Australia Warns Of Attacks In Thailand

[schmokinn]

Where did they get these reports from? Who issued these reports? If they have been "receiving" reports like these for quite a while, and they were credible, then why didn't anything ever happen in Pattaya or Phuket? EVER!!

Very simple, they signed, sealed and delivered those reports themselves. Just like the americans, they always know something will happen based on "chatter". Cry wolf comes to mind...

===================================================================

Vikingen ? ? Why so very derogatory towards "the Americans" - must have a short memory: whenever there was any serious trouble in this world, the Americans were there first to sort-out the mess for all the rest of us, and all the while (before, during and after) subjected to the "scorn" of many . . . .

Well; this Viking ( and I am a real one !) for one, is very grateful to the Americans, since I didn't have to grow up speaking German . . . . . .

I owe a great debt to the Americans and state anything other than that would be totally insincere !

JK

Pattaya

you would still be speaking german if the british had not stepped in when germany invaded poland,the yanks came along far later and lent us money then troops.

please get your history right

and the main reason the yanks have been there first in so many conflicts is simply that they covertly started them

[SeanBangkok]

Alot of you guys probably think that 9/11 was masterminded by George Bush and that the planes were actually hallograms and the building imploded from explosives, etc etc etc

Look, when you say "There will not be an attack" you sound like a complete ######. Everyday there is a bomb going off in the South of Thailand, to say that it is impossible that they will set one off in Phuket is just obnoxiously ignorant.

All of the people who accuse the government of fear mongering are after a bomb goes off are the first people to whine "Why didnt the government warn us?"

[Johpa]

Absolutely! The carnage in the South is awful. Thailand's Northern Ireland-created by the Brits incompetence in drawing maps and borders, of course; and exacerbated by Thai imperialism..sanctity of the Thai state, integrity of the land of the Thais,..sounds just like UK Protestants...from the Battle of the Boyne to 20century Thai landgrabs.....

I have never seen anything emanating from Thailand that might even remotely be thought of as imperialism although you might weakly argue that the changing of the name from Siam to Thailand back in the 1930s echoed lofty thoughts of uniting a previously dispersed group of culturally and linguistically related Tai peoples under Bangkok rule. And as far as "sanctity of the state" and "integrity of the land" I dare say they are integral to the modern concept of the nation-state. Perhaps you could be so kind as to point out where a nation-state has willingly given up provinces to another nation-state. I can only think of the continuing mess down in Timor and Indonesia was no willing actor in that unfortunate saga.

[SeanBangkok]

"you would still be speaking german if the british had not stepped in when germany invaded poland,the yanks came along far later and lent us money then troops.

please get your history right

and the main reason the yanks have been there first in so many conflicts is simply that they covertly started them"

So you are saying that he would not be speaking German if the Americans had stayed home during WWII, and youve the audacity to tell him to read his history again?

[joskydive]

I agree wholeheartedly with turnip.

When living in England and married to the military there I had to check each and every time I got in the car for bombs, look over my shoulder all the time, I wasn't aloud to speak to anyone I didn't know and if I did speak it was only to other individuals who were in the same position as me and that was whether I was taking my to kids to school or shopping or anything atall.

I did this for 24 years.

I've lived here now for several years and this heaven to me.

So thanks for the warnings but either way I'm going to live my life to the full for once in my life. There is no other place on this earth I want to be bombs, attacks, threats or not.

[SeanBangkok]

"have never seen anything emanating from Thailand that might even remotely be thought of as imperialism"

try cracking open a history book.

[chanthana]

i am a australian and connot write english only australian i have lived here 3 years and lived in all parts off world you have more chance of being mugged robbed ripped off or killed in usa than thialand so enjoy cheers

[Jeff1]

And to speak with the Australians: Concentrations of military are the most dangerous. Why? well the shoot better than all the rest, ask the 1992 survivors. A Bloodless coup always turn in a very bloody one after a year or less.

[snip] The fact that Sonthi has lifted martial law in the South and lifted rewards on the captures of killers of women and children, rather than lifting martial law in Izan or the North, shows the real agenda of these people.

Stay away from the military should have been the advise, and if there is an terrorist attack , hey blame it on Thaksin.

It is hot today, too hot, bet that Thaksin is to blame for this wheater.

The fact that Sonthi has lifted martial law in the South and lifted rewards on the captures of killers of women and children, rather than lifting martial law in Izan or the North, shows the real agenda of these people.

at this time already drunk???

I think he makes some very interesting points, unlike you.

[jomtienbob]

Alot of you guys probably think that 9/11 was masterminded by George Bush and that the planes were actually hallograms and the building imploded from explosives, etc etc etc

Look, when you say "There will not be an attack" you sound like a complete ######. Everyday there is a bomb going off in the South of Thailand, to say that it is impossible that they will set one off in Phuket is just obnoxiously ignorant.

All of the people who accuse the government of fear mongering are after a bomb goes off are the first people to whine "Why didnt the government warn us?"

George Bush can't mastermind putting his pajamas on properly, which is why he is known as the most obvious puppet the US has ever allowed in the chair. Oh yeah, there were a few tricks to that weren't there?? Here he goes and invades 2 countries and sacrifices 2,000+ American kids lives as the leader, and his opponent comes out with an academy award winning film to bring awareness on trying to save this planet from the self destruction of global warming. Mmmm.

The point here people, is that there have been lessons learned from 9/11 and awareness of threat has to be one of the bell ringers. If Thailand adopts the same incredulous ineptness that (at best) seems to be accused of the US military, FAA and Bush Administration on that fateful day in sept 2001, then evil-doers will laugh all the way to the body-count. It is not as important who those evil-doers actually are at this point, as the awareness of the good people (the majority of us in my view) to not sit around and do nothing until the "Reichstag burns". Remember what history has taught us! If we do not take note of the lessons from history, we will simply be bound to repeat those mistakes.

There is no such thing as a good or just war. Just stupid people easily indoctrinated to the will of evil people. Keep an eye on the big picture...

[mcfester]

How easy would it be to rent a warehouse around BKK, buy or steal 6 trucks, fill the trucks with homemade explosives, drive them to BKK center and detinate them?

Answer: very easy.

Goverments response: Its not the insurgents from the south as they would get lost in BKK.

Maybe I'm wrong and I hope I am but for an Islamic extremist BKK would be a very easy place to hit.

I totally agree with the previous goverments hard tactics to supress this mindless race.

Islamic people should not be classed as human, the goverments of the world should get together and agree on a new creature in the reptile category.... Muslims.

[mcfester]

i am a australian and connot write english only australian i have lived here 3 years and lived in all parts off world you have more chance of being mugged robbed ripped off or killed in usa than thialand so enjoy cheers

You should try living in USA mate, they also think thier language was invented in thier country.

[KK-Mike]

the majority of TV members and Thailand farang are too old to worry about the possibility of a bomb threath. I mean, a day doesnt pass when I dont see some 60+ yo frng on the skytrain - these guys are old, so its pretty dumb to think they care about some small threath like this. To some extent, farang over 40 yo are killing thailand.

Kind of a strange post. What makes you say this?? Why should only those under 40 worry about being killed?

[KK-Mike]

Where did they get these reports from? Who issued these reports? If they have been "receiving" reports like these for quite a while, and they were credible, then why didn't anything ever happen in Pattaya or Phuket? EVER!!

Very simple, they signed, sealed and delivered those reports themselves. Just like the americans, they always know something will happen based on "chatter". Cry wolf comes to mind...

===================================================================

Vikingen ? ? Why so very derogatory towards "the Americans" - must have a short memory: whenever there was any serious trouble in this world, the Americans were there first to sort-out the mess for all the rest of us, and all the while (before, during and after) subjected to the "scorn" of many . . . .

Well; this Viking ( and I am a real one !) for one, is very grateful to the Americans, since I didn't have to grow up speaking German . . . . . .

I owe a great debt to the Americans and state anything other than that would be totally insincere !

JK

Pattaya

you would still be speaking german if the british had not stepped in when germany invaded poland,the yanks came along far later and lent us money then troops.

please get your history right

and the main reason the yanks have been there first in so many conflicts is simply that they covertly started them

You are 100% correct in your statement about the yanks. This is a fact, not fiction!!!!!

[SeanBangkok]

many farang over 40 are retiring in thailand, driving up price of real estate, corrupting issan culture, creating an economy where many thai women are chasing quick money in the tourism industry, etc.

also, the enviroment is getting slaughtered in phuket, etc. i am working on a documentry about this stuff.

[SeanBangkok]

i dont like america's gov but some of you take it to a level where you are just a tool obsessed with over simplizing facts, omg america is devil and the most evil government in the world.... really its just sick.... america saved europe from hitler, and for that we must thank americans.

[george]

Please keep this thread on topic = Thailand. Off topic post will be removed!

/Mod

[khall64au]

Alot of you guys probably think that 9/11 was masterminded by George Bush and that the planes were actually hallograms and the building imploded from explosives, etc etc etc

Look, when you say "There will not be an attack" you sound like a complete ######. Everyday there is a bomb going off in the South of Thailand, to say that it is impossible that they will set one off in Phuket is just obnoxiously ignorant.

All of the people who accuse the government of fear mongering are after a bomb goes off are the first people to whine "Why didnt the government warn us?"

I moved to Phuket directly after the first Bali bombings - when the Australian government began issuing security warnings about this destination. A year later, a possible threat in Patong was relayed through a reliable source, so informed the Australian Embassy. The feedback received was imminently to protect citizens and taken very seriously.

I'm glad about the warnings no matter how trivial they seem (and so is my mum!)

[IAMSOBAD]

i am a australian and connot write english only australian i have lived here 3 years and lived in all parts off world you have more chance of being mugged robbed ripped off or killed in usa than thialand so enjoy cheers

You should try living in USA mate, they also think thier language was invented in thier country.

I am very happy to live in Thailand. However, I do still love America. At least when we spell in English and knock others we spell correctly. LOOK UP ..."their" in a dictionay. You made a wisecrack about USA people and the English language and YOU can't spell worth a ######. Have another PINT...MATE!

[Snowbirds]

The government's response to that was 'OK, you want warnings, we'll give them to you - for everywhere' and then of course the Aussie government can be blameless if anything should happen, as they'll just say 'well, we told you so, but can't make people read the alerts'! It's a case of a government covering it's political backside!!!!!

I agreed. And in real life, I have been traveling quite a lot between Seattle Airport and L.A. Airport. The degree of potential bombing targets of these two major airports are higher than of Bangkok's. However, the posibility to get kill on the back of motorbite or cross a busy street in Thailand, in my opinion and observation, is more like a hundred folds higher.

[moskito]

i dont like america's gov but some of you take it to a level where you are just a tool obsessed with over simplizing facts, omg america is devil and the most evil government in the world.... really its just sick.... america saved europe from hitler, and for that we must thank americans.

:D :D goood one

[peter48]

The reaction of some readers here is quite astonishing - all Western countries now have large scale intelligence services that share intelligence on the likelihood of extreme Islamic attacks and Western countries and Australia have every right to warn their citizens aboard and their Thai partners/friends when their intelligence services have 'fresh' knowledge of impending terrorism in major city/tourist areas. In both US and UK we now have a numbered or tiered system warning us of the threat level of of 'Jihad' Suicide Bombers .

That' s no conspiracy- its fact! Its happened in Madrid, NY, London, Bali, Egypt, Jukarta...This disbelief and cynicism beggers belief; there is no boundaries to this ongoing Jihad ..it goes where it believes its enemies are weakest ..it does not discriminate by class, ethnicity, age, gender or skin colour or nationality.

[meow_lek]

The anti-American and Muslim sentiments here stink. It's those kind of attitudes that help fuel young people to join terrorist organisations.

[cdnvic]

many farang over 40 are retiring in thailand, driving up price of real estate, corrupting issan culture, creating an economy where many thai women are chasing quick money in the tourism industry, etc.

also, the enviroment is getting slaughtered in phuket, etc. i am working on a documentry about this stuff.

Says the guy who's been in Thailand for three months and now knows everything.

Please...... enlighten the rest of the people here, some having been in Thailand since the 60s and 70s, with your superior knowledge of Thailand and it's culture.

Edited March 8, 2007 by cdnvic

[mumbu]

It is quite amazing to read most of the comments here. Many people obviously do not understand the extent of the threat produced by muslim terrorists in Thailand and elsewhere. This is, in my opinion, motivated by several factors: hate towards America, anti-semitism and hate towards Thaksin. These people have absolutely no clue regarding what is happening in deep South, how much money had been pumped into the area by Wahabi extremestits, how strategically important this area for organizations like JI. Unlike those people Thaksin at some point had very clear understanding of the situation in the South and his hard line approach was the only possible. In fact, he should have done much more: crack down on religious schools and Universities in the South which function due to wahabi funds and actually should have shut down all sources of funding coming from Wahabis. Current government has no clue of what is going in the South. You may recall that they started negotiations recently with traditional (quite moderate) separatist leaders just to realize that these leadres (of local origins) have no influence whatsoever on islamic terrorists in the South. Those terrorists get orders from outside of the Thailand.

It is very sad to see many comments over here. Whom, you guys, support? What Jews, Americans have done to you? Shame!

[ThaiGoon]

For some reason, I've found this thread pretty entertaining.

[cdnvic]

Please do not smear everyone as hating the US, and being anti-semetic just because they don't swallow every little thing the Whitehouse issues as being gospel.

[Crow Boy]

I was looking at pictures of the aftermath of the IRA bomb in Manchester today. I was in Manchester when that bomb went off (it was the largest terrorist bomb to detonate in the UK). There were lots of people injured but, thankfully, no one was killed.

Sadly, I think it's just a question of time until a tourist spot is hit in Thailand. It appears that the government are doing very little about. Closing off the stairs and searching bags on the MRT seems to be the extent of there precautions as far as I can see. That's not going to stop a determind terrorist.

Firstly NOTHING can stop determined well organised terrorists - you cannnot search everyone evereywhere without disrupting daily life to the extent that the terrorists win anyway - even if their bombs do not explode. Sadly there is no short term solution and no country is immune - I have been flying on middle east airlines for some years now but even the moderate middle east states are under threat.

The ONLY long term solution (and I mean in decades!) is to share wealth and eradicate the poverty in the areas that provide the recruiting ground - people who own property, have good educational and work prospects are LESS likely to take up arms for fear of losing what they have. (The present and probably upcoming generations of youth in the south are lost already - it will take a couple of generations to change things) For many young boys in the south the options are (1) live in poverty the rest of their lives, or (2) become a money boy or lady boy and hope they make enough by the time they are 25 (and that they live that long) or (3) jump the border and train as a terrorist "to fight for a better future" - little wonder that a significant number choose the latter. Remember also that many of them feel the need to make this choice as young as 13-14 at a stage when they should be gaining the knowledge to inform such decisions rather than actually making them.

As long as individual countries and, more especially the more highly developed and wealthy ones, continue to hang on to their wealth, rather than redressing interanl and global imbalance, the more it will go on. It is morrally indefensible that a persons' opposrunity in life should be defined by accidents of geography (ie where they are born)

Deal with the symptoms as best you can - of course this is necessary - but until we genuinely strive for long term solutions then it will only get worse - on a local scale in Thailand this means that the relatively rich areas like Bangkok will have to sacrafice to the poorer ones to level the field. The same applies to Belfast - put all the political hype aside - I know real people there and the reasons why the violence is subsiding is because more people are sharing in the wealth there and that living standards and opportunities are improving.

I agree with a large part of your post but it helps to remember two points:

a) Osama Binladin came from a wealthy family and has/was supported by other extrememly wealthy families in his fight against the west

2) Osama Binladin is a Saudi which comes under the generally accecpted "moderate middle eastern" definition

Yes is it usually the poor and the uneducated lower classes that are used as the ground troops it is the rich and well educated that used them and manipulate these people for political, economic, religious, or other self interest grounds. You very rarely get a rich educated arab walking into a market place with 10kilos of explosives strapped to his chest but you do often get the same one sending some poor kid off to do the same.

And some of you will have picked up that this is a universal theme - the uneducated lower class who didn't have the option of going to college or volunteered because they believed that what they were doing was the right thing for truth, freedom etc They got picked up for someone else's war and before anyone comes back to flame me - I volunteered to do my stints

[Crow Boy]

Chill out everyone ! There will be no attacks.

Australia do this every year, 2 reasons.

1. Covering there backsides from what happened in Bali (twice) by giving the "I told you so" message in advance. Something they didnt get the chance to do with Bali (1st time round anyway).

2. Aussie traveling season just around the corner, potential billions in lost revenue for the Australian tourism industry. Nothing more than scare tactics to make you spend your money in OZ where you are "safe".

I mean, what has Australia got in terms of tourism ?

Surfers Paradise: Hugely overpriced accommodation, drunken kids, surfboards, skateboards and aggressive doormen.

Bondi Beach: Same as above, even more surf boards, drunken kids and drunken backpackers.

Cronulla Beach: Safety ?..... I rest my case !

Australian Tourism motto says it all. "So where the bloody hel_l are you ? Not in Australia thats for sure !

Australia is also in the middle of a federal election with the incumbent Prime Minister using the ever popular 'we are surrounded by threats but in Australia we are safe as long as we keep the same government' stance.

By showing the Australian population these daily threats in Indonesia (muslim), Malaysia (muslim), and southern Thailand (muslim) it supports his case for continuing the war in Iraq and justifying another term in office.

I think the reality of the situation is that there is a real danger of a bomb going of in Pattaya or Puhket in the near future, but I also think here is a danger of a bomb going off in the middle of Sydney or Melbourne.

[Maejo Man]

many farang over 40 are retiring in thailand, driving up price of real estate, corrupting issan culture, creating an economy where many thai women are chasing quick money in the tourism industry, etc.

also, the enviroment is getting slaughtered in phuket, etc. i am working on a documentry about this stuff.

What chance will you have with a documentary, when you can't hang a cohesive thread together. Where did you dig up the little gem about corrupting Isaan culture? That really has to be top of the agenda for your documentary

[craigt3365]

I was on Sipadan last year when that huge award was given for not warning tourists of the threat for kidnapping there. Even the French government was sued! Too many lawyers and this is one way for Australia to cover their arse.

But, nice being warned. Don't forget, they did stop a truck loaded with bombs headed to bangkok several years ago. Could easily happen again. Like others have said, it is just a matter of time. If you live here, you just have to deal with it. If you are a tourist, there are many other options. Just not worth the stress....And I believe they issued report on KL a few weeks before those blasts. They were right on the money there...