US-Thai military committments

[dawnstar@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Understandingly, as Ms Albright is chief spokesmen for US foreign policy
committments, would someome please point to what are US military
committments to Thailand, or where we can find out more about on the
net, or recent published papers and books. Thank you. dawn star 

suriya wrote:
> 
> March 7, 1999
> 
> Editorial
> 
> Moving forward on drug programmes
> Last week, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited for three days.
> She
> emphasised the importance of the battle against narcotics. She also
> reminded us
> of some basic truths many of us may have forgotten.
> Our 40-year-old poppy-substitution programme is the envy of much of the
world.
> Our farmers are no longer slaves to a criminal monopoly, but can grow
> profitable crops and sell them on a free market. Our farm children,
> particularly in the hills, can read and write-where they were illiterate a
> generation ago.
> Mrs Albright also reminded us of our more recent political successes. She
> flattered us with the description of role model. Thailand has been a
> democratic
> island of peace among regional uproar since the recession struck. Other
> countries have had coups, riots, press crackdowns and mass arrests of
> dissidents. We have not. Our democratic traditions may be new and may
still be
> evolving, but they are in place and functioning. Do not, urged the American
> visitor, stop the Thai democratic development.
> Ironically, our next important foreign visitor is Than Shwe, the head of the
> Burmese military junta. It is a major contrast with the visit of Mrs
Albright.
> Gen Than Shwe's country is a drug producer, pusher to the youths of
Thailand.
> It is the most undemocratic nation in Asean, and neither supports nor even
> truly approves of our twin efforts to clean up our drug problem and develop
> our
> democracy.
> As Prime Minister Chuan and others have pointed out, drug trafficking is the
> single biggest threat to our national security. We are at peace with all of
> our
> immediate neighbours. But the drug peddlers destroy our young people,
corrupt
> our officials, attack our justice system and consume highly competent civil
> servants who could improve our nation if they were not needed to chase

> traffickers.
> We hope Mr Chuan will be frank in his discussions with Gen Than Shwe.
Thailand
> is largely unimpressed with the Burmese commitment to cleaning up its severe
> drugs trafficking problem. The cozy relationships between the world's
biggest
> drug dealers and Gen Than Shwe's regime grow more evident by the day.
> As the Bangkok Post revealed last week, the latest Burmese government
> 
> cooperation with drug traffickers has suddenly placed the area's narcotics
> kingpins on the Thai frontier opposite our northern region. The abrupt
> appearance of the United Wa State Army on our frontier, in force, is
> unsettling
> to say the least. The fact they are building a huge settlement opposite
Chiang
> Mai province as a reward from Rangoon makes all Thais uneasy or worse.
> The reward to the Wa continues the Burmese tradition of close and
> dishonourable
> cooperation with senior drug dealers. It was rich irony that Burma conducted
> Interpol officials to the Kokang area of the Shan State to show them the
> alleged Rangoon anti-opium efforts. Kokang is the fiefdom of the opium
warlord
> Lo Hsing-han. He is a major heroin dealer, a close associate of the Burmese
> generals. Through his family, he is a major investor, using laundered drug
> money.
> The United Wa State Army is building-digging in-in Burma, opposite Mae Ai
> district of Chiang Mai. It is their reward from the Rangoon junta for
helping
> to defeat Khun Sa. They are rich, apparently from the drugs trade. Thai
> authorities have been caught unprepared by the speed of the Wa takeover and
> construction. There are strong fears of narcotics.
> There is much that we have to do in Thailand to improve. Our drug-prevention
> programmes do not match our suppression programmes in scope or funding.
> Community action will, in the end, determine the true success of our
anti-drug
> efforts. But success is also impossible without international
cooperation. Mrs
> Albright assured us of American support; it would be nice to get a similar
> show
> of support from Gen Than Shwe.
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