I have a real soft spot for the island nation of Sri Lanka. I have personal friends there, so their decades-long civil war is - to a small degree - my problem as well. Hence, I have watched with great interest this year as the Sri Lankan Army has launched a new offensive against the terrorist rebels known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - who had set up a de-facto nation in the North of the island. A few months ago, the government began a new push to root out the LTTE. The rebel capital was captured, along with massive swaths of LTTE territory, and the rebels now hold only a small piece of land.
Today, President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced that all remaining LTTE possessions will be captured and the war ended within 48 hours. I sincerely hope that he can follow through that - as the LTTE has terrorized the country for decades, pioneered the use of suicide bombers (a tactic adopted by Islamofascist terrorists), and conscripted untold numbers of child soldiers. They are one of the world's most prominent and deadly terrorist organizations - and it is high time that they are relegated to the ash-heap of history.
That said, assuming that President Rajapaksa can follow through on his pledge - the real war may just beginning. War-torn Northern Sri Lanka is in shambles, and there is still a lot of lingering tension between the minority Tamil ethnicity (who the LTTE claimed to "liberate" - although "enslave" might be a better term) and the majority Sinhala ethnicity. I am happy to see this long, hard war come to an end - but putting the nation back together could be just as daunting of a task.
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Don't count your chicken before the eggs hatch.
ReplyDeleteIt's not re. Sri Lanka, but--- as I've posted at
ReplyDeletebaracksteleprompter.com and
Palin for VP ---
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A blogger for "The Boston Herald," Holly Robichaud, wrote recently about how Notre Dame today has invited BO to speak (through TOTUS, no doubt), and will confer upon BO an honorary degree.
Ms. Robichaud obtained a statement via email from none other than Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin about this event:
“My favorite grandpa, Clem James Sheeran, was Catholic. Irish to the core, his favorite place (other than church) was Notre Dame. I can’t imagine what he would think as the university recognizes someone who contradicts the core values of the Catholic faith by promoting an anti-life agenda. As we learned today, our nation is more pro-life than ever before; it is a very important time to strengthen the message that every baby is created for good purpose and has the potential to make this world a better place.”
Supporters of Gov. Palin (who speaks very well, even when HER teleprompter has trouble scrolling) are SO proud of her for making this compassionate and cogent statement.
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Done. I thought of you when I read Sunday's headline. Tamil Tigers Admit Defeat
ReplyDeleteSarah Palin speaks well? That's a good one. Next thing you'll tell us is that Dan Quayle was a great philosopher.
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