Tail of the Dragon

This operational-level analysis, focused on campaign-planning issues, identifies shortcomings in the counterinsurgency efforts of the government of Sri Lanka (GSL), as it continues its conflict against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Despite foreign military and economic assistance, the GSL's concerted efforts for nearly twenty years have failed to either defeat the LTTE or achieve a peaceful settlement. The LTTE continues to function effectively, if not thrive. The framework provided by JP 5-00.1 Joint Doctrine for Campaign Planning has been used to analyze three GSL campaigns: Operation Riviresa in 1995, Operation Jaya Sikurui in 1996, and Operation Kinihira in 2000. US principles of Internal Defense and Development and Foreign Internal Defense have also been utilized in assessing these campaigns. The thesis concludes that the GSL's violation of several campaign-planning fundamentals significantly contributed to poor operational and counterinsurgency performance. Operations were compromised by insufficient political-military synchronization and poor tactical preparedness. The thesis validates the use of JP 5-00.1 as an effective methodology for analyzing situations other than war, and advocates the publication of principles concerning tactics, techniques, and procedures as a supplement to current US counterinsurgency doctrine.