[War] US: Thai's gotta be another way!

[pentaj2 at Scranton.edu]

"Thai's Gotta Be Another Way!"
20 September 2006
President John Williams
United States
=======================
"Y'know, this is not something I'd say, normally, but...I can't see 
this coup as a *bad* thing," President Williams noted to his foreign 
policy team, Bush's foreign policy team until he decided who to 
replace.

"Why not?" asked Condi Rice, looking curiously at him.

"Well, for one thing, Thaksin *is* a corrupt bastard. For another, 
this *was* endorsed by the King, who does appoint and dismiss 
governments formally anyhow, and has the street cred - hell, he's 
revered as if he's a god - to tell them to back down, as he did in 
1991."

"Do we really want to encourage coups like that, though?"

"Hell no! Our statement will be that such coups are a bad thing, and 
we condemn this coup in no uncertain terms. Professional soldiers do 
not subvert civil authority, *period*. Obviously, its occurrance means 
we will have to re-evaluate our relationship with the Government of 
Thailand. However, we take note of the intention to appoint a civilian 
government within two weeks, and we will hold this 'Administrative 
Reform Council' to that. The United States Government expects that the 
Thai military, being *professionals*, will respect human rights and 
the rule of law. We expect democracy to be restored quickly, and for 
the Thai military to return to barracks."

That got a nod from the Secretary of State.

"However...Real-world? General Pace, while we may not *do* anything, I 
want you to pull their officers aside, essentially, and remind them 
that we've always seen the Thai military as being professional. They 
have, justly, prided themselves on that. So it's a hell of a let-down 
to see them reverting back to their old habits of overthrowing 
civilian governments, and we, frankly, do not consider that as being 
the behavior expected of professional soldiers."

That got a nod. "Essentially, tell them they've strayed from the 
light, sir?" Pace asked.

"You got it, General...The idea here is that the Thai military does 
act as role models in the region. They know that, we know that. We 
expect them to role model the subordination of military forces to the 
civil power expected in a democracy. Thailand's made impressive, 
impressive strides in terms of developing their democracy over the 
past 15 years. They're proud of that, and rightly so. This was a hell 
of a step back in those terms."

"Are military-to-military relations at risk?"

"I'll tell you now, probably not. But emphasize that convincing 
Congress that they're the good guys just got a lot harder. What're you 
thinking?"

"I agree with you, for the most part, sir. The Thais are good 
soldiers, but, a lot like the Turks, the military command has never 
really developed the habits of thinking you'd expect in a democratic 
military. What we should do is have our friends over in London make 
that point; a lot of their guys went to Sandhurst."

"OK, we'll knock." Pause. "Any need for a travel warning?"

"No, sir, I think we can do without that. Just telling anyone in-
country to be vigilant seems like a good idea for now," replied 
Secretary Rice.

"OK then."
------
Actions:
1. US to issue statement condemning coup, noting that we expect 
professional military officers such as those of the Thai military to 
*act* professional, and noting that we're holding the junta to their 
promise to return power to civilians in 2 weeks. We expect democracy 
to return *quickly*, and needless to say, this will require us to 
review our relations.
2. Through back-channels: Same message. OK guys, you may have the best 
of intentions, Thaksin really is probably a corrupt bastard, but 
professional military officers *do not* -do- that! We trained you 
better, goddammit! That said, OK, seeing as how the King has endorsed 
it and the population, surreal though it may be, seems in favor of it, 
we're not thinking of doing anything beyond words. However, we are 
still very disappointed in you.
3. Ask London to use Sandhurst alumni contacts to press similar points.
4. Advice to US citizens: Be vigilant. Use your heads. Do not annoy 
the guys with guns. However, once things calm down (probably in the 
next few days), Thailand should really be safe.