In Sri Lanka, the Wounds of War Are Healing

A central tenet of geopolitical analysis is that place matters, and nowhere is this clearer than in Sri Lanka. The island nation lies just off the coast of southeastern India at the midpoint of the Indian Ocean, occupying a vital sea lane and trade corridor between the Middle East and East Asia. For centuries, its location -- plus its deep natural harbors and wealth of resources such as tea, rubber and cinnamon -- has attracted the interest of powers both near and far. The country's history of invasion and occupation sowed the seeds of a disastrous civil war from which it is only now emerging....