Kagusthan Ariaratnam

Kagusthan Ariaratnam is a former child soldier of the Tamil Tigers turned defense analyst and security consultant with over 25 years of experience. From 1990 to 2010, he worked with several international intelligence agencies in a substantial capacity. In 1992, Ariaratnam was appointed as an intelligence officer of the Tamil Tigers' Military Intelligence Unit. Between 1992 and 1995, he oversaw intelligence for the Sea Tigers and the Air Tigers – the organization's rudimentary naval and air wings. As Ariaratnam had fought as an insurgent during the Sri Lankan civil war with the Tamil Tigers and later against the insurgents as a military intelligence analyst with the Directorate of Military Intelligence of Sri Lanka, he possesses unique knowledge of the contemporary counterintelligence, counterinsurgency, and counterterrorism operations. For advancing the "Global War on Terrorism," Ariaratnam received the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies Award in October 2003.