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Discussion 1 : 01/11/2012 at 02:24 AM

Khun Wakeup #28, counterterrorism through a Military-Police-Civilian Independent Intel Agency was what had been keeping the Deep South peaceful, until TS abolished it, of course. It took a awfully long time for us to become successful back then, now we have to do it all over again, from the opposite end. Right now, it is imperative to take out the leadership of the terrorists, like what the US did to UBL. It's like killing a snake, you hit it at the end and the body will eventually die. Only afterward that a more peaceful phrase of counterterrorism can be implemented. Now, let apply force to the individuals who deserve it.

Discussion 2 : 31/10/2012 at 02:27 PM

A couple of retired generals to run the counter insurgency!!!!! Getting some retired generals who have never seen any sort of military action for years who are not aware of the latest counter insurgency techniques makes absolutely no sense This is still dragging on get some up and coming colonels seconded overseas to Afghanistan to see counter insurgency techniques also get some sent to Europe and America to study this problem Because there will still be problems when they come back in a year or so and at least you will have new group of soldiers with new ideas on actually how to solve this issue

Discussion 3 : 31/10/2012 at 02:18 PM

D 25 in actual fact there are closer to 2000 generals. TS wanted to address this but was ousted before he could. The present Minister of Defence have earmarked this as one of the areas that must be addressed. But with people continuing shouting for coups and the subject of less generals being very sensitive progress on this will be slow. PTP will first have to build trust with the RTA before the issue can be addressed. Chalerm's move is part of the trust build with RTA as Gen Prayuth requested assistance on the south from everyone a few days ago. PTP answered his request.

Discussion 4 : 31/10/2012 at 01:12 PM

#18 - Using force is not a solution, it is something that may be necessary to implement a solution. Counterinsurgency is not about the application of force, it is about "draining swamps" to eliminate the conditions producing conflict. You may need force to secure an environment within which this can be accomplished, but good tacticians agree that the less force the better.

Discussion 5 : 31/10/2012 at 01:07 PM

The last I heard, Khun C. has not been willing to take the personal risk of ever even going to one of the three southern-most provinces himself. The PM has at least been there on the ground a few times. He would be a very much absentee commander.

Discussion 6 : 31/10/2012 at 12:58 PM

Khun Eric #22, do you know whether Chalerm has any training or experience in counterterrorism? If not, he will be just another empty suit just like those predecessors before him, while bloodshed and violence continue...

Discussion 7 : 31/10/2012 at 12:09 PM

As we do have 1,600 Generals for an army of 400,000 (1 general for about 150 soldiers when considering that there are also 10 of thousand other officers)i would send about 1400 generals to the south to handle the problem! PS: USA has 436 Generals for all armed forced.....

Discussion 8 : 31/10/2012 at 11:41 AM

If Chalerm proceeds with his plan for granting substantial administrative decentralization to the South by the creation of a genuinely semi-autonomous administrative region there, rather than simply ordering a stronger crackdown on the violence, he may well achieve something worthwhile. If he doesn't and just offers token gestures to the meet the grievances of particularily the local Muslim population, the problem will just get worse.

Discussion 9 : 31/10/2012 at 11:16 AM

Wait for a while and we'll see Chalerm to request the seat of PM...

Discussion 10 : 31/10/2012 at 10:17 AM

Chalerm is the right man for the job. His result oriented reputation and his pride will drive him to meet the challenges. He just has to control his temperament and not allow that to dictate his decision making. He also has to work with Malaysia as they are an integral part of the solution. Malaysia has been reported to be one of the countries that Islam fundamentalists can easily be recruited. The duo citizens and the source of funds are part of the south challenges that Thailand & Malaysia have to confront.

Discussion 11 : 31/10/2012 at 10:16 AM

Can't clean up the south before Malaysia toes the line. In an article yesterday in The Star it was pointed out that Malaysia have been used as a centre for co-ordination by radical Islamic groups. According to the article many Malaysians have been recruited by these organisations (since 1989) for training in Pakistan, Yemen etc. Two radical Malaysians was caught in Lebanon in the last week. The problems will not be solved untill Malaysians stop supporting the insurgents and the Malaysian government steps up security efforts on their side.

Discussion 12 : 31/10/2012 at 10:15 AM

Chalerm is the right man for the job. His result oriented reputation and his pride will drive him to meet the challenges. He just has to control his temperament and not allow that to dictate his decision making. He also has to work with Malaysia as they are an integral part of the solution. Malaysia has been reported to be one of the countries that Islam fundamentalists can easily be recruited. The duo citizens and the source of funds are part of the south challenges that Thailand & Malaysia have to confront.

Discussion 13 : 31/10/2012 at 09:23 AM

If he uses the same tactics as he dose elsewhere,force the problem will escalate out of all proportion.It needs a firm hand yes,but not a bully.You mention Afghanistan the problems there are no where near solved.Force dos not work.They are not fighting an army in uniform.They do not even know who the so called enemy is. Negotiate and start quick because the longer you leave it the more difficult it will get.

Discussion 14 : 31/10/2012 at 08:19 AM

Khun Wakeup #10, after more than 5,000 deaths in 10 years, don't you think the degree of bloodshed and violence in the Deep Southern has risen to the level justifying the use of force? I agree with you though that the goals of the US in Afghanistan, under Obama, remains unclear, whether to prevent it from being used as a breeding ground for terrorist like Al Qaeda, to launch future terrorist attacks all over the world. I hope President Romney will finally identify the US goals in Afghanistan, and let's us go from there. My friend, who is a former SEAL, said it's cheaper to return to Afghanistan every 10 years to clean it up and then leave.

Discussion 15 : 31/10/2012 at 08:15 AM

It seems like there is no job too big for Chalerm and he thinks he can handle just one more (more than) fulltime job. Maybe ”we” can make a deal: Chalerm gets this job and has 6 months to perform. If the situation is not better (less attacks, less insured and dead) after 6 months then Chalerm will retire from politics forever. Now that would be a deal.

Discussion 16 : 31/10/2012 at 07:55 AM

I think it is actually a very good idea. He should go there and go on patrol himself. While we are at it instead of the two old generals, what about some young blood? Why not bring his two sons instead, one is a proven sharpshooter in close combat right? Deeds speak louder than words.

Discussion 17 : 31/10/2012 at 07:53 AM

These two military men to help in the south have only just retired so are essentially no different from current military men. Surely what we need is non military men with a different perspective? How about a southerner with community/industry development experience? BTW the deputy national police chief who retired last month is already secretary to the PM - what does this say about our government and police force?

Discussion 18 : 31/10/2012 at 07:45 AM

The same man who pretends to fight drug dealers, while drinking whiskey at all hours of the day? The same man who says he knows who the criminal bosses are but declines to arrest them, saying, "because they know I know who they are, they will stop breaking the law."

Discussion 19 : 31/10/2012 at 07:34 AM

Is this the same Khun Chalerm who said he did not want responsibility for the south as day or so ago? Obviously a quick change of heart (a call from Dubai perhaps?). Somehow I think this is a good indication of how deeply he has thought about his plan and the likelihood of it being carried out effectively

Discussion 20 : 31/10/2012 at 06:55 AM

Sounds like a good plan. At least something will get done.

Discussion 21 : 31/10/2012 at 06:36 AM

Drones, mercenaries, atomic bombs! All wrong! Thaksin had the answer but the coup killed its chances of success! All he needed was more time, more paper, and more origami folders! The other problem was that most of the origami birds were intercepted by government stealworkers who sold the origami birds to souvenir sellers in Pattaya who in turn sold them to idiots! Remember this: (copied from BBC 2004) The Thai government has dropped an estimated one hundred million paper origami birds in an unusual peace bid. The birds were dropped by military planes over the country's Muslim south after a surge of violence in the area. Ordinary Thai

Discussion 22 : 31/10/2012 at 06:29 AM

#9 - The US has been at it, killing people in Afghanistan-Pakistan for over 10 years! It doesn't work in subduing the population, and they have no right to be there in the first place. Real numbers indicate 80% of everyone they kill are civilians. The other 20% are armed, but not even necessarily "terrorists" - whatever a "terrorist" might even mean. Killing people isn't the answer. Find the cause and deal with it directly. Use force only if necessary.

Discussion 23 : 31/10/2012 at 05:46 AM

Musashi #7, unless we can return Law & Order to the Deep South, you can forget about all of those wonderful programs, as they can be easily blown to pieces in a matter of seconds. Drones come in all sizes, shapes & capabilities, including those which can be dropped from the air to secretly monitor activity around suspected houses or areas in real time. And when terrorist suspects move, they can be tracked by small & cheap arial drones. In essence, we can put any terrorist suspects on secret surveillance 24/7. Most IEDs were planted at night, which can be easily detected by night sensors carried by the drones.

Discussion 24 : 31/10/2012 at 05:00 AM

spiceman #6: I can see that you have good intentions in helping Thailand. However, drones are not exactly helpful when we consider those bad guys are hiding in the dense jungles. There is merit though in your other suggestion of having foreign advisers or army personnel to help our money-crazy but impotent army.

Discussion 25 : 31/10/2012 at 04:52 AM

lookmoo #3 spiceman #2: Winning the hearts and minds of the people through alleviating poverty and improving education (madrasahs are not exactly helpful in getting jobs later in life), reducing criminal activities..amongst others will help more than military intervention. But both of you are right in that we will need help from foreign armed forces to combat the violence - since our generals are more interested at asking for money each time violence breaks out. People in the south knows that local insurgents, Malaysian special forces and jihadists have been hanging out in our deep south, crossing the borders by sea and by land at ease. We

Discussion 26 : 31/10/2012 at 04:43 AM

Khun Zulu #4, it is war on the terrorists, not innocent people, OK? If you know anything about the US Special Operation like the SEALs, they must operate strictly by their rules of engagement, to capture or kill terrorists only, while leaving everybody else unharmed. The drones and stuffs is to help them develop actionable intelligence, which can be acted upon. They operate exclusively at night using $65,000-a-piece night-visino goggles, relying mainly on the element of surprise and ability to turn night into day. They basically own the night. All of these are the result of careful analysis and planning, pitching their strength against t

Discussion 27 : 31/10/2012 at 04:30 AM

Chalerm, like his Dubai overlord, can only compound the tragedy unfolding in the South. He is not qualified to run a noodle stand let alone mind armed unrest, and would best serve Thailand by sitting on his hands and doing nothing until PTP is drummed out of power - hopefully soon.

Discussion 28 : 31/10/2012 at 03:56 AM

spiceman, post 2.555 :) you want foreign mercenaries on behalf of the thai government go on war on it's own people, with drones and stuff, like Obama is doing it in pakistan? which nightmares are torturing you?

Discussion 29 : 31/10/2012 at 03:35 AM

They have like 1.600 Generals i Thailand (that count excludes Lieutenant General, Major General, Senior Colonel, Colonel Lieutenant etc etc)?? and needs to draft another 2 ex-generals to do the job?? Thailand should hire foreign military professionals (contractors) to do the job. 500-1.000 of them will probably make the difference.

Discussion 30 : 31/10/2012 at 03:06 AM

I think Thailand should cut its losses by outsourcing the cleaning up of the Deep South to foreign mercenaries, preferably a team of former US Navy SEALs or Russian Special Ops, along with their high-tech equipments, like drones, night-vision goggles, on loan from the US which will be needed by them. Then, whatever it costs will be deducted from the defense budget. It is time to starve out an army of those fat Thai generals. Other than that, it will just be a continuation of incompetence and stupidity in the highest order. Meanwhile, innocent people continue to be murdered and their properties blown to pieces.

Discussion 31 : 31/10/2012 at 02:43 AM

What happened to Pentagon 11