JOINT COMMAND AGAIN (98 Jul 15)
The government has decided to establish a joint command similar to the Joint Operational Command under the President Jayawardane, from the end of the year. The security forces will come under a unified command under President Kumaratunge. All future counter terrorist operations will be directed by the joint command.
The joint command will be headed by a Joint Chief of Staff, who will be the longest serving commander. With this move the Vavuniyava based joint operation headquarters will be either replaced or strengthened. According to "The Sunday Times" which announced the move, already a team of military officials have been detailed the task of preparing the infrastructure needed for the new command.
This is a good move, as the operations by the security forces have to be coordinated. However it is also important that the politicians should leave the operational strategies to the joint command. Having taken the political decisions the politicians should leave the operations to the security forces. Operations should never be conducted according to a political agenda.