Diplomacy or force: Which is the best strategy to deal with Maoists?

Why weren't the security personnel better prepared for the Maoist attack on Chhattisgarh even after knowing there was a definite threat to the life Salwa Judum founder Mahendra Karma?"Sources have told us that they were getting together for 3 days. Where was the alertness? There is no apparent response system," Kiran Bedi told CNN-IBN. [caption id="attachment_818855" align="alignleft" width="380"] Are the CRPF men sitting ducks in the Maoist territory in Chhattisgarh? PTI[/caption]Praveen Swami, National Security Analyst for Firstpost.com and CNN-IBN, said that the infrastructure available to the security personnel was inadequate and that is one of the reasons why they were largely ineffective."Drones that have been bought for air surveillance can't penetrate dense foliage. Air force flies these drones from Hyderabad and that is another problem, " he said.According to journalist Rahul Pandita, the methodology of the Maoist attack remains more or less the same. They have the upper hand in these areas because of their knowledge of the local languages and the local terrain."The security personnel on the other hand have very little motivation. I wish the same medical facilities that are held out to leaders would be held out to the security personnel every where," he said.However, the road ahead should not be about more violence, said PUCL National Secretary Kavita Srivastav."The police will consider every adivasi a Maoist. Since eight years a huge chunk of the youth has been lost in this battle. It's time we really thought, and did something and talk unconditionally," she said.However, Bedi disagreed and said that given this is an insurgency the police should not be lenient in dealing with them."This (the violence) has been accelerating. It is an insurgency. For long we have been playing a game of ducks and drakes. We have to deal with it differently. You should be talking about the entire red corridor and an integrated approach," she said.However, Pandita said that it would need a blend of diplomacy and strong action to have an effective result."It has to be a bit of both. Military operations should be there. You need to be minimise collateral damage. However CRPF does not distinguish between ordinary people and Maoists. On the ground the people are not getting anything. That has to be ensured first," Pandita said.