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Tried by war
A just war – The Commander in Chief speaks
(In case we have forgotten)
"The insurgent leader does not attempt to deceive us. He offers us no excuse to deceive ourselves. Between him and us the issue is distinct, simple and inflexible. It is an issue which can only be settled by war and decided by victory".
The President made it clear that only a total victory over the insurgents would bring the wrenching and bloody war to an end.
The war had become a very unpopular one, testing the patience of the public and requiring a special sort of leadership.
Importance of special Presidential clarity and determination
The President was not just deeply involved in tactics and strategy but also possessed of an almost super human ability to stick to his decision to fight the war in the first place, even at a time when many in the country (and the international community) were questioning it.
That was the central message of his presidency. Once he made his decision as to the correct course he stuck with it even if there was a great clamour against that course.
He felt he would have to pay the greatest price –to be kicked out of office at the next elections. Yet at one time he said: "I may be beaten, the casualties are astronomical and there is almost nil military progress to show for this" but he made it clear to the people that he would "do whatever was necessary to save the nation" meaning to win the war. Because he knew that his (political) opponent if successful as he put it "will have secured his election on such grounds that he cannot possibly save it afterwards."
What changed everything to preserve the nation was the complete eclipse of the LTTE (at Nandi Kadal in May 2009).
It is easy to forget that the war now, given the celebrations, was both just and necessary. At that time the President was heavily burdened by the constant need to persuade the public that the conflict was not optional despite what seemed the credible argument made by the UNP that there would be no existential threat to the unity of SL if it allowed the LTTE to go its own way.
In the President’s own mind SL would have become an oxymoron. If the LTTE was not defeated it would have meant that SL was no longer one country and that in future disagreements other provinces may have invoked that precedent and the 13th amendment and separated.
The President made no promise to pull back the troops as he remarked that "the insurgent leader" makes it extremely clear, his intention was to fight, no matter how long it took and no matter the cost. The President sent more troops in to battle and said that the war was necessary and just, even as a cautious and impatient public was likely to question its wisdom.
Adapted (with apologies) from McPherson’s book - Tried by war-Lincoln as Commander in Chief.
