On the Ropes
Insight Myanmar11 Nov 2022

On the Ropes

Episode #132: Zach Abuza, a columnist at Radio Free Asia and a professor at the National War College in Washington, DC, provides his analysis of the tactical and strategic situation facing the Tatmadaw nearly two years into their attempted coup.

He debunks several theories regarding the Burmese military. One is the size of the Burmese military, which he believes is much smaller than is often assumed, and is now showing signs of strain. There is also an increasing number of defections, and Abuza estimates that around 15% of the Tatmadaw’s soldiers have been killed, wounded, or defected.


In the past, the military relied on an urban Bamar population who could at worst be counted on to tacitly support their incursions into ethnic territories. Now, however, Abuza says, “The people are not being cowed into submission…it's got to drive Min Aung Hlaing and Soe Win absolutely batshit that the population continues to resist the military every day!” People with almost nothing still manage to give whatever they can to the People’s Defense Forces (PDFs), a clear sign of how determined they are to continue to sacrifice in hopes of seeing the military defeated once and for all.


In terms of the military’s resources, on the one hand, Abuza notes that helicopters are the biggest threat to the resistance efforts, and their munitions are produced in-country. However, Abuza has seen a decrease in the number of mortars being launched into villages, indicating that they are concerned about their depleting stocks.


With all this in mind, Abuza feels it is critical for the PDFs to begin avoiding direct conflict in favor of “fighting the military's ability to wage war. They have to concentrate on the increasingly depleted logistics network.” His main concern is the resistance’s ability to sustain their efforts, since the Tatmadaw still benefits from relationships with China and Russia.

Avsnitt(409)

Welcome to the Insight Myanmar Podcast!

Welcome to the Insight Myanmar Podcast!

We are proud to present the inaugural episode of the Insight Myanmar podcast! Our host, Joah McGee, will first give a brief introduction about the podcast’s mission and background, followed by short previews of each of the first six interviews we’ve conducted so far. The full-length podcasts will be aired once weekly and feature (in order of appearance on the trailer):Alan Clements, an American yogi, activist, and author, describes his time as a monk during the late 1970s and early 1980s in Myanmar.Sayalay Piyadassi, a Lithuanian nun, discusses her early years as a nun in Myanmar and her joy in simplicity.Thabarwa Sayadaw, a leading Burmese abbot, shares the stressful early years of trying to establish his monastery and the crises they faced.Ashin Chanda, a Bangladeshi monk, tells how the early heartbreak of losing his mother set him on a path in search of inner peace that ultimately led to his ordination.Sebestien Le Normand, a French meditator, reflects on a special visit to International Meditation Center (IMC) in Yangon.Ashin Sarana, a Czech monk, describes why he is so concerned with the problem of Burmese monks touching money.We invite you to rate, review, and share our podcasts, as every little bit helps. You can subscribe to the Insight Myanmar podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or however you get your podcasts; or, you can listen and download right off the web at https://insightmyanmar.captivate.fm/. If you cannot find our feed on your podcast player, please let us know and we will ensure it can be offered there.We would also like to take this time to thank everyone who made this podcast possible, especially our two sound engineers, Martijn Comes and Thar Nge; Zach Hessler, content collaborator and part time co-host; Michael Alahouzos, who assisted in our fund-raising efforts; and Ken Pransky, who helped with editing. Finally, we are immensely grateful for the donors who made this entire thing possible. We also remind our listeners that the opinions expressed by our guests are their own and not necessarily reflective of the host or other podcast contributors. If you find the Dhamma interviews we are sharing of value and would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give monthly donations on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/insightmyanmar, or one time donations on PayPal at www.paypal.me/insightmyanmar. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to do so.

20 Jan 202042min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

svenska-fall
p3-krim
rss-krimstad
fordomspodden
rss-viva-fotboll
flashback-forever
aftonbladet-daily
rss-sanning-konsekvens
rss-vad-fan-hande
olyckan-inifran
dagens-eko
rss-frandfors-horna
krimmagasinet
motiv
rss-krimreportrarna
rss-expressen-dok
svd-dokumentara-berattelser-2
blenda-2
svd-nyhetsartiklar
spotlight