Stray thoughts on Civil War

I think there's a nugget of wisdom somewhere in comparing and contrasting the situation in Iraq to the civil war in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, I can't seem to distill it into a cohesive point. So today you get information with no analysis: you come to your own conclusions.

Like Iraq, the war waged by the Tamil Tigers against the government of Sri Lanka also has overtones of ethnic genocide and terrorism. The Tigers started as a criminal/terrorist organization in the 1970's and worked their way up to a warring army with territorial control of the northern portions of the island in the 80's and 90's, and with the ceasefire a few years ago, they are now active as a political party. Some 60,000 people died over the course of the 20 years of the war (if this site can be trusted) : a long, slow war of attrition, with monthly death rates lower than current Iraqi figures.

Anyway, it's something to think about. At the minimum, when the news mentions "possible civil war", don't be expecting the Battle of Gettyburg. Expect something more like Sri Lanka.