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Lions led by Donkeys a reply to Nandimithra of JSBC.
Dear Nandimithra,
Thank you for taking the time to read my short article and for your reply. Whilst we appear to agree on many aspects of my article, I would like to answer some of your important questions.
Savage satire and humour are valid responses when considering the military situation in Sri Lanka, especially in regard to the conduct of the war by the senior elements within the Sri Lankan armed forces.
The ‘poor bloody infantry’ have paid in blood for the incompetence of their leaders. For how much longer will they continue to do so?
This article was not written to undermine the morale of the armed forces. I am only interested in examining the facts, dispassionately. It is even more important to do so at the current juncture, when the armed forces are making gains.
However, gaining territory is not the same as destroying the fighting effectiveness of the LTTE. In the recent past, the LTTE has been written off time and again in virtually identical situations to the current one, only to bounce back because their fighting forces have not been annihilated.
The LTTE must not be underestimated, but neither are they invincible.
In fact, the best morale booster available to the armed forces would be the immediate appointment and retention of competent senior officers to the battlefront and a clear statement of war aims.
Whilst I am flattered that you consider me to be a ‘a figure who is, or was a high up in the Forces’, I can confirm that I am not now nor have I ever been a member of the Sri Lankan armed forces or government or any linked organisation.
I would like to re-inforce again my assertion, that the sheer incompetence and consistent lack of intelligence displayed by some of the senior decision makers within the armed forces and government responsible for the conduct of the war, is the best possible help that the LTTE can obtain.
It would be unpatriotic not to recognise this state of affairs and to hold to account, those responsible for the thousands of needless deaths of service personnel.
If this article has made even one concerned Sri Lankan re-think some basic assumptions or discard any long-held comforting illusions about the prospect of victory without fundamental changes to the armed forces command structure, I will have done my duty.
Jan 2001
Twinspark156@email.com
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