Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona says that the Tamil Tigers are deliberately not allowing civilians to leave the war zone and are using them as a buffer against attacks by the military.

VOA: standard.2009.03.17

U.N.officials say the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have ignored calls to release tens of thousands of civilians they are using as a "buffer" between them and the military in the combat zone.

VOA: standard.2009.05.11

Unlike any of the other big Pentagon contractors, it came to view military business as a buffer against potential trouble in its commercial markets.

FORBES: How The Pentagon's Top Ten Contractors Dealt With The Last Downturn

Mr Trenin says that what Russia wants is a buffer zone, with no American military bases or NATO presence.

ECONOMIST: Russian-American relations