TimTang

A bunch of absolute silliness to be pointing at groups from the South .. or Muslims in this evening of bombings in question (NYE). There are always an unfortunate number of poorly informed people that jump to the Islam threat these days ... 40 years ago it would have been the Red Threat etc etc ...

I've lived here for about 13 years. I used to go for visa trips to Penang and narrowly missed 2 train track bombings between Hat Yai and Padang Basr and 2 bombs at the Hat Yai train station; and I won't even mention the indiscriminate gun fire at trains as they passed by (oops I already did).

Needless to say I don't make visa trips to that region any more (by train) but I'm sure you do.

You might want to enlighten me on your opinion of the situation in the south because you obviously are much more intelligent and informed than I am.

Over 2 thousand innocent people have been brutally murdered in the last 2 years, schools have been burned, so many teachers have been killed that they now carry guns, tradesmen risk death if they open on Fridays (the muslim holy day), and Buddhists are leaving in hordes for fear of their life, yet this is all silliness to you.

Would you care to clarify?

PULO has a splinter group named GMIP

I apologize for the clip-and-paste but this is the quick-and-dirty on GMIP:

Gerakan Mujahideen Islami Pattani (GMIP)

The GMIP was founded in 1986 by Wae-Hama Wae-Yuso, but broke up by 1993 as a result of internal squabbling. In 1995, Nasori Saesaeng (Awae Kaelae), Jehku Mae Kuteh (Doromae Kuteh), Nasae Saning and a handful of other Afghan veterans consolidated power. For most of the 1990s, the GMIP was more of a criminal gang than a group of freedom fighters. It was thought to have run guns for other Muslim insurgent groups, in particular the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (<deleted>) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). The GMIP was engaged in kidnapping, extortion, contract killings and "enforcement." As one senior Thai Intelligence official said, "The Gerakan mujahideen had a poor record in the past. It was really a criminal gang. But they purged their leadership" (author interview, Bangkok, March 16, 2005). Thai authorities seemed to take the GMIP more seriously beginning in August 2003, when security forces gunned down two senior members in Pattani—its Afghan-trained operations chief Nasae Saning and Mahma Maeroh.

These people can hit then run back to Malaysia with total impunity because...well...unless you didn't notice Malaysia is an Islamic State.

Brazil

PULO tries to maintain a moderate political appearance to present the kinder-gentler side. They would never admit to the bombing because it's not part of their agenda. But like all terrorist organizations they have a militant side which may very well be JI or their own equivalent which they distance themselves from politically, but plot and scheme together in the same local mosque.

This is all part of the Islamist MO. How many groups was Arafat a member of before PLO? All you do is make up a new name, kill a bunch of people, then the MSM eats it up and announces a previously unknown terrorist organization named "The Brothers and Uncles of Mohammed's Holy Blah Blah Blah claimed responsibility for the explosion." The real perpetrators get carte blanche while Joe six-pack swallows it whole and everything starts all over again tomorrow.

It's called low intensity war fare, or nickle-and-dime them to death, then hit them big time when they're weak and their moral is low.

We only have our selves to blame unless we wake up!

Jemaah Islamiah would never claim responsibility because they choose to profess that they don't even exist. Even they're leader Abu Bakar Bashir, when asked if he is the leader, says no such group exists. Even the name Jemaah Islamiah, translates rather innocuously as "Islamic Group"; very non-descript.

Don't forget the most influential leader of this non-existent group, Riduan Ismuddin or more affectionately known as Hambali, was captured in Bangkok.

Note that no-one claims responsibility for any of the terrorist attacks in the south. This technique has served them well because each attack can appear to be an isolated event with no real enemy to focus on. Attacks are horrible heinous events one day, then forgotten the next. If there were headlines reading "JI or PULO kill 5 more", people would pay more attention and demand that this group be dealt with. The way it stands it would be politically incorrect to say "Islamists or Muslims kill 5".

Also note that the recent spate of coordinated bombings, in market places, Tea Houses, and 22-banks-in-one-day all resemble the recent Bangkok bombings; relatively small explosions, few deaths, and no claim of responsibility.

I don't think it would be a stretch to assume these bombing originated in the South.

I don't think this is such a bad idea!

Mobile phones are used in allmost every bombing incident that doesn't involve a suicide bomber.

Buy controlling SIM cards, investigators can find out from phone records who's phone was used to placed the call and what phone was used to trigger the bomb.

This is exactly how Spanish autorities tracked down the Madrid bombers so quickly.

Anyone that doesn't plan to use their phone for unscrupulous reasons shouldn't feel threatened by this requirement and lives may even be saved in the future.

How much does it cost to cross the border there?