Over the last year, said Hammond, Bernard Gray, the chief of defence materiel, has analysed the root causes of the current situation and identified three interlinked issues.
The Legion's materiel had been exhausted.
The looming invasions of Benghazi and Misrata, another big city, may cost the loyalists heavily in men and materiel, for the defenders have no way of escape.
The Saudis are also known to have airdropped materiel, including what appeared to be Serbia-made assault rifles, to their allies in Yemen.
They have essential materiel and can use psychological cunning and an enduring network of support from outside to try to keep their grip on a country that has become used to bare survival during 22 years of war.
The flow of U.S. troops and materiel to Australia would have slowed to a trickle or dried up altogether.
But they concede that the materiel is likely to have little influence on the immediate fight; the first delivery of an F-16 was made only this week.
The answer was no, but the subsequent removal of 70,000 personnel and 80,000 tonnes of materiel reinforced what has remained a cornerstone of US foreign policy – the use of the UK as Washington's overseas military and intelligence bolthole of choice.
A museum of the Tigers' war materiel including boats has even been opened, with signs in the majority Sinhala language, but not the local Tamil language.
After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, the United States Army, needing transports to get its men and materiel to France, had a select committee of shipping executives pore over registries of American shipping.
