Title: Total
Destruction of the Tamil Tigers
Author: Paul
Moorcraft
ISBN: 978-1-78159-153-6
Hardcover
Pages: 184
Photos/Maps: 48 B/W//4
Publisher: Pen and
Sword Publishing
Dr Moorcraft has written a very
enlightening book about a war that received, relatively speaking, little to no
coverage in the West; nor has it been the subject of much post war attention.
The conflict between the minority Tamils of northern Sri Lanka and the majority
Sinhalese lasted twenty six years from 1983 until 2009. A mixture of asymmetric
and conventional fighting, it was unique in that the funding for the rebels came
primarily from the Tamil diaspora and that they were able to build a force that
included structured and disciplined air, sea and land elements. It is also
unique in that the Tamils had, for a majority of the time, the upper hand in
the conflict, only to be utterly crushed by the Government after a final,
incredibly violent, three year campaign known as Eelam War IV (between
2006-2009).
Moorcraft’s book provides in depth historical
analysis of the causes and execution of the wars over the entire period of the
conflict. Particular attention is paid
to the development and expansion of the war from both the Tamil and Government
perspective. This is important because it provides context to the reader and
goes a long way towards understanding the success of the LTTE (Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam) and the struggles of the Government. Additionally,
Moorcraft discusses the key international players and the impact of the
international environment on the struggle; in this case, the main external
influencer was India.
This is interesting as the
traditional players, the United States, UK and Russia, had very little
influence on the activities in Sri Lanka. While the Sinhalese government paid
lip service to their suggestions, they knew very well that they had to pay
attention to the suggestions of India, the local superpower. What Moorcraft
does very well is to identify and analyze the impact that Indian intervention
had on the ongoing conflict and the complexity of that relationship (with both
sides). He also expands upon the convoluted role that the Indian peacekeeping
force played in their efforts to influence the final outcome and the lessons
learned by the Tamils (and the Indians) from that interaction.
Additionally, the development of capacity at each doctrinal level
(tactical, operational and strategic) for the two sides is investigated and
outlined. This aspect is quite fascinating as the Tigers represented a unique
non-traditional force that became more effective due to its flexibility and
adaptability as well as being under the sole direction of an acknowledged
military genius (their leader Prabhakaran). The Sri Lanken forces, hamstrung by changing
governments, a concerted effort to keep their own forces weak and a lack of
cooperation between the elements, struggled until, they too were able to
finally coordinate and focus their efforts in the final war of 2006-2009;
ultimately achieving total victory. The Tigers, despite early and protracted
successes, were unable and unwilling to transfer their military success into an
effective negotiating and political settlement. Combined with a series of
strategic blunders such as the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv
Ghandi and the use of ‘mafia’ style techniques to ensure funding from the
diaspora, the Tigers managed to provide their adversaries common cause and to
isolate themselves internationally.
Moorcraft’s work provides many lessons for the professional
military officer and amateur enthusiast alike. These include:
a.
The challenges of
conducting a combination of conventional and asymmetric warfare simultaneously;
b.
The strengths and
weaknesses of domestic and autocratic government in conducting long term
operations;
c.
The impact of the
international community on outcomes (ie the 9/11 attack);
d.
Small unit
conventional and special forces tactics; and
e.
The requirement to
maintain vision and goal of operations and the critical necessity of
understanding when to focus on political vice military methods.
Overall, an excellent read; engaging and entertaining. The
production quality of the book is very high and the text easy to read. Moorcraft
has provided an in depth bibliography with copious footnotes. I thoroughly
enjoyed this book and strongly recommend it to those looking to expand their
knowledge of operations in the Far East.
