The drum solo was used as the intro for both the Maladjusted and Oye Esteban tours (up to the latter part of February 2000, whenever On Her Majesty's Secret Service superseded it--Beacon Theatre, NY?). For those who haven't heard it, a shorter version of The Operation was played on the Southpaw tour. During the conclusion of Dagenham Dave, Spencer did a sort of truncated, three or four second drum solo bridge into the main part of the song. And the outro jam was greatly shortened.
I've always thought the main part of the tune would have been a great, lost single. There's a great energy and sadness in the main riff and overall feel. In an imaginary world, I would create a single mix by fading in the drum solo gradually at about 2:05 or 2:10 with the volume reaching its peak at 2:19 when the snare pattern leads into the main part of the song. Not sure what to do with the outro! But I love Alain's shouts into his guitar pick-up, here and on the rest of the album--a nice, unique trick. It's otherwordly--almost like primal scream therapy.
If I recall, there's been speculation about Jake being a drug user/addict (see also: Sunny, "with your jean belt wrapped around your arm," etc.). I always saw the lyrics as referencing this. I saw "The Operation" as a metaphor for the wholesale change in personality--"you're just not the same." Interesting, too, how Morrissey sounds markedly upset in his delivery. I figure any time he is reduced to profanity ("what the hell have they stuck into you"), his frustation has exceeded his utility with the written word. That it occurs in the same song with one of his best enigmatic lines ("you fight with your right hand and caress with your left hand") creates a unique emotional tension rarely seen in his other songs.
I would put this in the same category as Best Friend on the Payroll: a song he HAD to song, whatever its merits (or lack thereof, depending on your opinion).
Cheers,
Jamie