Funny American Logic – Love the Navy, Hate the Army
Posted on February 15th, 2020
Dilrook Kannangara
After a brief lapse the US government has restarted their hilarious and unsubstantiated war crimes allegations against the Sri Lanka army. A US government spokesman has stated that they will not give visa to the army commander who has not even attempted to get US visa! This comes in the context of a long history of the US government alleging war crimes on the Sri Lankan army. Oddly enough USA did issue visa to the same person over a decade ago to New York where he worked as Sri Lanka’s representative to the UN! What changed?
However, what is most hilarious is the US duplicity towards the Sri Lankan army and the navy. The navy is not levelled these allegations. In fact, the US government has helped the Sri Lankan navy in many ways and donated extremely valuable assets since 2003. A large number of warships from USA and US allies, GPS location sharing of Tamil terrorist locations, raising Sri Lanka Marines, allowing a SLN aligned private company to do sea marshaling in the Indian Ocean and free training provision to SLN personnel are examples. In fact, no other military unit in the world gets so much US freebies than the Sri Lanka navy.
The highly publicized alleged abduction of Tamil civilians from Colombo allegedly by the Sri Lanka Navy has not got comparable NGO and international attention as the alleged killing of Tamil terrorist leaders by the army in 2009.
That’s because Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone is essential to contain China, keep maritime trade routes open and enforce a ‘rules based’ world order that favours USA and allies. SL-US military deals including ACSA have everything to do with the Sri Lanka navy with the Sri Lanka air force marginally touched but has no use of the army. MCC corridors will also be centred around either coastal areas or land strips connecting sea ports. USA needs the Sri Lanka navy but doesn’t need the army.
USA is not alone. It is backed by most developed nations that are US allies.
In this situation, Sri Lanka can gain maximum leverage by bringing the army and the navy as a single unit. USA and allies will have no option than to deal with it. War crimes allegations will be quickly forgotten. It also helps Sri Lanka. At the moment the large army is not equipped with sea operations which is essential. On the other hand, the navy has to coordinate with the army for ground operations. This will not be the case if the two branches of the military are merged. There will be huge economies of scale and information sharing as well.
However, Sri Lankan politicians will not like it as the merged unit will have too much power to their liking. It is foolish to think the military will ever challenge politicians. It has not happened and given the current constitutional framework it will never happen.
Sri Lanka must gain maximum benefit of US duplicity by merging the army and the navy into one military unit.
February 16th, 2020 at 10:53 am
USA INVOLVEMENT IN STATE TERRORISM, WAR CRIMES AND ATROCITIES IN OTHER COUNTRIES
There are many in-depth studies on direct and active USA involvement in State Terrorism, war crimes and atrocities of extreme nature in other countries. It was Nelson Mandela who said “If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don’t care for human beings.” Currently the USA maintains an imperialist network of over 800 military bases in 70 countries. The following sites provide a list of severe atrocities committed in other countries, by the USA government –
https://github.com/dessalines/essays/blob/master/us_atrocities.md and https://www.reddit.com/r/india/comments/4ga6jl/this_big_list_of_atrocities_the_us_government_is/
USA support for state terrorist regimes typically has taken the form of training their troops in “counterinsurgency,” now “counter-terrorism,” and by providing funds and loans, military equipment, and diplomatic backing. USA support for terrorists has been prominent in Latin America, the Middle-East, and Southern Africa. USA provided weapons, training, and extensive financial and logistical support to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua, who used terror tactics in their fight against the Nicaraguan government. USA provided training, arms, and funds to terrorists among the Cuban exiles. Among the reasons given to justify such support include destabilizing political movements that might have aligned with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, including popular democratic and socialist movements. Support was also geared toward ensuring a conducive environment for American corporate interests abroad, especially when these interests came under threat from democratic governments.
Given the fact that USA and its western allies have been active in supporting international terrorism, it is understandable why the USA accuses the government of Sri Lanka and its heroic armed forces, for successfully countering the three decades long menace of Tamil terrorism in Sri Lanka, and for eradicating terrorism for good, especially with the elimination of the ruthless Tamil terrorist leadership in 2009, despite, perhaps the direct but definitely the indirect support they received from USA and its allies including the misled so-called Tamil expatriates who sought refuge in the West.
Daya Hewapathirane