Upon a recent review of the casualties generated by the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the country list look disturbingly familiar. Indonesia (Advisory), which was hardest hit with 94,000 confirmed deaths, was the focus of 16 WAR Report analyses in 2004. Sri Lanka (Advisory), which suffered at least 46,000 deaths, was covered nine times. India , which lost over 9,000 lives, was analyzed in 10 WAR Reports, and Thailand (Advisory), which was examined on seven occasions, had over 5,000 confirmed deaths. In short, those nations that bore the brunt of the natural disaster have been experiencing significant violent upheaval over the past year. Reports of quick, appropriate, and sufficient government reactions and responses in the different countries is contradictory and still inconclusive at this early stage. However, significant international aid–and perhaps even presence–is inevitable and may alter the political landscape in some of the violent conflicts and even the regional security landscape.

Indonesia?s troubled Aceh province on the island of Sumatra was hit hard by the tsunami waves. The casualty numbers of 25,000 in the region are already much greater than the 2,000+ deaths attributed to the Aceh insurgency (including the Free Aceh Movement ) in 2004 or the 13,000 total lost since 1976. Fortunately, the devastation prompted new Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to lift the ban on press coverage and international aid workers in the region ? a policy that will not easily be reversed and may have long range political consequences for the province, the country, and perhaps the region. Additionally, one press report indicated that the tsunami destroyed at least three atolls that the Indonesian government had used to claim territorial waters and thus extend its navy?s reach in counter-terrorism and anti-piracy patrols.