Morning Attack Killed 64-Year-Old Man

[Pi Sek]

No my post was not in jest. It said nothing about Thaksin who I think is Thailand's public enemy number one.

Why is it a problem only in the south the drugs are coming from the North they go through many provinces where it is not a every day acceprted fact to just kill people for lack of any thing else to do. Only in the south. I think not. Take Islam out of the picture and you would have no more drive by shootings or indiscrimanate road side bombs. Teachers would not need to be protected the list go's on. I am not saying they have no problems with drugs down there I am saying they have another problem Islamic teachings. Don't think for a moment that a teacher would need protection if all they were teaching was the Koran.

Perhaps your post was in jest.

As Buchholz suggests, I was referring to this post:

thasin did a good job, but nobody notice. kill all the boss dealing with drugs and there were peace in the south.

And furthermore the comment about whether or not this was a civil war was directed at this post:

The violence continues unabated. Now that it has worsened considerably since 2006, can we be honest and call this what it is; a civil war?

It's gone way beyond 'insurgency' or 'troubled South' now.

...which, as I say, has been answered just 2-3 weeks ago to the same poster. Guess he didn't like my answer. Here it is again:

<snip>

With regards to whether this is a civil war - no it's absolutely not. A civil war is where the ruling government does not govern and the confict boils over (I witnessed it pretty closely in Angola). That's not the case down here, this is an insurgency - i.e. some (a small minority I might add) have decided that they want absolute power (back?).

[ginjag]

I would say flood the area--yes flood it with the vast army that is doing nothing--and the 2000 hi so generals--send them down, they receive massive wages to tend to their own businesses. if you have any chance you have to FLOOD the area--if not you have an ongoing situ. Police in villages--in towns,, big army back-up, manning roads and check points all over. police to have checkpoints to get the shooters-on M/cycles and not those without crash hats. Snuff it out involving everyone, the rats that are taking refuge will have to dissappear....night and day-not letting up, it is bound to make a difference. When there is freedom of movement the rats come out.

Have you been to Narathiwat? The situation you describe is the situation that already exists - you can't drive 15 minutes without encountering an army bunker barbed wire slalom roadblock manned with 3-15 fully-armed soldiers with frowns on their faces and fingers on triggers.

The thing is that most of the insurgents don't ride around with weapons unless they're on their way to take out a rubber farmer or whatever... they come from all sides out of the undergrowth, and a lot of them are back in Malaysia within an hour.

Pi sek, thanks for your post, I may have been speaking out of my rear-as I have not been there, I could only put my bit in from my own thinking not from the Know the area bit, so its as is then--as an udon man-I could only then think on the lines of a Mexican type fence right accross the border, and man that with most of the force. then winkle out the ones that are living in the area that are involved in terror bomb/shoots. The last thing is WHAT ?? give in---or a buffer zone.

[Pi Sek]

I would say flood the area--yes flood it with the vast army that is doing nothing--and the 2000 hi so generals--send them down, they receive massive wages to tend to their own businesses. if you have any chance you have to FLOOD the area--if not you have an ongoing situ. Police in villages--in towns,, big army back-up, manning roads and check points all over. police to have checkpoints to get the shooters-on M/cycles and not those without crash hats. Snuff it out involving everyone, the rats that are taking refuge will have to dissappear....night and day-not letting up, it is bound to make a difference. When there is freedom of movement the rats come out.

Have you been to Narathiwat? The situation you describe is the situation that already exists - you can't drive 15 minutes without encountering an army bunker barbed wire slalom roadblock manned with 3-15 fully-armed soldiers with frowns on their faces and fingers on triggers.

The thing is that most of the insurgents don't ride around with weapons unless they're on their way to take out a rubber farmer or whatever... they come from all sides out of the undergrowth, and a lot of them are back in Malaysia within an hour.

Pi sek, thanks for your post, I may have been speaking out of my rear-as I have not been there, I could only put my bit in from my own thinking not from the Know the area bit, so its as is then--as an udon man-I could only then think on the lines of a Mexican type fence right accross the border, and man that with most of the force. then winkle out the ones that are living in the area that are involved in terror bomb/shoots. The last thing is WHAT ?? give in---or a buffer zone.

No worries - actually in areas of Pattani and Yala it's not quite as secure as around Narathiwat. So you do have a good point, especially when I notice that a lot more of the recent attacks have been in Yala than Narathiwat. But also remember about the length of border area we're talking - it spans three provinces which takes 6 hours by bus. At points, this border is a narrow stream that a very unfit man could jump very easily.

Dealing with the insurgents is really hard because a lot of muslims feel some sense of civic or religious duty to support an Islamist state, even if they don't approve of the insurgency. So I think jayjay0 is correct in that it is a muslim problem. Although Islam is literally the religion of peace, a number of what I can only decribe as fairly stupid people seem to have read into it otherwise - mainly that, if you are not a muslim, then you are an infidel and deserve to die; or that, as a muslim, you have a duty to shun or even kill other muslims who accept infidels as anything more than infidel scum.

Much like many of the problems in this country, it can be put down to education. In the Deep South there are educators teaching the philosophy in the above paragraph - in schools, mosques, the community. Not outright at first; maybe just one or two "Islamist" quirks inserted into the general curriculum but, over a few years of mental bombardment, what chance does a young impressionable mind have against centuries of methodical religious brainwashing techniques backed the worldwide Islamist terror network (which, to make myself absolutely clear, has less to do with Islam than Judaism does)?

babykyo is also correct in that some of those who are fighting for power (like many of the above-mentioned "educators") as opposed to religion, are involved in the drug trade at high levels and are in control of these stupid people. But tell that to an extremist who believes he's in it for the 50 virgins... you might get a different response. The drug trade is a factor here, but it's a factor in the financing, arming and logistics rather than a factor of the insurgency (which has been around a lot longer than yaba) - they are both criminal elements and they both have knowledge and resources to offer, with gains to be made on both sides.

Just for the record, I think Narathiwat is a nice place with nice people. I would consider it for a holiday - but those nutters, y'know, just bring the whole card deck down.