"Progress a little faster than originally planned’’ Road is hard but victory is certain, says Gotabhaya- The Island- 2008/09/07
by Manoj Abeydeera and Eric Gamini Jinapriya Despite battlefield losses last week with the LTTE delivering bodies of 30 soldiers killed in action through the ICRC, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa while agreeing that the road forward is hard remains convinced that victory is certain. Rajapaksa expressed these thoughts in an interview with today’s issue of the Irida Divaina where he said that the progress made had been a little faster than originally planned. "We are moving forward in accordance with those plans," he had said. To fight the war correctly, it is necessary to get an analysis (of the situation confronting the forces and the battle plan) from the service commanders and the president had done this, the Secretary explained. "It was only after that the commanders were able to set out when and how they would carry their campaign forward." He also said in the wide-ranging interview: Once we took the East, the Army Commander analyzed the situation and told...