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Urban Battle Fields
of South Asia
Lessons Learned from Sri Lanka,
India, and Pakistan

C. Christine Fair

Prepared for the United States Army

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited
The research described in this report was sponsored by the United States
Army under Contract No. DASW01-01-C-0003.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fair, C. Christine.
Urban battle fields of South Asia : lessons learned from Sri Lanka, India, and
Pakistan / C. Christine Fair.
p. cm.
“MG-210.”
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8330-3682-3 (pbk.)
1. Urban warfare—Sri Lanka. 2. Urban warfare—India. 3. Urban warfare—Pakistan.
4. Terrorism—Sri Lanka—Prevention. 5. Terrorism—India—Prevention. 6.
Terrorism—Pakistan—Prevention. 7. War on Terrorism, 2001– I. Title.

U167.5.S7F35 2004
355.4'26'0954—dc22
2004019129

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing

objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges
facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s
publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients
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© Copyright 2004 RAND Corporation

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Summary

Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan all have extensive experience in dealing
with militant groups that employ violence to achieve their objectives.
Although much of this experience has been gained in rural or jungle
terrain, all three states have wrestled with terrorism in urban envi-
ronments as well. This research assesses several sustained campaigns
of urban violence in South Asia to draw out the evolution of groups
employing terrorism and to exposit the way in which each state at-
tempted to counter the ever-changing threat.
The lessons learned from the manifestations of urban terrorism
are numerous. First, this exercise illuminated numerous structural
similarities among groups that use terror as an instrument within the
three states considered. For example, most have developed globalized
networks to support their operations and sustain their organization.
Second, the United States is currently engaged with these states in the
global war on terrorism in various capacities and through differing
means. Understanding the internal security dynamics of Sri Lanka,
India, and Pakistan as well as the challenges they confront should of-
fer insights into the types of engagement that might be useful to both
parties. These observations should also inform the expectations of the
United States as to the limits of the possible within the region. Third,
the population terrain1 of each of these countries is richly complex
____________
1The notion of population terrain used here reflects the work of Vijay Madan (1997).
Madan writes that “Population should be considered in the same manner as terrain is in any
military planning and appreciations . . . . [An] examination of the ‘population terrain’ factor
would lead to deducing the important segments of the population which must be dominated

xiii
xiv Urban Battle Fields of South Asia

and marked by religious-sectarian distinctions as well as ethnic and

cultural differences. Some of the methods developed to manage the
urban threat may provoke thoughts about U.S.-led stability opera-
tions in countries that are similarly diverse in social structure. Some
of the key findings of this report are summarized below.

Structural Similarities: Insights for the War on Terrorism

Nearly every nonstate actor discussed in this study has established

transnational networks to facilitate the movement of, inter alia,
money, information, weapons and other war materiel, as well as per-
sons. These networks are used to raise funds as well—through both
licit and illicit means. Their web of relationships also permits differ-
ent groups to interact and cross-fertilize. Afghanistan, the Middle
East, India, the countries of Europe, Southeast Asia, the United
Kingdom, and the United States have all served as meeting places for
these militant organizations. The cross-fertilization of militant groups
underscores the importance of understanding the best practices of
terror utilization, as other groups employing terror are likely to take
advantage of this knowledge. These networks can also be used to en-
courage co-ethnics and co-religionists spread throughout the diaspora
to espouse particular movements’ causes. Co-ethnics and co-
religionists living in the West have been able to exploit the political
systems there to create environments that are favorable to their
movement’s objectives. One of the key institutions in these trans-state
networks is the university. Universities emerge as important sources
of manpower as well as technical expertise. While the international
community understands the financial aspects of these networks, it is
less clear how much attention other dimensions receive.
This report also finds several common weaknesses within the
states that these groups exploit, such as the lack of communication
______________________________________________________
and which . . . could be ignored or handled in a latter time frame. The insurgents too, from
the very start of their movement, endeavor to dominate the ‘population terrain’ and usually
score over the [counterintelligence] forces, who start on the wrong foot by expending all their
energies and resources on trying to dominate only the insurgents.”
 Summary xv

and intelligence sharing across jurisdictional lines of police and other

authorities. Limiting terrorist groups’ power projection requires a co-
herent state response that incorporates national and local law en-
forcement and intelligence entities. It requires that intelligence flow
up and down between the central and local authorities as well as hori-
zontally among and between various law enforcement and intelli-
gence groups within the state and federal sectors. Groups also exploit
the lack of language assets within the state security apparatus. The Sri
Lankan army, police, and intelligence agencies have very few Tamil
language interpreters. Diasporan organizations operating in the
United States have the advantage of languages that are “low density”
(e.g., languages for which the U.S. military and law enforcement have
few assets).
Finally, all groups exploit fissures in the relationship that devel-
ops between the populace and the law enforcement authorities. As
security breaks down and the people no longer have trust in the gov-
ernment, citizens do not cooperate with the authorities. Further,
these case studies illuminate the fundamental role of local police
forces and the importance of ensuring that their training and equip-
ment is adequate to the task they face.

Security Cooperation: Implications for U.S. Engagement

of Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan

The United States currently has counterterrorism and law enforce-

ment working groups with India and Pakistan. These programs, with
varying concentration, focus on the integration of intelligence, law
enforcement, legal, and diplomatic aspects of the fight against terror-
ism. This analysis found that these efforts to fortify all aspects of these
states’ internal security apparatus are critical to ensuring that these
states can function as effective partners in the war on terrorism.
This analysis also found that all three states demonstrate poor
coordination across the myriad state and federal agencies. (The
United States too faces this complex challenge.) This finding may
inform the United States in its counterterrorism partnerships with
xvi Urban Battle Fields of South Asia

each of these countries. For instance, which U.S. entities should be

engaged in security cooperation programs with India, Pakistan, and
Sri Lanka, and which agencies within these countries should be in-
cluded?
Finally, it is possible that some of the operational lessons learned
by these three states as they confronted their own cases of militancy
may have value to the U.S. forces in their current and future urban
challenges. All of these states are complex societies with richly diverse
populations. Some of the empirical evidence garnered from Pakistan’s
Islamicized community-policing model and Sri Lanka’s vigilance
committees may offer some insight for U.S. police operations in
similarly complex social environments.