Maldives: An Indian Ocean Island That Comes With An Expiry Date – OpEd

By Thalif Deen*

Just after a band of mercenaries tried to oust the government of the Maldives, I asked a Maldivian diplomat about the strength of his country's standing army. "Standing army?", the diplomat asked with mock surprise, "We don't even have a sitting army."

With a population of about 250,000, back in March 1999,...