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A Scholarly Betrayal: Reflective Assignment Part I
Introduction This essay will reflect upon one of my long and complex associations with an internationally acclaimed counterterrorism expert, think tank, and professor of security studies, Dr. Rohan Gunaratna. He is an Associate Professor and the former head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR), part of Nanyang Technological University in…
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Spy Tigers: The LTTE Intelligence Wing (Part II)
By Adrien Fontanellaz & Kagusthan Ariaratnam One key contributor to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s (LTTE) effectiveness was the organization’s initial focus on gathering, analyzing, and exploiting intelligence. This dedication led to the development of an intelligence apparatus rivaling established state services. The LTTE formally established its intelligence wing in 1986, known as the…
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Sri Lankan War Wounds Still Not Healed
After more than 25 years of tense, protracted, and bloody civil war, the guns fell silent in Sri Lanka. In May of 2009 the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), commonly known as Tamil Tigers, gave Sri Lanka the golden opportunity to unite the divided island nation. Unfortunately, this never happened.…
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Special Report: Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Bombings – An Intelligence Failure? Or an Intelligence Operation?
This article was originally published by “The NATO Association of Canada” on May 25, 2020. Since the Easter Sunday bombings that rocked Colombo, Sri Lanka, on April 21, 2019, killing more than 250 people and injuring another 500, questions remain unanswered surrounding the role of the Sri Lankan military and intelligence services before and after…
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U.N. ban on Sri Lanka’s peacekeepers led by alleged war criminal is the tip of the iceberg
This article was originally published by “NATO Association of Canada” on October 1, 2019. The U.N. peacekeeping department last week banned the deployment of non-essential Sri Lankan army troops in U.N. peacekeeping missions, citing the country’s appointment of an alleged war criminal to a top military post. The appointment of Sri Lanka’s new army chief,…
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The “Neo-Cold War” in the Indian Ocean Region
Addressing an event last week at London’s Oxford University, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said some people are seeing “imaginary Chinese Naval bases in Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, the Hambantota Port (in southern Sri Lanka) is a commercial joint venture between our Ports Authority and China Merchants – a company listed on the Hong Kong…
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Unintended Intelligence Consequences: How Yesterday’s Proxy Insurgents turned into Today’s Terrorists
Introduction During the Cold War, nations were increasingly sponsoring and/or supporting insurgencies. For instance, the United States of America supported Afghan-Mujahedin, Nicaraguan Contras, and Tibetan Buddhist fighters. The Soviet Union supported communist guerrillas in Angola, Greece, and South Africa. China supported insurgents in Vietnam. India supported Sri Lankan Tamil rebels. In fact, Trends in Outside…
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Intelligence Innovation Outside The Anglosphere: Deconstructing The Sri Lankan Counterterrorism Model For Obliterating ISIS
Introduction As the entire world is coming forward to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), I would like to share my opinion here on how to fight ISIS and eventually obliterate them just like the Sri Lankan military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) just seven years ago. ISIS, an…
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Understanding the Causes of Civil War in Iraq and Syria
Introduction The civil wars in Iraq and Syria are the most catastrophic and worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. The two main causes of civil wars in Iraq and Syria are authoritarianism and sectarianism. This essay will examine the causes and comparative analysis of two contemporary civil wars: The Iraqi civil war from 2006…
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Tigers’ Eyes and Ears: The LTTE Intelligence Wing (Part I)
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s (LTTE) Intelligence Wing, Tiger Organization Security Intelligence Service (TOSIS) The author would like to dedicate this article to Colonel Tuan Nizam Muthaliff RWP, MI (July 12, 1966 – May 31, 2005) was the former Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Military Intelligence Corps, Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) of…