Afghanistan Watch: A new tactic from the 'think tank' of paramilitaries?

Michael-Shtender Auerbach, associate director of Century's Prospects for Peace middle east initiative, writes here on a development that has been off-the-radar: the recent use of aerial tactics by the Tamil Tigers, a militant secular secessionist movement notorious for its innovativeness (until recently, the Tigers were responsible, by a wide margin, for more suicide bombings than any other terrorist organization.)

Why should the coalition take note? Auerbach warns that an IISS study has found "commercial links between the LTTE, Al Qaeda, and militants in Afghanistan."

If this is any indication of the LTTE influence, the possibility for future use of aerial assaults from insurgents in Iraq to Al Qaeda linked groups in Morocco and Pakistan to Palestinian militants in the occupied territories to Hezbollah in Lebanon-– are all but certain to follow.

Even without similarities in ideology or sympathies, the LTTE inadvertently "acts as a 'think tank' for terrorists worldwide; constantly inventing new tactics that are so devastatingly effective, groups like Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, Shining Path, and Chechen fighters are eager to integrate them into their organizations."

From the use of female suicide bombers (made famous with the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi in 1991) to the deployment of suicidal naval units - the Tigers are always on the cutting edge of the advancement of non-state terror and are, in fact, the only terrorist organization that has land, sea and air capabilities...

Auerbach's article is well worth a read, and available below...MORE

Photos: Al Jazeera

What Happens When a "Poor Man's Air Force" Goes Airborne?

By Michael Shtender-Auerbach, The Century Foundation 5/3/2007

Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers, successfully launched an aerial strike using modified light aircraft and improvised payloads against strategic gas and oil facilities this past weekend, the third such attack in just under a month. The attacks were carried out under cover of night, as Sri Lankans watched the National Cricket team hold their own against Australiain the World Cup. This rudimentary and highly effective Tiger Air Force has sent shockwaves through the government and the military brass in Colombo. US intelligence agencies should take notice.

In the world of terrorist networks and resistance organizations, the LTTE have employed very sophisticated tactics over the years, including the formation and use of their own Navy. Today, with the addition of a Tiger Air Force, the intractable war between Tamil separatists and the government in Colombo is set to enter a new phase. In fact, the Tigers have threatened more air strikes while Sri Lankan military strategists seek new tools to “neutralize” the threat – not an easy task. Tiger military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiraiyan laughed off the threat by telling Reuters that the Sri Lankan military, “especially the air force, are adamantly trying to prove they will always seek a military solution." He added that as a result, "we have no other way than to take our own measures…there will definitely be more. We have no choice other than striking back."

The LTTE are a militant secular secessionist movement fighting for independence for the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka. While over 30 states, including the United States, consider the LTTE a terrorist organization, the lack of international consensus over their status has certainly enhanced their ability to maintain a sophisticated military force. What should be of international concern is that the tactics used by the LTTE offer a template that is often copied by international terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies Military Balance 2007, there is increasing evidence of commercial links between the LTTE, Al Qaeda, and militants in Afghanistan. If this is any indication of the LTTE influence, the possibility for future use of aerial assaults from insurgents in Iraq to Al Qaeda linked groups in Morocco and Pakistan to Palestinian militants in the occupied territories to Hezbollah in Lebanon-– are all but certain to follow.

The LTTE’s stock in trade has been the car bomb often described as the “poor man’s air force” and the suicide bomber, the “poor man’s smart bomb”. Now the LTTE has gone airborne. Experts speculate that the planes purchased abroad were most likely Czech in origin, subsequently disassembled for shipment through LTTE's vast network of merchant ships, and paid for by LTTE sympathizers living in the diaspora. Technically, having an Air Force is quite simple, and while it is difficult to conceal a landing strip in a primarily forested area, it is certainly not impossible. Targeting and mapping are made easier by the advent of GPS and Google Earth. In Iraq, for instance, British soldiers discovered that Iraqi insurgents used Google Earth to plan attacks on bases in southern Iraq.

While the Tiger Air Force is unique among terror organizations, state actors should not underestimate the potential for others to form their own air forces. Hezbollah, whose tactics are similar to the LTTE, have employed unmanned aircraft, or drones, to monitor Israeli military movement along their border. Some predict the next step of outfitting these drones with improvised payloads is imminent.

No military on earth, whether it is the mighty military of the United States fighting insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, or Israel’s laser focused military in its protracted war against militants in the occupied territories or Hezbollah in Lebanon, can overcome the methods and tactics that the LTTE are employing and exporting. The LTTE acts as a "think tank" for terrorists worldwide; constantly inventing new tactics that are so devastatingly effective, groups like Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, Shining Path, and Chechen fighters are eager to integrate them into their organizations. From the use of female suicide bombers (made famous with the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi in 1991) to the deployment of suicidal naval units - the Tigers are always on the cutting edge of the advancement of non-state terror and are, in fact, the only terrorist organization that has land, sea and air capabilities

As is evidenced in the 2006 U.S. State Department’s global survey on terrorism, no one is safe from terrorism. The report states that terrorist attacks worldwide shot up by almost thirty percent last year, with a forty percent increase in casualty rates. Some argued after 9-11 that it was a “failure of imagination” that caught America off-guard. As terrorist organizations, insurgencies, and resistance movements level the playing field against advanced armies by employing new tactics and methods, such as those exercised by the Tamil Tigers over the past twenty years, there can no longer be any excuse not to think outside the box. If the international community continues to ignore these advancements, next year's State Department report is likely to be even more sobering as the threat to international peace and security continues to escalate.

Michael Shtender-Auerbach is a program officer and associate director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative at The Century Foundation