over again on the internet as millions saw the end of terrorim.

Even after losing the Jaffna-Kandy Road or A-9 highway and all areas to its West the LTTE was yet confident of withstanding the army for a much longer period in areas East of the A-9 highway.

The final option was to 'carve' out an area of about 350-450 sq km in the Mullaithivu district with access to the coast and then defend it strenuously. But the rapid progress of the Army during this phase took the LTTE by surprise. Within a relatively quick period the various military divisions and Task Forces had made sweeping strides into Tiger territory.

As a result the LTTE and hundreds of thousands of civilians were boxed into a small space that kept on shrinking as the army began advancing. Sri Lankan Armed Forces ultimately saved the lives of nearly 300,000 civilians running away from the Tiger stranglehold.