Monday, March 3, 2008

Fighter jets bomb Oddusudan

Fighter jets of the Sri Lanka Air Force bombed a pre identified LTTE military installation located in Kulamarippu, north east of Oddusudan at 12.45PM today (3rd). According to military intelligence, guerillas have been using this base to coordinate communication among other major tiger bases in the region. Several transmission towers located in the base premises have also been destroyed in the air raid.

Meanwhile Military Intelligence (MI) have revealed LTTE casualty details in last week's SLAF attack in Mannar. SLAF used several Mi-24 gunships of the 9th attack helicopter squadron to launch an attack on LTTE defensive positions north of Parappakandal, Mannar. 7 LTTE cadres have been killed and another 10 more have been wounded in the air strike. This was the first time SLAF used its gunships to attack targets in this area where fierce fighting had been going on for days.

Due to the limited availability of resources, SLAF's primary role in the 4th Eelam War has so far been to hunt down LTTE leadership. This combined with the threat from LTTE anti aircraft cannons have prevented the air force from regularly deploying its gunships for close air support role (CAS) to assist ground troop movements.

130 comments:

  1. Defencenet,

    Greath news; thank you.

    Any news about the rogue-police-chief who tried to rescue 'Sammy'?

    It looks like the new intelligent wing of the police is directly under the IGP.

    Am I correct?

    Thanks in advance.

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  2. Guys,

    Missing BBC Tape

    The controversy surrounding the BBC interview with our central bank governor does not show any sign of abating.

    My mate, Mottapala and I take a keen interest in solving this mystery.

    Mottapla came up with two possible scenarios: either our man knocked the woman-presenter down with a chain of fluent blows to the ground, that made her speechless or the interview was a total disaster.

    As I don't have any knowledge about the governer's competence, banking or otherwise, I reserve my judgement regarding the former.

    As for the latter, I won't judge his perfomance by the state of our economy. Qrious is not someone who believe in those indices, quite literally: rate of inflation, rate of growth, recession factor etc. They go horribly wrong even when the economies are handled by 'clever' folks. Even the legendary Allan Greenspan, who handled the American economy is not immune to blunders or false predictions.

    We have a two-digit inflation, we are told; then there was little news about the adjustmant of its definition, recently. Money-printing machines are reportedly busy with the job they are good at. These two factors may not have cut any ice in our man's favour, during the interview. He could still have defended himself pointing a finger at his counterpart at the central bank of Zimbabwe, who raised the inflation to a staggering 100000%, yet no death due to starvation in his country.

    As for the missing tape, Mottapala's explanation has exposed it on a two-dimensional plane, which you folks happily describe as 2-D.

    As we don't make any headway on this plane, Qrious is happy to add a third dimension to it; in short, he makes it 3-D.

    I love to start my new dimension of inquiry by giving a little bit of details about this woman presenter.

    She is Zainab Badawi, a pretty black woman with the charm of Elizabath Taylor. She is pleasant and her voice is really good. She used to work for Channel 4 in London and then the BBC just 'poached' her, partly to potray its image as multi-racial. She is not renowned for her incisive questionning style; BBC is not short of guys with that skill; Jeremy Paxman of Newsnight and John Humpreys of Radio 4 are just two of them.

    Even Oxford-educated seasoned British politicians just crumble in their presence, despite the advantage of the mother-tongue being the medium of communication. The politicians, I am sure, walk into the studios, as if they were led to gallows by medieval executioners: sweating profusely; shrinking testicles under strain; stammering with dried lips, you name them.

    Zainab Badawi has none of those ripping-apart skills. She is too nice to go down that route.

    However, I must warn you folks, she has a seductive streak; she gently winks at you.

    As you know, the interpretation of this little gesture is not a universal one. For instance, in Europe it is the laziest way of saying 'Hello,' regardless of the gender. However, if you make this gesture in the Indian state of Bihar, especially at a woman, there is strong chance of getting lynch-mobbed and not coming back in one-piece. In Sri Lanka, it attracts a more gentle response - the woman just looks away with a forceful jerk, fearing the man in question, is up to something. Of course, men who make these gestures are up to something - showing off their stupidity wrapped in a cloak of vulgarity.

    Did our governer misread this innocent gesture on the part of Zainab Badawi?

    If it was the case, it would not have stopped at that. When a man came under a seductive spell, he wouldn't have kept quiet; he would have reacted in his own way, which we don't know yet. It is determined by the individual's patience index. If our man had been able keep at least this index at bay, things would not have been as nasty as we fear now.

    Qrious is clueless, yet holds his imagination in place before it runs riot.

    You guys may counter my argument by saying that there is at least one more individual in the studio - cameraman - ruling out my hypothesis.

    Things have changed; even BBC is on a cost-cutting drive. BBC can fix a camera to record an interview in a studio - fully automated - without human involvement.

    My interpretation may be wrong. If you folks are up in arms saying 'How can you put our governer at unease?,'
    Qrious is prepared to withdraw into his shell, mimicking the humble tortoise, until the problem dies down.

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  3. Defencenet,

    "LTTE anti aircraft cannons have prevented the air force from regularly deploying its gunships"

    I take it that the LTTE has deployed its AA guns at the FDL's. Are these mobile (like the artillery) or stationary guns? Can't the ground forces (maybe with artillery/mortar fire if they are spotted) or fighter jets try to target these guns?

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  4. Chamal, it doesnt mean they've deployed the guns in large scale. Even low calibre aa fire is lethal to a hind in close quarters. Mere fact that ltte has the guns poses a risk. Due to our limited resources we cant take too many risks.

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  5. And they are not as large as arty to be targeted in air strikes. And weapons like five zero are mobile and can be anywhere.

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  6. Thanks for some good news. I think if the MCNS could publicise the videos of the attacks it could dispel some suspicions people have.

    is it due to security reasons the videos are kept classified. any ideas defencenet!!!

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  7. Defencenet,
    how they(LTTE) procure artillery rounds and ammunitions after the sl-navy dismantled their supplying ships(floating weapon stores).if they r using their stocks in wanni like this someday they ran outof ammunitions/artillery rounds .can you please give us an explanation about this

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  8. Whether tape missing story its true or not makes BBC look incompetent. BBC underestimated Nivand and were under prepared. Nivand Cabrral went prepared and made Badawi sound pathetic and useless. The producer was faced with the possibility of losing credibility of the whole show or making a silly excuse to hide their incompetence. There is no way this day an age, a footage would go missing because the systems in place always make backup in real time.

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  9. Qrious Asked...

    abarip,

    You told us the other day that you don't mind disclosing your real identity.

    I don't take you that far. thought. However, if you answer the following questions, I will be immensely thankful to you.

    1) Are you living in Europe or America?

    2) If so, for how long have you been living in these continents?

    This is private stuff; however, you took a gentle swipe at me other day saying that I hide behind my pseudonym, saying that you don't mind revealing the details.

    So, two simple questions for you; hope you will oblige.

    Thanks in advance.

    Qurious,
    I have actually answered the same questions and a few more more in a previous reply to Riyaz. In any event, as a gesture of my total respect for you, I shall give them again.
    -I live in Europe.
    -I have been living there for the last five years.
    I should however make it clear to you that the intentions of my comments were nowhere near to taking a swipe at you, gently or otherwise. It was merely expression of my gut feeling. Those words, my friend, must be taken on their face value and I would like to think that there is only a vacuum between those lines, and nothing else. If for some reason I gave an impression that there are hidden meanings to those words I'd say it would be down to my inability to properly articulate my observation.
    Will I reveal my identity in this forum? No. Becasue I do come to Sri Lankan every 4 or 5 months thanks to my work and as such, I will have to be a bit surreptitious in what ever I do, being a Tamil.

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  10. abarip,

    Thank you for the response; no hard feelings.

    I must admit - no, on second thoughts, confess - that I had a bit of suspcion over your immigration status in Europe.

    Some people are asylum seekers and they want to create a picture of mayhem back home, for obvious reasons.

    You are an honourable man and told us the truth; you don't fall into that unfortunate category.

    Sorry, if I hurt your feelings by this little inquiery. On my part, everything is put behind; hope you will reciprocrate.

    Take care.

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  11. Panhinda,

    If you have access to the governor, tell him to leak the story to a rival news channel:ITV, Skynews, Channel4

    Anything against BBC is their main news item, by default and vice versa.

    You are right, the excuse given by the BBC is ridiculous and people like Qrious have this eternal problem of keeping imagination in one piece.

    Embolden him, if you can. That will be funny.

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  12. Qurious,
    bro,the governor of the central bank is a very senior post.He should not get involved with any trash TV provider.At a guess his response was what the reporter did not expect.Let the BBC sort it out themselves.Untill such time they will look incompetent.Lets put it this way..well Govenor will have many questions/ideas in his next interview.

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  13. SLA home guard rapes Muslim woman in Batticaloa
    [TamilNet, Monday, 03 March 2008, 09:57 GMT]
    Sri Lanka Army (SLA) home guard forcibly entered the house of a Muslim woman in Maavadichcheanai in Oaddamaavadi area, Batticaloa district, and raped her Sunday around 10.00 p.m, Vaazhaicheanai police said. The woman has been admitted to Batticaloa Teaching Hospital.

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  14. alrightttt!! man way to go lion soldjas

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  15. man we should steal some A10s for CAS I mean if you round up some of the top COn MEn in colombo and give them iraqi passports I bet they could get us a whole god damn squadron

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  16. Shyam You did the critical mistake of adding the words TamilNEt on your comment so we all take it as bullshit

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  17. See guyes,Shyam has found a great news!

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  18. Patriots,
    I always advocated combat air support to our advancing army to reduce casualties. I few weeks back ask defensenet why we are not using close combat air support. Today I got my answer. It is wonderful news to hear that we are using it. Keep it up SLDF.

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  19. WipeLTTE ;

    the AIR support given by the choppers won't work again coz LTTE bring them down very quickly with the SAM 16 which they use very cheaply...SLAF lost a MI 24 during the Muthur offensive by LTTE in 2006

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  20. wipeltte,
    "I few weeks back ask defensenet why we are not using close combat air support. Today I got my answer. It is wonderful news to hear that we are using it."

    Well it's not that they are using hinds regularly. But even once is better than never.

    san,

    "how they(LTTE) procure artillery rounds and ammunitions after the sl-navy dismantled their supplying ships(floating weapon stores).if they r using their stocks in wanni like this someday they ran outof ammunitions/artillery rounds .can you please give us an explanation about this"

    Yes the navy has recently had success with LTTE arms ships and many have been destroyed. But that doesnt mean their arms shipments will stop once and for all. They can always buy new ships just like they did more than 10 times in the past. What SLN did was to slow them down at a critical time.
    SLN only has around 50 FACs + Waterjets to patrol the whole of sri lanka. This number is never enough to prevent each and every LTTE arms shipment smuggled into the country. They may even have used fishing trawlers.

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  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  22. Tension on the surrounding area after the explosion heard in Ratmalana Air base , But later they found; a pressure mine was exploded randomly...

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  23. "SAM 16 which they use very cheaply"

    U mean the missile is cheap or did u mean that it is fired at cheap targets?

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  24. anyone got remote control drone footage to backup the claim?

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  25. I mean the LTTE having a lot of SAM 16 ... SL intelligent also know that ..thats why the avoid the Gunships in Battle field but this time they made a surprise attempt but according to ma news thats not successful to SLA but they made the LTTE to bring them in alert .. so there are chances to some LTTE carders to carry some SMAs in FDLs

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  26. The United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government led by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse is to seek the permission of the House to extend the State of Emergency for another month during this session, after Sri Lanka's parliament resumes sitting on Tuesday March 4. parliamentary sources said.

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  27. when did jayasikurui start? around 1997. when did oyatha alaikal start? around 2000.

    what im saying is it took 3 years for the ltte to hit back. at least jayasikurui troops made it to puliankulam in 2 years. after 2 years what has this SLA achieved? I asked for maps from this admin on the progress of the government forces. but i didnt get any. probably because the progress has been meagre. i got the map i was looking for from lankanewspapers.

    anyone interested have a look and tell me whats the progresss for 2 long years? LOL

    http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2008/2/25232_space.html

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  28. Shyam,

    my sources tell me of a stock of SA18 the same ones we tried in the US. now i shouldnt be telling this but im sure GOSL with all its multibillion rupees has made international intelligence track us, so they already know this. just that they dont want to hurt its gullible diaspora. SLAF is a lot smarter than I thought haha. I mean remember when planes used to drop down like rain from the sky in the 1990s? Kudos to new air chief. he only flies once or twice in one week. at least that's enough compared to what other contries do with their airforce.

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  29. siva,
    the problem for the lTTe is not just the air offensive but the ground offensiv as well

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  30. @ Sivarassaiah,

    Don't bluff...it's not like everyone's gonna believe all the crap u come up with!

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  31. Long ranger,
    Siva is in cohoots with the LTTE canadian command and we need to take him seriously.According to my sources the LTTE has already dispatched the aircraft carrier Villupullaaai pirapaharan with its fighter wing to srilanka.

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  32. The SL Embassy officials in India who must have had an input into Gen. SF's itinarary have made a blunder by sending him to Indian Kashmir. This is contested territory between India and Pakistan. SL will only antagonize Pakistan, one of SL's important arms suppliers, by sending the General to this area.

    Fonseka in Kashmir
    "Army chief Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka began his weeklong tour of India today by visiting northern Kashmir where he received a briefing from top Indian military commanders about the prevailing situation along the Line of Control which divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan."

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  33. 20 LTTE cadres and 7 SLA soldiers have been killed in fighting along Vavuniya and Weli Oya fronts yesterday.

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  34. Troops advancing further; 69 terrorists killed, 28 injured in weekend's clashes


    http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080303_10

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  35. I dont think anyone can ignore that the SLA offensive has stagnated alot.

    The LTTE are holding back their experienced cadres while SLA are too scared to start major mass-troop movement.

    This is a stalemate thus leads to economical breakdown in Sri Lanka or intervention from the western countries.

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  36. Boss dont worry..if the ac.bc,cc,dc...ic intervenes..(same probability as the sun ramming the earth)we have many many sinhala and muslim JVP,JHU villaipullaaais waiting to start our own liberation..as our rights have been violated for 30 yrs..Pls keep looking up to the IC from the mighty west.To be honest they ARE GODS..

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  37. Perein,
    If you look at defense.lk ..saduns comment..these guys have betrayed the bata slipper bro..i mean betrayed it..they are wearing SHOES!!..SHOES bro..!!..i feel humiliated!!

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  38. BReaking news,
    The US 7th fleet heading for SLanka!!..

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  39. This is sweet news for me; have been HARPING on CAS for far too long. Glad SLAF is doing so at least on a limited scale.

    Thank you defencenet.

    But yet again i disagree with DN on the excuses given as to the non-utilisation of Mi-24s and jets for CAS and other-than-VIP jobs.

    I fully respect DN's views on this as we NEVER agree on this one.

    Earlier it was sighted that cost was the constraint. It is clearly not so beacuse the high cost of operation would have been known before buying sooooo many Mi-24s. We are buying 3 more Mi-35s on top of that!!!!

    Next excuse is limited resources. 10% correct. The available number of Mi-24s is ENOUGH if used regularly for attacks. Unfortunately NO Mi-24 was used regularly for attacks. I agree that we cannot afford to lose them to the LTTE. But if you analyse the causes of losing Mi-24s, it was not LTTE attack while the Hinds were on attack mode. Mostly on-ground destruction/damage, technical failure and damages caused in non-offensive use.

    So we have a choice. Either keep the LARGE stock of Mi-24s till LTTE blast them on ground , wait till they crash due to old age/lack of use/technical faults OR USE TO THE MAX AND DIE A HEROES DEATH (if that happens which has been the last cause of destruction for Mi-24s in SL)

    Hind can avoid machine gunfire and RPG attacks easily by flying over 1000 metres. It can avoid all SAMs (low altitude ones used by the LTTE) except SA-18 and the likes if it flies over 2,500 metres. Obviously higher the altitude lower the accuracy but around Mannar, etc. FDLs there are no civilians and a resonable amount of error hurts no one. Also Mi-24s carry ATAKA or SPIKE ATGMs that can be fired with perfect accuracy from high altitudes. At the recent military exhibition a Mi-24 was displayed with all kinds of missiles around it. One guy had asked why can't these be used to destroy 10-20 LTTE mortar and other positions. The officer had stated that they are indeed used which is a lie as it has not happened regularly!
    Mi-24 is a direct product of AA fire; it outlived all sorts of AA fire in Afghanistan thanks to product evolution (they learnt it the HARD way).

    If it is sooo easy to put down by SAMs it doesn't need to carry counterflares and so many air forces around the world won't buy it!!!!

    The real reason for its extreme low usage is political according to my friends at SLAF. LTTE considers SLAF as an unfair advantage to SL and everytime they use it to gain an unfair advantage over the usually strong LTTE ground forces, bloody LTTE target civilians in the south. As a result the govt. is too scared to let SLAF disturb the power balance between SLA-LTTE. LTTE air threat was considered the way gory tigers would 'retaliate' for PR reasons. ("their air force attack us therefore our air force attack them") With the aquisition of F7s - dedicated interceptors- the govt. is less worried about a TAF crap attack. Chances are that SLAF will provide more CAS in future. But other form of terrorist attacks on civilians remain high.

    We must also admit that the Mannar front (with other fronts???) has fallen to a stalemate. Although our aim is not to grab land, the war is not going anywhere unless the SLA advance into LTTE territory after such a long battle. The way things are going we can NEVER capture Madhu (2km), Adampan (1km???) and Vedithalathivu. SLAF assistance is a MUST.

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  40. srilankan,

    Please understand the VERY LITTLE TRUTH IN what boss is saying.

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  41. Qrious,

    Unfortunately I don't work for any of those broadcasters nor do I live in UK. There must be someone with insider info to make a juicy story for a tabloid though. Destroy the reputation of BBC, now that sounds fantastic if someone can do it.

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  42. Heylo DefNet,

    RE: photos of recently captured bunkers.

    http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080303_10

    It seems the LTTE FDL haven't seen one of our artillery shells let alone ordinary 60mm mortar shell in ages. The huts and the adjoining trenches are almost in tact! We fire so many artillery and MBBRL, but where are they landing? Do we have a feedback process to monitor the accuracy and the efficient use of this resource?

    - Jayashri

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  43. Moshe Dyan
    Interesting post.

    If the SLAF is to provide Close Air Support (CAS), SLAF will need to have trained Ground Controllers attached to SLA units, like I assume the Americans had in Vietnam. The front lines are now only a few hundred meters apart in many places, and there is a big possibility that there will be friendly fire incidents during CAS if not properly coordinated.

    I assume that with the US $500 million credit line that the Russian Federation has provided, the GOSL will buy more air assets.

    As you know, the current Air Force Commander lost his brother and his brother-in-law to missile attacks on the Avros. If there is some hesitation on the part of the SLAF, this is probably because the senior officers still remember those incidents.

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  44. Shyam,

    The rape is a very sensitive subject and I cannot resist chipping in.

    You say a Sri Lankan home guard has raped a Muslim woman. I don't know the reason behing you making it stand out by you. I need more facts to beleive it, not propaganda, thought.

    I must say LTTE also has skeletons in their cupboards, when it comes to this despicable act.

    I wish to remind you that LTTE's spokesman, Mr Ilanthariyan had a close shave in this regard.

    It is well-known in Tamil circles that he committed rape against a teenage Tamil girl and got caught red-handed.

    According to the code of conduct of the organization, the punishment should be, I am told, chopping off his manhood by a bic razor on a mile post.

    My question is whether this has been carried out? If not why? Why did the LTTE let him get away with it?

    Shyam, please don't ignore me. I need answers for the sake of curiosity.

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  45. Panhinda,

    I can do it; but I don't know about this guy - the governor. He is a political appointee and there was some murmur about his involvement in that pyramid scheme. I need facts. Is he a competent man to hold this vital job? I don't know. So, Qrious decided not to put his foot in it. We can't handle these by the gloves of sentiments alone.

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  46. qurious,

    When you consider public institutions of Sri Lanka, when has anyone been appointed on qualifications alone? They are all in one way or the other political appointees. He is qualified and has work experience in Australia I believe. My guess is he is constrained by typical bureaucratic crap prevalent in the country. If he prints money, he does it on the instructions from the treasury secretary. The only time growth exceeded 7% ever has been while he was in charge. Lets give some credit to the man when its due.

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  47. Moshe,
    Thanks for your kind comments.Yes i have a very good idea and dont believe these guys.Their biggest headache is that this murderous LTTE filth want to act as the sole spokespersons overseas for ALL peoples of srilanka .This guys comments are in accordance with the LTTE chain of thought of the sinhalese in their hayday...80's-90's.They have not understood that the poeple have changed as whole since then.If you followed my posts..what i advocate is for us to build strong bases overseas.It is then that we can really make these LTTE shits really suffer.The ltte behavior in france is a very good example.If i remember right initially these fellows murdered some sinhalese living in france..but look at the change of attitude now..like little innocent lambs..because the french govt is tough and these fellows want to be able to visit th eiffel tower..what a joke!

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  48. I think my dck fell off from the laughing....

    The LTTe is holding back 'experienced cadres'...my ass.. these monkeys are dime a dozen and they perish when meeting the SLA. At the going rate it really doesn't matter whether the target has 10years experience or 10 hours, since the longer the SLA spends in the terrain, their skills and dominance becomes more established. The LTTe will be tactically withdrawing to whre the eternal tactical withdrawer withdrew to, sometime ago when the SLAF got teh coordinates from Pottu's boys.

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  49. Greets patriots…

    So, I see some lively topics under discourse in the blog….great!

    Now I saw a news item that read in the headline:

    “President Mahinda Rajapaksa says that the government will continue the military action in the same vein until the last terrorist is destroyed.”

    Wow! Now I am beginning to suspect HE MR is visiting DN and he’s getting cues from OaO Asithri as that is what OaO Asithri says adnauseam and I am inclined to believe HE MR has picked up on OaO Asithri’s plea! Well, except, OaOA says it a little differently – “liquidate the LTTE to the last MF with extreme prejudice! “

    That’s OK your Excellency….quite alright….glad to be of service to you and motherlanka!

    LMSSAO!

    OaO Asithri

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  50. MosheD

    How’s it going bro? Keeping well and out of mischief? LOL

    You said:

    [LTTE considers SLAF as an unfair advantage to SL and everytime they use it to gain an unfair advantage over the usually strong LTTE ground forces, bloody LTTE target civilians in the south. As a result the govt. is too scared to let SLAF disturb the power balance between SLA-LTTE.]

    Moshe, now you made this comment wrt the Hinds and I am not sure if this is a correct or logical deduction. After all, SLAF may not have used Hinds babies lately as extensively we would like to have seen, but what’s so particular about the Hinds? It is a fact that SLAF may not have used the Hinds, it has extensively and marvelously used the Kfirs (PrettyKfir! LOL..for those who know me from LNP!) and the MiGs and I certainly have not seen an inhibition from either the SLAF or the GOSL to use them in the war theatre, fearing LTTE attacks against civilian targets in the south.

    OaO Asithri

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  51. "The real reason for its extreme low usage is political according to my friends at SLAF. LTTE considers SLAF as an unfair advantage to SL and everytime they use it to gain an unfair advantage over the usually strong LTTE ground forces, bloody LTTE target civilians in the south. As a result the govt. is too scared to let SLAF disturb the power balance between SLA-LTTE."

    "We must also admit that the Mannar front (with other fronts???) has fallen to a stalemate"

    "The way things are going we can NEVER capture Madhu (2km), Adampan (1km???) and Vedithalathivu"

    If the above comments were made by one of our guys he is an idiot. If it were made by an LTTEr he is very smart. Spreading pessimism is a sure way to loose the war.

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  52. MosheD

    I do, however, agree with you wrt to the awesome firepower/armor/anti-missile defense systems of the Hinds! I once had the pleasure of visiting a military base in the Ukraine as “activity day option” from one of the business conferences I attended in Kiev and actually did get on board one (a Hind24) with a group of fellow business executives from the US/UK who were on that conference. We were given a demo of the features of the Hind (this is I believe common knowledge now, like how the Russians would give you a ride in a MiG27/29 for the right price) and I can say I was impressed – it is known as a “flying Tank” and I am quite convinced it is so based on what I saw. Normal HC SMG fire or SA missiles would not bring this baby down and they even showed us one where in Afghanistan how much such a baby had got pelted with HC SMG fire and still just landed back in the (then) Soviet base to re-rum many more sorties. The Russians/Ukrainians did however admit that when the Afghan Mujhadeens got the Stinger missile, the equation did change and yes, they did lose hundreds there in no time. However, we all know LTTE does not possess Stingers and as such, I do agree with you on the need for CAS, but done in a risk conscious manner as (agreeing with DN) we cannot have a replenishment of Hinds like how the Soviet army had in Afghanistan.

    OaO Asithri

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  53. Hey Hema, howz it kicking malli?

    Hope things are well...

    Subha pathum....

    OaO Asithri

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  54. All tiger supporters here reveal armoury LTTE has-SAM and all.Why the hell all you guyes let their existance know to the enemy? The old pshcho game that applied pre-Rajapaksha era. Once dear-deprted "Political Head" said the body bags would come in thousnads to the south.Gone are the days that game worked.You can't fool everyone everyday!

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  55. Asithri,
    Thank you bro. I am keeping busy. Hope you are doing well too.

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  56. If we are not using Hinds, what is the purpose of having them?

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  57. Patriots...

    Want to let you into a wee-bit of a conversation I had recently...

    Just got back from Europe and in France I had dinner with a Tamil friend, a guy I knew from the UK when I was doing my undergrad there (evidently, first he was a TELO moral-supporter, but then abandoned the whole "thamileelam" kooky-kaboodle once things went sour with TELO vs. LTTE) and this guy virtually cried at the dinner. The reason is he knows well the whole thing is lost but how innocent (in his view) Tamil youths are dieing today, including Tamil girls. Although he left the “thamileelamist” madness, he has nevertheless supported the “Tamil identity” factor and had done his best to try and bridge the gap between us and that identity (well, in specific terms, I have no knowledge of it being in the US). However now, the situation is damned desperate/ugly he said. He told me even many diehard LTTErs are now talking of extricating (my word) from mess they are in, but they don't know how to do it with a dignified "face saving" context as the last thing they want is to do is come out publicly and surrender to SLDF/GOSL.

    This guy told me some stories that were indeed heart-wrenching/breaking and I could not help but feel extremely sorry for him and the Tamils in Vanni.

    He is not a pro-Sinhela even by any stretch of the imagination, but says he now enough wisdom to believe in the "oneness" of us as Sri Lankans and feels strongly we Sinhelas would give our life to a “friend” be it a fellow Sinhela, Muslim, Burgher, and yes, a Tamil (he himself says how some of his relatives were saved in Colombo by Sinhela neighbors).

    This was a real downer for me...I felt deeply touched…believe me.

    No, I am not for a moment saying we should stop the “Vanni liberation offensive”…on the contrary (as I explained to him), the sooner we liquidate the LTTE the better it would be for ALL, mainly to the poor Tamils in Vanni!

    OaO Asithri

    ReplyDelete
  58. Hi there Asithri,

    Thanks for your remarks mate. Never meant to offend you great OaOA. (i know if i get you off side, i will be torn to pieces by the scorpion - to say the least !!!)

    I knew my comments would offend some good guys over there and make bloody LTTE supporters happy.

    That was just a by-product and was never intended.

    On the other hand we can live in a fool's paradise and believe everything that comes with a pro-Sri Lankan paint in it. Unfortunately we MUST ADMIT THAT THE SLAF (rather the government's attitude towards the SLAF) has NOT MUCH EVOLVED FROM PREIVIOUS GOVT.S Of course we are now million times better than pansy RW's time when SLAF had no other job than to take tamilchelva, karuna, paduman, etc., etc. around the country!!!!! But given the massive investment in the SLAF it must also improve on response time, aggression , co-ordination, consistency, etc.

    casc,
    Thanks mate. Hope you agree that past fears should have little in guiding present/future actions. We don't need any more jets/hinds. We must protect what we have and put them to REGULAR and PRODUCTIVE use before we lose them.

    hemantha,
    you are the IDIOT. (just to vent up my spleen after an argument with my GF)! I'm not trying to be pessimistic but this is what i hear regularly from my SLAF contacts. It is the govt. that is pessimistic. Remember they are the ones who are going to do the work if the SLAF takes up a bigger (AND DANGEROUS) role than now. But it seems they are READY AND HAVE THE GADGETS! Only thing it is the decision makers who let them down. There is no point in trying to console us that we are on course; we are NOT. But with little adjustments we will be.

    I replied to you becos you are on my side (SL side) otherwise i won't waste time replying. have you heard the story when young (dutu)gemunu sent ladies jewels to his father calling him a coward? That is exactly what i want from the SLAF. We must break free from this stupid fears and excuses which are unfounded if we are to beat these bloody tigers. They know only one thing best - to kill unarmed civilians and THEY WILL DO IT UNTILL THEY LIVE. If we fear this and reduce our violence against them we are only playing into their hands.

    agree??

    ReplyDelete
  59. OaOA,

    You got a point. TELO is now divided even in SL. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  60. As for SA-18 (IGLA-1) in LTTE hands....complete bullshit. There is NO WAY anyone can buy this in the black market.

    LTTE may have at most SA-16/15/14, stinger or anything similar. SLAF has NOTHING to fear from the LTTE.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Defencenet

    Any estimate of artilary-motar ammo LTTE have with them? I mean for how long they can fight using current stock, assuming ground conditions remains same? As I know they have enough ammo to fight another few years without replenishing, (thanks to RW's CFA).

    ReplyDelete
  62. Asithri

    Touching story. After the LTTE is liquidated, the next important task for the Govt is to build a strong national identity (as opposed to the race based identiy that some Tamils have chosen to follow), and to bring some of our Tamil bretheren into the political mainstream.

    ReplyDelete
  63. cacs

    [After the LTTE is liquidated, the next important task for the Govt is to build a strong national identity (as opposed to the race based identiy that some Tamils have chosen to follow), and to bring some of our Tamil bretheren into the political mainstream.]

    Well said mate...this is exactly what we need. What the Tamils in SL need, in my view, is not a deal that makes them feel "segregated" (under some bloody kooky name like "Tamileelam" "ISGA" "Federal Northern Province of Tamils" or even lile "Ptoms" etc. etc.), but a deal to integrate with us as real, proud Sri Lankans! Once when I visited Trinco not long ago, I visited a SLA camp and there I met a K-faction politico-type guy and he talked for ½ hour, uninterrupted by anyone in the room, and said how he now believes that “we are all Sri Lankans” and that “thamileelam is dead.”

    True to his word, once I was back, I was elated to see that group drop the “tamileelam” label from their org’s name.

    Moral of the story: There are many Tamils who feel strongly “Sri Lankan” but don’t know or don’t have the ability (due to LTTE MF’s control) to express it.

    OaO Asithri

    ReplyDelete
  64. Asithri,
    I am truely sorry for the plight of your friend.He however does not hold the monopoly on sorrow.Keep in mind the LTTE are active in erithrea,south africa,us,canada,europe,norway to name a few countries.May be these guys should have a word with the LTTE supporting diasphora who are funding this filth.This LTTE filth has bought untold suffering to the peoples of SLanka.some other people remember their friends who have died in the forces.This current effort by the govt is a last resort.To surrender to the army of a nation is not a humiliating activity.It has been practised in most wars.The only reason we have a semblence of peace in the south is because the LTTE cannot make any headway as the people are alert.IF they could create a bloodbath in the south they would why..just because they can do it and get away with it.Remember that as our forces close in on killi..if my predictions are right..we are going to be facing an entire division of suicide bombers...an entire division of female suicide bombers..

    ReplyDelete
  65. MosheD

    [i will be torn to pieces by the scorpion - to say the least !!!) ]

    Ha Ha Ha....I am truly LMSSAO!

    No, brother, this humble scorpion will never, ever, sting a genuine patriot - however much the humble scorpion may differ with that patriot's views.

    Now I said a "genuine patriot" as a genuine patriot will always rise above party-politics, ethnic-politics, etc. to stand up and be counted as one!

    Cheers,

    :)) :)) :))

    OaO Asithri

    ReplyDelete
  66. ----Speed of Victory----

    It seems many people worry about speed of SLA advance. 5 categories.

    1. Those who think 'time' is a constraint - They think due to 'slow run rate' of SLA we may not win the 'match' as 'the 50 overs' are over.

    2. Tigers-I don't know why do they complain about this.

    3. UNPers-What else thay have to do?

    4. NGO camp-It's their job.

    5. Other 'hadissikarayas'-Better go to FDL and do better than SLA than typing too fast here.

    Fortunately and most importently and SLFPers are not in a hurry. JVP/JHU too. May be they understand slow go war with low own casualties is much better for them rather than quick finish with high casualties.

    What is importent is allowing SLA to decide the speed rather than demanding quick results. It seems that's what happening. Ending a 30 year war within 1 year or 2 years not a big deel. As far as SLA is in the right track how fast they march not a problem.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Moshe Dayan,
    "hemantha,
    you are the IDIOT."

    Then I guess you are the smart one.

    Your claim in other words "The government is not crushing the LTTE is because it is afraid of the reactions of LTTE" is quite smart.
    "The way things are going we can NEVER capture Madhu (2km), Adampan (1km???) and Vedithalathivu" is another very smart comment.

    But we will capture Madhu, we will capture Adampan, we will capture Vedithalathivu. Let's wait and see how idiotic it can be.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Some of the guns captured by the SLA in Welioya and on the Mannar front (see photographs on Defence.lk) show some crappy looking guns (lots of rust, butt stocks cracked, rusty magazines). The AKs and T56s have a chrome plated barrel, so these guns will still fire fairly accurately even without regular barrel cleaning. It seems to suggest that the guns were in a watery or moist environment and that the users did not have the time or the ability to do the required basic maintainance. I guess the LTTE must be really hard pressed these days.


    http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080303_10

    http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=11061

    ReplyDelete
  69. SriLankan

    Bro, I agree with you. The utter sadness, the sheer horror of this war is not the exclusive domain of any single community nor individual in SL.

    The difference with me is, that while I am appalled by the horror, I firmly believe that the only solution for this horror is to exert a "greater horror" and liquidate the LTTE MF's "with extreme prejudice" tout de suite!

    Cheers,

    OaO Asithri

    ReplyDelete
  70. Asithri,
    Bro please keep in mind how these supposedly innocent female LTTE cadres killed 77 troops in the muhamalai debarcle recently.This is the kind of people the forces are dealing with.IF these guys wanted to end this war they could have sued for peace when elephant pass fell when they were "formidable".Rgardless of if they got a deal or not it would have shown that they were serious about peace and did not go on overseas jaunts simply to visit brothels and canvass disaphora.

    ReplyDelete
  71. MosheD / Hema

    Take it easy bros...you both made valid points and being on the same side, let's not be uncivil to each other - a kind and humble request from OaO Asithri.

    Yep, this may sound strange...OaO Asithri asking not to be "uncivil" (LMSSAO!!!), but bear in mind OaO Asithri only stings venom when he comes across unpatriotic, "thamileelam" supporting gooks/kooks who masquerade here as concerned Sri Lankans.

    :)) :)) :))

    OaO Asithri

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  72. SriLankan

    [female LTTE cadres killed 77 troops in the muhamalai debarcle recently]

    Aha, a horror of unimaginable proportion indeed...I heard the "inside story” firsthand when I visited SL soon after that.

    Yep, these bloody bitches are now permanently in SLA's "bad books" and let me tell you what it means to be in SLA's "bad books"...no, on second thoughts, I better not, but suffice it to tell you that if any of these bitches (especially the seniors who ordered the massacre) are caught by the SLA, then it would be truly merciful if the bitch bit on the cyanide vial as what awaits her will make even the Satan blush in shame!

    We did not preserve this tiny nation of ours as a sovereign, independent nation by being a bunch of softy-pussies and when it was time for vengeance, I am told (even by my ancestors) we were no second to any (in fact, there are accounts of the captured/stranded British army “red coats” meeting a horrible and “fragmented” (if you know what I mean) death at the hands of our warriors from yester year!

    OaO Asithri

    ReplyDelete
  73. Asithri bro.,
    I never make an argument in order to have a sadistic pleasure by winning it. I had to make a point. And I guess I did that. Thanks for your good hearted advice.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Hema, cool bro...

    Moshe, I trust you are cool too bro...thanks!

    OK, time for me to get some much needed zzzzs (been averaging 4hrs/night lately).

    Greets to all my bros/sis' here...

    PEACE to you all!

    OaO Asithri

    ReplyDelete
  75. Ilangkowan spills the beans - Arrested IP was LTTE agent

    http://www.island.lk/2008/03/04/news1.html

    This is cool. You get a clamore from LTTE. If target was met money from LTTE or tip off to police and get paid. Our tigers-boss, upul, silva, shyam etc if live in SL easy money.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Government officials meant to look after the interests of minors turn a blind eye to sexual abuse of young girls which has risen at an alarming rate in Jaffna peninsula in recently, civil society groups in Jaffna peninsula said. Climate of war, continuing economic restrictions, poverty, lack of employment, restriction of free movement, and calculated plans of cultural decadence witnessed especially after the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) closure of the A9 land route to Jaffna peninsula are in the background of sexual abuse of minor-aged, the sources said.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Shyam,

    Climate of war, continuing economic restrictions, poverty, lack of employment, restriction of free movement, and calculated plans of cultural decadence witnessed especially after the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) closure of the A9 land route to Jaffna peninsula

    Who made this happen friend? All these are byproducts of the war...You cannot eliminate those as long as the war exist..better to see the end of war than to see the end of these while the war is still there..

    ReplyDelete
  78. Whether army was there or not, sexual abuse of young girls are common in mainly poor Tamil communities than the poor Sinhala communities.

    In many of the Fishing Villages, fathers go for fishing at night leaving kids and wife at home. Most times, the mother's boyfriend who sneak into the house at night turn on young kids too.

    This is a similar occurrence in up country Tea Estates too. The parents go to work leaving the kids behind, and they become prey to the prying.

    Most these kids have babies while still they are under-age i.e. 15 -16. This is the common social problem in many poor communities of Sri Lanka.

    In Muslim communities in the East, I have heard that kids who are 12 years of Age have been married to older men.

    Similar things happen when mother go to Midddle East for jobs leaving kids behind. These kids have sad childhoods.

    Listening to those sad stories make our hearts weep.

    What Tamilnet has tried to do was a very cunning thing. They have tried to make it sounds like the kids get raped by Army. Read the article carefully. They exactly know that it is not the Army or the security forces that do these raping/sexual abuse etc., but still has written the article to give that impression.

    Tamilnet is the sucker's feast giving punnakku to Tamil di-ass-phora.

    ReplyDelete
  79. //Conflicting Perceptions in War Reporting by Sinhala and Tamil Media//-interseting.

    http://transcurrents.com/tamiliana/archives/560

    ReplyDelete
  80. hemantha,

    This is not a name calling game so lets show some maturity and get down to REAL arguments.

    As at NOW in Mannar the SLA is not winning anything and the LTTE is also not winning anything = stalemate. If you don't accept this reality still you are entitled to your opinion.

    "But we will capture Madhu, we will capture Adampan, we will capture Vedithalathivu."

    Sure we will if we use the right strategy. The number of own casualties also count.

    What i said was what i heard from reliable sources. But once again it is their opinions only; although they are more informed than most of us.

    I don't want to win approval. I only want the crowd here to raise the inevitable question - why no regular CAS for ground troops?

    Actually i was the first to ask this a long time ago and eventually found a 'logical' explanation from the sources i mentioned above. Also i must admit that my friends are traditional *** supporters and i take their stories with a pinch of salt; but they cannot be outright wrong. Again you are entitled to your opinion.

    Going by this theory the day the news about F7s were announced i foretold CAS will become more regular now. It happened and i'm happy. If SLDFs can annihilate all the tigers with lowest possible own casualties and the lowest possible long term cost, i would be the happiest.

    But i'm also aware that a long term stalemate CAN set in (there is a possibility) and if/when that happens we are stuffed.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Moshe Dyan,

    Most of what you said is factually incorrect.

    "Next excuse is limited resources. 10% correct. The available number of Mi-24s is ENOUGH if used regularly for attacks."

    Not really. We only have around 10-12, which is about 1/2 of a squadron. Same for the Kfirs and even less number of Migs. This is nowhere near enough, when you take into account that aircraft need a lot of maintenance etc, so at anytime availability for an old fleet like what we have might be 50% or much less.

    "But if you analyse the causes of losing Mi-24s, it was not LTTE attack while the Hinds were on attack mode. Mostly on-ground destruction/damage, technical failure and damages caused in non-offensive use."

    No. Around 5 Mi-24's were lost to LTTE SAM's. Only 3 were destroyed on the ground. The Mi-24's have taken the heaviest casualties from SAM's. This situation improved after the entire fleet was equipped with Elta Flightguard missile defense system which can defeat any MANPAD including SA-18. However, helicopters are still vulnerable to SAM/AA fire from close range.

    "FDLs there are no civilians and a resonable amount of error hurts no one. Also Mi-24s carry ATAKA or SPIKE ATGMs that can be fired with perfect accuracy from high altitudes."

    The missiles if we have them are expensive and are likely to be used very sparingly only for high value targets (i.e. not for a few bunkers). Error does hurt. The fighting on FDL's is very close so CAS is useless without accuracy. This is why developed countries (US/UK in Afghanistan/Iraq) use PGB's even for CAS, as aircraft are not allowed to do low level straffing runs because of the SAM threat.

    "One guy had asked why can't these be used to destroy 10-20 LTTE mortar and other positions. The officer had stated that they are indeed used which is a lie as it has not happened regularly!"

    The problem is finding the arti sites, not bombing them. The fire finder radars and a few UAV's with thermal imaging are not sufficient. We need more and better.

    "Mi-24 is a direct product of AA fire; it outlived all sorts of AA fire in Afghanistan thanks to product evolution (they learnt it the HARD way)".

    Not really. Mi-24's were the highest casualty of SAM's in Afghanistan, same as in SL. After the Afghans started using SAM, the Russians had to depend on Mig-27 and other jet fighters. The improvements came later from western made avionics, like the Elta systems we are using.

    "If it is sooo easy to put down by SAMs it doesn't need to carry counterflares and so many air forces around the world won't buy it!!!!"

    Its designed mostly as a tank killer, (same as Apache, Eurocopter etc), so their role in other air forces is different, and not many countries have actually had to use them in war against SAM armed enemies. Even the Apache was found to be very vulnerable to SAM/AA fire in Iraq/Afghanistan in the CAS role, until they changed their tactics etc.

    LTTE considers SLAF as an unfair advantage .... govt. is too scared to let SLAF disturb the power balance between SLA-LTTE"

    This is probably crap. In that case capturing the east etc will also disturb the LTTE-SLA balance, so we wouldn't have done it.

    "Chances are that SLAF will provide more CAS in future. But other form of terrorist attacks on civilians remain high"

    Terrorists will always use terror attacks when they are cornered, whether it is SLAF providing CAS, or SLA advancing or SLN destroying their sea assets.

    "We must also admit that the Mannar front (with other fronts???) has fallen to a stalemate. Although our aim is not to grab land, the war is not going anywhere unless the SLA advance into LTTE territory after such a long battle"

    As long as we maintain a higher kill ratio its not a stalemate. Capturing land is secondary to killing terrorists.

    "SLAF assistance is a MUST"

    Yes, but CAS is fairly ineffective without the use of forward air-controllers etc and other such close interaction between the SLA and SLAF. Do we have any of this? I doubt it. So there are other things that need to be done before SLAF can be really effective.

    ReplyDelete
  82. Further to add to Shay's post,

    First of all we must bear in mind that the primary reason for the advent of gunships for CAS is against armour/IFVs and are designed to fight as part of a large battle group. USAF/marines AH-1W/AH-64 s fight as part of a large battle group. In SLAF's case the pilots are the only entity of the battle group.

    Further add to the fact that gunships are the most vulnerable of the entire SLAF fleet for ground AA fire. If the gunships WERE part of a large battle group with a ground maneuver brigade combat team and a corps support group etc enemy AA fire can be negated. eg - how the Tamil Tigers neutralised the AA ability of the ANURADHAPURA base before calling in the airwing. Another way to overcome this among many is to make the enemy blind, i.e fight at night.

    This is where the MI35M and the ANVIS HUD comes into play. The results will be pretty interesting once SLAF employs the "NOCTIS IN DIES" principle. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  83. Long-ranger,

    Totally agree with you.

    "This is where the MI35M and the ANVIS HUD comes into play. The results will be pretty interesting once SLAF employs the "NOCTIS IN DIES" principle. :-)"

    Absolutely. The real value of the Mi-24's will be when the night attack variants use their FLIR to hunt terrorists in the dark and attack where they least expect it.

    ReplyDelete
  84. Hay Guys, DefenceNet,
    Please shall we keep this topic out for a while ?? I think the SLDF analyse all the possibilities to have great CAS and will do with the available resources. I also feel the same like MosheD as we are not achieving great successes like in 3-4 weeks back. May be the intensity of the oppossition pressure is high. We have to accept and admit that. SLDF is not expected to give us/politicos a showtime. They must be knowing what when and how the thing is done.

    Something out of this topic.
    Does anyone know what that great CI Neelabdeen is ?? Why cant the govt bring him back ?? And we have no news on the abducted IP Jeyaratnam ?? His he still in LTTE custody or in service for them (some news flew like when there is no news on him)

    ReplyDelete
  85. Shyam,

    your absolute naivety is astounding. And so is Siva's.

    The last time an Mi-24 was brought down was a few good years ago, if my memory serves me correct it was in 2000. And secondly, all SLAF Mi-24's have flare dispensers and IR jammers. Which means the old SA-16's dont really have much hope of hitting one.

    You obviously dont even know how Mi-24's fly, its nap of the earth, tree hugging, come in fast. The Mi-24 is the fastest production helicopter in the world.

    And a note on 50cal fire, it has to be from close range and probably aimed at the tail, which is unarmoured. I have seen a Mi-24 cockpit hit by .303 fire and there was just a scratch, although .50cal will do more damage, I hardly think its going to make a hole in the chopper, unless its at point blank range.

    So please, from now on, think before you open your trap, and we dont want rubbish tamilnet news here. If we want to have a laugh we will go to tamilnet ourselves. Thank you and good bye.

    ReplyDelete
  86. hi hope you all had a look at the video clip of Anuradapura Airbase attack terras before and after entering in to camp?

    what i noticed was seems like carders are wearing a night vision contact lenses?

    any idea? who saw the video

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  87. http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=8260

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  88. LTTE Artillery Point in Pooneryn Bombed...


    http://tinyurl.com/2yfnlp

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  89. Guys,

    Please read this; an alternative line of thought.

    ReplyDelete
  90. hi guys,

    1st off, great posts abt the value of hinds on a CAS role.

    im going to deviate slightly from this topic and focus on SLA/SLAF production of what i think are very easily manufacturable units that would no doubt help shift the war towards us faster.

    i'l comment on 2 perticular assets.

    1]- mine clearing units.
    http://science.howstuffworks.com/landmine6.htm
    http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ddsv.hr/pictures/RM-KA-02.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ddsv.hr/razminirac_eng_1.html&h=189&w=300&sz=22&hl=en&start=81&um=1&tbnid=YeodzkX2PdMFAM:&tbnh=73&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmine%2Bclearing%2Bvehicle%26start%3D72%26ndsp%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1B3DVFA_enGB246GB247%26sa%3DN

    as can be seen, these are design-wise, very simplistic,and extremely effective as well.so why -oh-why cant we get sum1 to manufacture these within the SLA?.ne more excuses abt mine field delays.!.am i the only 1 who sees this?
    2]-UAV drones.
    this is my pet subject.trust me when i say this-we(SLAF) can build these to all requiered spec's.at a fraction of the cost!!.
    how an why i say this is bcz military spec UAV's arent that different from the variety used in recreational model flying hobbies.i have done model flying as a hobby in the katukurunda A/F base, and know for a fact that our SLAF UAV Squadron have in many instances aproached the club for assistence.
    so they know it can be done, yet they look away from readily available resources.i'l give a maximum estimate of 1LKR per fully equipped UAV, if built by the SLAF.

    ReplyDelete
  91. crap i 4got abt the similar names...will be using this from now on.sry DN

    ReplyDelete
  92. Kevin,

    Flail type mine clearing systems are not much use here where we don't use a lot of armoured formations, although we do have mechanised infantry etc. The most suitable and cheapest is the explosive line charge systems which can be carried and deployed by infantry soldiers.

    Military UAV's are very different to recreational planes. Does your plane have an endurance of upto 50 hours and onboard cameras? Anyway, the cost of a military UAV is as much for the sensor packages and electronics (IR/optical cameras, real time data transmission etc) as it is for the airframe. These are extremely high tech equipment which we don't have any possibility of manufacturing here even if a basic airframe could be manufactured. FYI, the SLAF does use a basic Sri Lankan made UAV. I heard they're improving it and you may see better locally made UAV's in future, perhaps Defnet can clarify.

    ReplyDelete
  93. Shay & long ranger,

    Your factual points are well taken. Thanks for taking the time to engage in this worthy discussion/disagreement.

    "We only have around 10-12, which is about 1/2 of a squadron..........................n old fleet like what we have might be 50% or much less.

    This is a self contradicting statement, even 50% of the total is a good stock IF WE USE THEM REGULARLY.

    Around 5 Mi-24's were lost to LTTE SAM's. Only 3 were destroyed on the ground. The Mi-24's have taken the heaviest casualties from SAM's.

    No. Most were lost/damaged beyond use either on ground or when on non-combat missions since 1995.

    The missiles if we have them are expensive and are likely to be used very sparingly ......

    i agree

    The problem is finding the arti sites, not bombing them.

    yes; but Mi-24s have detection systems onboard

    Mi-24's were the highest casualty of SAM's in Afghanistan...

    this is what i am saying; but todays Mi-24s (post Aghan war) have overcome many problems it had. Towards the end of the Afghan War it came to popularity as "satan's charriot" among the Afghans due to its enormous proven destructive power. afghans used to take to teir heels when they see the counterflares from a far distance


    "Terrorists will always use terror attacks when they are cornered, whether it is SLAF providing CAS, or SLA advancing or SLN destroying their sea assets. "

    complete bullshit. terrorists use terror ALWAYS EVEN WHEN THEY ARE AT AN ADVANTAGE

    As long as we maintain a higher kill ratio its not a stalemate. Capturing land is secondary to killing terrorists.

    99.9% agree; well said. except the stalemante part. but i doubt this is happening AT THE OPTIMUM LEVEL NOW

    It is a fact that the LTTE has once again terrorised the govt. by killing innocent civilians. All previous govt.s fell into this and this govt. fell into this recently.

    Just ask a friend if you have in the SLAF how many tiger positions SLAF know including heavy concentrations near FDLs. Plenty he would tell you.

    Of course there are constraints but SLAF/govt. must think of overcoming these and/or maximising the return within the constraints.

    I informed the forum based on info. i got from a close source and subject to a few exaggerations though of the source which i stated above. i have reason to believe it is correct. It is a disturbing situation we are passing through now.

    However, i still believe (based on expert views which are not mine) that an efficient use of what we have at SLAF can completely swing the situ. in our favour.

    There is no need to rush in. But there is a need to increase the killing rate; neutralise LTTE positions more effectively, etc.

    Simply Mi-24 warfare is what SL needs to support ground troops. IF IT IS NOT CAPABLE OF PROVIDING GOOD CAS (obviously without risking the machine, pilots, gunners, weapons, etc.) IT WILL NOT BE PURCHASED IN SUCH LARGE NUMBERS BY SLAF AND MANY AFs AROUND THE WORLD. It is simple as that. Unfortunately most excuses and faults of it is found in srilanka!!! Poland for instance used it very effectively against more heavily armed Iraqi terrorists recently. Why can't we?

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  94. thanks piyadasa for the news.
    Sweet stuff.

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  95. dev,

    "what i noticed was seems like carders are wearing a night vision contact lenses?"

    There is no such thing as night vision contact lenses as far as i know... There are NV goggles of course, but lenses???

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  96. LTTE underground artillery storage destroyed - Pooneryn
    SLAF fighter jets launched two separate air sorties today(March 4) at an identified LTTE underground artillery storage North of Pooneryn in Kilinochchi district.

    According to MCNS officials, the precision air raids were carried-out at around 12p.m., and 2.25p.m respectively.

    The LTTE underground facility was located 1.5km North of Pooneryn, the sources further said..

    Pilots have confirmed the target was destroyed successfully.

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  97. @chamal

    Thanx

    thats what i wondering how....

    ReplyDelete
  98. guys,

    defence.lk

    Note the words 'artillery storage'... not 'artillery position' as in many previous articles. Does this mean that a hiding place was attacked, not a firing position?

    ReplyDelete
  99. Lanka military: Soldiers capture small rebel territory as fighting kills 7 rebels

    LINK



    Military ties with India good: Sri Lankan Army Chief

    LINK

    ReplyDelete
  100. Sri Lanka: UNHCR commends government after boat people rescue

    LINK

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  101. Guys, help fight disinformation!

    Check out this following link:


    http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/005068.html#more


    http://tinyurl.com/2whf3z

    It's a website where South Asians from all over the world congregate.

    Please share your thoughts and the truth!!

    ReplyDelete
  102. Quick question of body armour for anyone that can answer.
    I have seen one news vids and stuff some of our troops weraing a jacket while others seem to be jus wearing the shirt on their back.
    The ones worn by the frontline troops look really basic...are these flak jackets or would they stop a regular 7.62 round?
    I have only seen proper body armour been worn by the higher ups...shame really..the ones that need it the most are given the basic ones.

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  103. qrious,
    I agree with the part that we should more often and in UNPREDICTABLE manner for the enemy to use more MI-24's on CAS role. We need to integrate them into the SLA regular and Special forces. US Army has Apache squadrons, so should we. Letting MI-24 lying in some airfield without put to CAS role, we are just waiting for LTTE black tigers to attack and destroy without using them in the war theater. We need to prepare our mindset that it is inevitable to lose few MI-24 in CAS role without being overly pessimistic about war execution when we lose few. I cannot stress the need for NIGHT flying and attacking keeping the enemy sleepless and exhausted. We should use MI-24 on night ATTACKING of enemy bonkers. I do not see the SLAF doing this. They should help the special force in night raiding of enemy bunkers. This will help reduce casualties of our precious special force guys.

    Kevin,
    I agree with you that we should locally manufacture UAVs at a very cheap costs. There are many companies out there sell UAV optics, IR, and other sensors that we could integrate ourselfs to the locally designed airframe.

    I also advocate we should deploy (airdrop) a highly classified sensor network deep inside enemy territory to get their where abouts. We should get some ideas from DARPA (US Pentagon) funded projects going on right now. We could setup baloons and UAVs constantly patrolling enemy territories help forward operations and our bombing runs.

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  104. Hey guys,

    Take a look at this:
    http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/3831/screenshothttpwwwgettyilf3.th.png

    The original link to that page:
    http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Detail.aspx?axd=DetailPaging.Search%7c1&axs=0%7c80057180%2c80057179%2c79986601%2c79950236%2c79921654%2c79921641%2c79921630%2c79488826%2c79487673%2c79487600%2c79487592%2c79487584%2c78918143%2c78918133%2c78918113%2c78827823%2c78827802%2c78827692%2c78827683%2c78825806%2c78825797%2c77651159%2c77651150%2c77651143%2c77651126%2c77651095%2c77651082%2c76497989%2c76446619%2c76446479%2c76446476%2c76446463%2c76446459%2c75034744%2c75034724%2c75034562%2c75034522%2c75034488%2c74436406%2c74436402%2c74347358%2c74347353%2c74319341%2c74319325%2c74319305%2c74319228%2c73982062%2c73982059%2c73225047%2c72939985%2c72939976%2c72939306%2c72939295%2c72939275%2c72939272%2c72931508%2c72931342%2c72931332%2c72931304%2c72931218%7c0&mode=c&id=79950236

    I think the original link should work.

    Do you see the description of the getty image? I mean what the hell, the openly say it's for propaganda.

    Here's the description:
    TO GO WITH SriLanka-unrest-propaganda,ANALYSIS by Barry Parker (FILES) In this picture taken February 22, 2008, Sri Lankan police Special Task Force (STF) motorcycle unit commandos patrol a street outside a school in Colombo. The battle lines are clearly drawn in Sri Lanka with the government vowing to finish off the Tamil rebels, but after decades of bloodshed a final outcome appears as uncertain as ever. While politicians from President Mahinda Rajapakse down have buried a truce deal and promised to wipe out the 'terrorists,' the military is now scaling down the rhetoric.The army has pushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) out of the east of the island and gone on the offensive in the north in the past year. But military sources say that the attacks on three fronts against rebel-held territory have failed to produce a breakthrough. AFP PHOTO/Sanka VIDANAGAMA/FILES (Photo credit should read SANKA VIDANAGAMA/AFP/Getty Images)

    ----------

    Notice the word terrorists in double quotes. To go with Sri Lanka unrest propaganda "analysis"... right!

    ReplyDelete
  105. What's this about the central bank governor and the BBC? What happened? Someone let me know please.

    ReplyDelete
  106. Few hours ago tanks with helicopter gunships retuned after attacking the Hamas had gone few Kilometres into their territory without suffering any damage to the machines other countries seems to use helicopter gunships on forward air support and we too should i8nvest a bit to get one or two advisors to help us out. Veterans I met says that there’s several ways to counter the threat, can’t reveal as others to are reading as well, but right people are informed. Still we need advisors in the know on the spot. But most of all must cut down their resources abroad as that buys political influence with the IC. This should me a multi pronged approach to this menace

    ReplyDelete
  107. i agree with kevin....

    GoSL is doing a great job with the military campaign but that is it. we are sorely lagging on the diplomatic front. I fear all the military success will be useless if we don't pick up our game.
    I think the government should plan out and launch a diplomatic campaign to 'remind' the rest of the world what the LTTE really is. they seem to forget fast.

    ReplyDelete
  108. Oh you guys were talking about Cabrall.

    Here's the link to anyone who might be interested.
    http://lankarising.blogspot.com/2008/03/are-we-ready-to-shed-bbc-media-tail-of.html

    Now my curiosity is also getting the best of me. Did they really accidentally erase the tapes? Cabrall is quite an outspoken fellow with a good command of english, at least from what I've seen on TV. I want to know what the real reason behind them not airing the show is.

    Like on the link above, one comment says maybe they were trying to discredit SL, that's not cool.

    ReplyDelete
  109. mathamatica, I agree. People like him all over in every race, they are sort of extremist nationalists and we don't need that kind of attitude. That's exactly what people do. When there's internal strife someone else can come and take over. Divide and use (not rule anymore).

    ReplyDelete
  110. Sorry you're wrong mathematica. There is a Sinhalese Nation in Sri Lanka and its homeland is Sri Lanka. The Tamils and Muslims are minorities and not nations unto themselves. Tamils in Sri Lanka form PART of the Tamil Nation which numbers 60 million worldwide and whose homeland is TAMIL NADU. The Sinhalese built the civilisational basis of the island and their language is unique to the island (unlike Tamil). Why should the Sinhalese Nation deny itself like you claim, the reason the Sinhalese have survived uptil today as a people is because there were people who stood up against invading Tamils and made a stand for the Sinhalese Nation.

    ReplyDelete
  111. bees,

    I have to disagree, quite strongly. If you think way back in time we all come from the same mother (adam and eve if you believe in creationism, monkeys if you believe in darwinism, but that doesn't really matter). Then under that pretext, the homeland of the human race is the world, tamil/american/japanese/sinhalese/moors/burghers are just labels put on by people who belong to a certain group of culture/tradition/and even religion if you want. But the fact is you still belong to this group no matter where you are and in a democratic country we accept all groups living under one nation.

    Why do you feel the need to believe in a sinhalese homeland (yes it is a belief, something the terrorists believe in too)?

    I'm sinhalese where ever I go.

    ReplyDelete
  112. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  113. bees,

    Small correction,
    "The homeland of the Tamils people is Tamil Nadu. That is where their civilization, language and culture developed and flourished." ...........and continue to develop and flourish even today.

    If you look at all tamil cultural stuff (movies.songs the MOST popular) they are all MADE IN TAMIL NADU nothing in SL. The very few imitations work in SL do not add anything to the great tamil culture.

    ReplyDelete
  114. bees,

    I can see your point, kind of. But does this really apply today? The world isn't what it used to be. It's more of a global village. You get cosmopolitan cities coming up all over the place. The future will be even more different. That's what I feel anyway.

    Thanks for the discussion.

    ReplyDelete
  115. Yes machang, it applies today.

    If you want to wipe out your identity then please feel free to do so. But don't expect other Sinhalese to follow you.

    ReplyDelete
  116. Moshe Dyan, yes you're right. The Tamils of Sri Lanka still consider Tamil Nadu their homeland. That's the first place they run to, that's where their entire entertainment industry comes from and if it wasn't for GOSL restricting Tamil Nadu media a few decades ago they would still be reading only magazines and newspapers from Tamil Nadu without coming up with anything of their own.

    Their Anuradhapuras, Polonnaruwas, Sigiriyas, Dambullas, Panduwasnuwaras lie in Tamil Nadu. All their literary works worthy of mention were written and are written in Tamil Nadu.


    The homeland of the Tamil Nation is Tamil Nadu

    just as the homeland of the Sinhalese Nation is Sri Lanka.

    ReplyDelete
  117. bees,

    You might be right. There are too many people out there who'll take the opportunity wipe you out if you don't declare yourself an identity, they'll walk all over you. I guess my kind of thinking is just to nice for the real world. So I do see your point, but I hope you see my point as well.

    ReplyDelete
  118. Just to clarify, the bulk of what I'm trying to say is that my point of view is only viable in a utopian world.

    ReplyDelete
  119. Unfortunately I don't see your point. Because you want to deny the Sinhalese their homeland.

    ReplyDelete
  120. Bees said...

    [There is a Sinhalese Nation in Sri Lanka and its homeland is Sri Lanka. The Tamils and Muslims are minorities and not nations unto themselves. Tamils in Sri Lanka form PART of the Tamil Nation which numbers 60 million worldwide and whose homeland is TAMIL NADU. The Sinhalese built the civilisational basis of the island and their language is unique to the island (unlike Tamil). Why should the Sinhalese Nation deny itself like you claim, the reason the Sinhalese have survived uptil today as a people is because there were people who stood up against invading Tamils and made a stand for the Sinhalese Nation.]

    Bees, the idea of promoting SRI LANKA NATION is to give a platform for all minorities to join whole heatedly in the development of the country.

    There is no denial of the Great Singhala Civilisation and its right to exist and progress. But we have 30% of people born in SL who are not Singhalas. If we do not integrate them into our folds, tactfully, they will become a chronic cancer. As the majority we must know how to mobilise the minorities in the right direction.

    NATION = COMMON DESTINY

    A Lotus is a Lotus whether you call it a Nelum, Lotus, or otherwise.

    ReplyDelete
  121. I have to agree with what MathaMathica said. The interests of Sinhala nation must come first. Being the majority, this happens implicitly whether minorities like it or not however. There is no need to harp on with Sinhala nation etc because when you do it creates a sense of insecurity with smaller groups. A tactful approach will be playing down Sinhalaness and slowly assimilate minorites stealthily over a few generations. The Brtis and Singaporeans for examples have mastered the art. Do you see anyone harping on how great "Anglo Saxonism" in England or Chinese in Singapore? They don't. Over time however they integrate with the majority culture.

    ReplyDelete
  122. Panhinda


    ‘The Brtis and Singaporeans for examples have mastered the art. Do you see anyone harping on how great "Anglo Saxonism" in England or Chinese in Singapore? They don't. Over time however they integrate with the majority culture.’

    Well said! One lot of race or community mustn’t have monopoly over the rest making the others insecure and suspicious that will lead to conflict. We could not also allow minorities to exploit their unfounded fears, sometimes exaggerated by their power hungry leaders. In SL the last factor is so damaging, with the help of the major parties we should ban communal and religious parties in the parliament. Everyone must be part of the major parties that will only deal with issues with respect to all people, with many safeguards to the minorities.

    ReplyDelete
  123. Put yourself in their shoes bees. If you're not prejudice, then you will be able to imagine, if you can't then I'm sorry to say, but you're part of the problem that exists today.

    ReplyDelete

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