Hezbollah 'Calls Off Attacks'

[thequietman]

He went on to ask tourists and investors to put their faith in the government's security measures, while stating that Thailand, known for being a friendly and peaceful country, should never become a target of any ill-intended groups

this after a thai customs official bullied his way thru security at a major airport. defies belief.

[alstaxi]

Commander-in-chief asks the public to stay calm despite terror plot alert

BANGKOK, 15 January 2012 (NNT) – The Army Commander-in-Chief is asking the public to stay calm in the face of terror attack plots, while affirming that Thai intelligence teams have always stayed on top of the issue.

Commander-in-Chief, General Prayut Chan-o-cha said that the general public should not be panicked by recent news on terror attacks.

General Prayut affirmed that the intelligence units have constantly been updated on this matter while it remains the responsibility of all related teams to discuss precaution and preventive measures.

He added that security units have been discretely on alert since before the New Year holidays before a warning was issued from outside Thailand.

The Commander-in-Chief is asking the public to stay focused and work together to prevent the economy and the country from being affected by outside threats.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commander-in-chief, General Dapong Ratanasuwan said that the US Embassy's terror alert for Bangkok has called for a closer collaboration in intelligence work among the police, the National Security Council, the military and other related units.

However, he said that there remains no need for the Royal Thai Army to add more forces to handle the situation, just yet.

-- NNT 2012-01-15

Stay calm= run for your life.

[alstaxi]

Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul yesterday expressed his "disappointment and unhappiness" over the warnings by the United States, Canada and Australia. He said he would summon the ambassadors from those countries to explain the warnings to him, or Thailand would issue retaliatory measures against such a move.

Retaliate?????? What would that involve, issuing more terror alerts, idiots.

[siampolee]

In my opinion yet another ploy by the vested interests involved who wish to fan the flames of imperial greatness and secure their future oil supplies along with the expansion of a land grabbing religious administration which masquerades as a nation of people rather than that which it really is.

Hezbollah has everything to lose and nothing to gain by carrying out a terrorist act here in Thailand,, neither do have the resources or in my opinion the will to carry out such an alleged attack.

A wonderful ruse to instill fright and terror into a community so as to justify another military incursion by the vested interests in a land or lands far away from here.

Edited January 15, 2012 by siampolee

[pimay11]

Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul yesterday expressed his "disappointment and unhappiness" over the warnings by the United States, Canada and Australia. He said he would summon the ambassadors from those countries to explain the warnings to him, or Thailand would issue retaliatory measures against such a move.

I'm sure the embassies are shaking in their boots NOT!

[gopnarak]

Hezbollah is a terrorist group (google it). They "called off " their attack in Bangkok because they were caught. DUH In the future....

The EU don't call them terrorists. google it.

Hezbollah is a political party and part of the elected government in Lebanon.

They are only called terrorists by very few Nations, less then ten.

If this was not an attempted terrorist attack because "Hezbollah is a political party and part of the elected government in Lebanon." then it would have to be considered an act of war. Are you suggesting that Lebanon, best known for cedars, <snip>, is about to declare war on Thailand?

No. I am just saying that Hezbollah aren't terrorists in the opinion of many countries.

Only the USA, Israel, Canada and a few more call them terrorists. the USA had also Nelson Mandela on a terrorist list.

Now listen to Foreign Minister Surapong: "Thailand had good ties with countries all over the world and he did not think any country would want to attack the Kingdom."

He is right, and a lot of these countries have no problems with the Hezbollah. Nor did Thailand saw that Hezbollah committed any crimes in Thailand.

There were probably request to arrest these people and maybe even to hand them over to the US or Israeli authorities. Having the relationship and good ties with all the other countries in mind Thailand didn't really wanted to do that. Thailand doesn't want to choose sides here and remain neutral.

Thats why the US embassy then announced that terror warning. Pushing the Thai authorities to do something and it gives CIA agents the opportunity to look how the suspected terrorist network reacts.

There isn't really a threat of an terrorist attack, just a few people around on an USA wanted list.

The somehow confusing statements now by the Thai authorities are are result of poor reporting, lost in translation and the Thai attempts to keep the balance between their different friends (Hezbollah enemies and Hezbollah friends) and the now scared public.

[flying]

In my opinion yet another ploy by the vested interests involved who wish to fan the flames of imperial greatnes and secure their future oil supplies along with the expansion of a land grabbing religious administration which masquerades as a nation of people rather than that which it really is.

Hezbollah has everything to lose and nothing to gain by carrying out a terrorist act here in Thailand,, neither do have the resources or in my opinion the will to carry out such an alleged attack.

A wonderful ruse to instill fright and terror into a community so as to justify another military incursion by the vested interests in a land or lands far away from here.

+1

[pimay11]

In my opinion yet another ploy by the vested interests involved who wish to fan the flames of imperial greatness and secure their future oil supplies along with the expansion of a land grabbing religious administration which masquerades as a nation of people rather than that which it really is.

Hezbollah has everything to lose and nothing to gain by carrying out a terrorist act here in Thailand,, neither do have the resources or in my opinion the will to carry out such an alleged attack.

A wonderful ruse to instill fright and terror into a community so as to justify another military incursion by the vested interests in a land or lands far away from here.

I love conspiracy theories .

[lovetotravel]

Hezbollah is a terrorist group (google it). They "called off " their attack in Bangkok because they were caught. DUH In the future....

The EU don't call them terrorists. google it.

Hezbollah is a political party and part of the elected government in Lebanon.

They are only called terrorists by very few Nations, less then ten.

The EU does see them as terrorists, but doesn't want to brand them as such:

In addition, on March 10, 2005, the European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution recognizing "clear evidence" of "terrorist activities by Hezbollah"^[204] and urging the EU Council to brand Hezbollah a terrorist organization and EU governments to place Hezbollah on their terrorist blacklists, as the bloc did with the Palestinian Hamas group in 2003.^[204] The Council has been reluctant to do this because France, Spain, and Britain fear that such a move would further damage the prospects for Middle East peace talks.[204

Compliments of Google:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah#Designation_as_a_terrorist_organization_or_resistance_movement

Hezbollah never called off the attack. Just the Thai goverment who says that. Just like Bangkok won't be flooded.

[zachlsd]

I love stupidity in the morning.

เวรà¸à¸£à¸£à¸¡ its whats for breakfast

[lovetotravel]

In my opinion yet another ploy by the vested interests involved who wish to fan the flames of imperial greatness and secure their future oil supplies along with the expansion of a land grabbing religious administration which masquerades as a nation of people rather than that which it really is.

Hezbollah has everything to lose and nothing to gain by carrying out a terrorist act here in Thailand,, neither do have the resources or in my opinion the will to carry out such an alleged attack.

A wonderful ruse to instill fright and terror into a community so as to justify another military incursion by the vested interests in a land or lands far away from here.

I love conspiracy theories .

+1

[bushwacker]

"Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul yesterday expressed his "disappointment and unhappiness" over the warnings by the United States, Canada and Australia. He said he would summon the ambassadors from those countries to explain the warnings to him, or Thailand would issue retaliatory measures against such a move."

You have to wonder why he would need an explanation? Seems pretty obvious to me what the warnings mean!!!! Is the retaliatory measure to issue terrorist warnings for the US, Canada and Australia? That is going to really hurt!

[OzMick]

Hezbollah is a terrorist group (google it). They "called off " their attack in Bangkok because they were caught. DUH In the future....

The EU don't call them terrorists. google it.

Hezbollah is a political party and part of the elected government in Lebanon.

They are only called terrorists by very few Nations, less then ten.

If this was not an attempted terrorist attack because "Hezbollah is a political party and part of the elected government in Lebanon." then it would have to be considered an act of war. Are you suggesting that Lebanon, best known for cedars, <snip>, is about to declare war on Thailand?

No. I am just saying that Hezbollah aren't terrorists in the opinion of many countries.

Only the USA, Israel, Canada and a few more call them terrorists. the USA had also Nelson Mandela on a terrorist list.

Now listen to Foreign Minister Surapong: "Thailand had good ties with countries all over the world and he did not think any country would want to attack the Kingdom."

He is right, and a lot of these countries have no problems with the Hezbollah. Nor did Thailand saw that Hezbollah committed any crimes in Thailand.

There were probably request to arrest these people and maybe even to hand them over to the US or Israeli authorities. Having the relationship and good ties with all the other countries in mind Thailand didn't really wanted to do that. Thailand doesn't want to choose sides here and remain neutral.

Thats why the US embassy then announced that terror warning. Pushing the Thai authorities to do something and it gives CIA agents the opportunity to look how the suspected terrorist network reacts.

There isn't really a threat of an terrorist attack, just a few people around on an USA wanted list.

The somehow confusing statements now by the Thai authorities are are result of poor reporting, lost in translation and the Thai attempts to keep the balance between their different friends (Hezbollah enemies and Hezbollah friends) and the now scared public.

As there is an alleged confession of a planned attack, are you suggesting that Chalerm and friends tortured a confession from a citizen of a friendly country, even though that confession would cause damage to one of this country's main income earners?

Many countries also consider Hezbollah to be terrorists and for sound reasons. Trying to understand the logic behind the actions of muslim fundamentalists is a game for fools, as they are based on warped interpretations of bronze age myths..

[gopnarak]

Hezbollah is a terrorist group (google it). They "called off " their attack in Bangkok because they were caught. DUH In the future....

The EU don't call them terrorists. google it.

Hezbollah is a political party and part of the elected government in Lebanon.

They are only called terrorists by very few Nations, less then ten.

A nice play on semantics and technicalities. The EU doesn't need to label the organization as terrorist, as it can rely upon UN Resolution 1559 which called for all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias to disband. The EU supported the resolution.

Hezbollah is primarily an armed militia with a political wing. As such EU nations are expected to their utmost to support the disbanding of Hezbollah. See, that's how technicalities work. In this manner, EU banks can block fund transfers and sales of weapons to Hezbollah, not that this ever stopped the Italians and Germans from making a weapons sale when they could or the non EU Swiss from helping do fund transfers.

Now that there is regional concern focused on Hezbollahs two supporters, Iran and Syria, I think the boys at Hezbollah are about to feel some heat. Bahrain and Qatar consider Hezbollah to have attempted to undermine the stability of the Guulf States and why even worry about semantics when countries like Saudi Arabia consider Hezbollah and its supporters to be heretics?

Thats your definition of the Hezbollah, other countries have a different views. If you ignore that fact you will not understand the Thai reaction here.

Hezbollah is probably just just as generic term to describe some group Israel perceive as enemy and calls terrorists. Thailand doesn't want to choose sides in that conflict, because they are also in good terms with countries who would describe Hezbollah and alike groups as resistance movements.

[anterian]

As we said during the blitz in London, if a bomb has your name on it there is nowt you can do.

A merchant in Baghdad sends his servant to the marketplace for provisions. Shortly, the servant comes home white and trembling and tells him that in the marketplace he was jostled by a woman, whom he recognized as Death, and she made a threatening gesture. Borrowing the merchant's horse, he flees at top speed to Samarra, a distance of about 75 miles (125 km), where he believes Death will not find him. The merchant then goes to the marketplace and finds Death, and asks why she made the threatening gesture. She replies, "That was not a threatening gesture, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra."

[lovetotravel]

Thats your definition of the Hezbollah, other countries have a different views. If you ignore that fact you will not understand the Thai reaction here.

You mean this Thai reaction:

Many of us recall the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and how the then administration of Thaksin Shinawatra took a very selfish attitude by telling the world that there were no terrorist cells operating in Thailand. It was as if they had a crystal ball to see every single move the terrorists were making. And all the while, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore were chasing after these terrorists. Their citizens were alerted to the possibility and asked to help the authorities by serving as their eyes and ears.

But in Thailand, we were so caught up with the concern of losing tourist dollars, the authorities thought it was possible to keep the public out of the loop.

Then, in August 2003, a key al-Qaeda operative, Riduan Isamuddin, an Indonesian known as Hambali, was suddenly arrested in Ayutthaya. It was revealed later that the Bali bombers, members of the regional terrorist outfit Jemaah Islamiyah, had been visiting Thailand to plan their 2002 attack in Indonesia.

Just trying to save face and avoid "upsetting" the tourists.

[Morch]

Hezbollah has everything to lose and nothing to gain by carrying out a terrorist act here in Thailand,, neither do have the resources or in my opinion the will to carry out such an alleged attack.

They have carried out attack in other places around the globe, so not a matter of capability or lack of resources.

Attacks aren't always directed at the country, but at targets within that country. That doesn't usually help bystanders much.

[geriatrickid]

Right, and the Lebanese national was here for the humus.

yawn..........yeah what was I thinking .....after all this is the first Lebanese National to ever step foot in Thailand

Makes you wonder about all the cheap flights from Lebanon to Thailand........odd that

So he MUST be a terrorist...........Yet has anything at all been recovered other than a Lebanese National?

Or was he going to blow something up with humus as you noted?

Also wonder why they have a Lebanese Embassy in Bangkok?

If this is the first Lebanese in Thailand or only terrorist go to Thailand?

You got me............not

Embassy of Lebanon in Bangkok, Thailand

CTI Tower, 15th Floor ,Suit 191/ 67- 191,

Ratchadapisek Road, Klongtoey,

Bangkok 10110

Hahahahaha. This is too funny. You haven't the slightest idea what you are writing about. You are using a very out of date reference.

Did you check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand? No I don't suppose you considered that because if you had, you wouldhave seen there is no Lebanese Mission, No consul, not even an honourary consul.

Need some help? http://www.mfa.go.th/web/886.php

Do you need a list of the closest consular office? It's in Singapore. Need some more help?

http://www.lebanonem...syabroad.html#T

Flights from Lebanon? Hahaha again. In case you didn't know, Lebanon is on the "danger" list There are no direct flights. There has to be a connection through another country. Considering that it would be approximately 8 hours or so to fly BEY-BKK, the transit requirements typically turn this into a minimum 1 day flying event with flights and transfers having an average of 20hrs. And in case you are going to accuse me of besmirching the people of Lebanon, the danger listing is attributable to drug trafficing and endangered species smuggling, not just fears of people going kaboom. Lebanon is one of the few countries to not sign the CITIES treaty and is considered a major transit point for the transhipments of endangered fauna taken from the middle east and asia. However I digress, as conventional air travel never stopped a terrorist before.

Anyway, so back to this important linkage between Lebanon and Thailand, please enlighten me on the important trade links. Or maybe the very important cultural and educational links? How about emigrant/immigrant trends? There must be so many Lebanese expats in Thailand, right? Please share.

Edited January 15, 2012 by geriatrickid

[pimay11]

Thats your definition of the Hezbollah, other countries have a different views. If you ignore that fact you will not understand the Thai reaction here.

You mean this Thai reaction:

Many of us recall the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and how the then administration of Thaksin Shinawatra took a very selfish attitude by telling the world that there were no terrorist cells operating in Thailand. It was as if they had a crystal ball to see every single move the terrorists were making. And all the while, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore were chasing after these terrorists. Their citizens were alerted to the possibility and asked to help the authorities by serving as their eyes and ears.

But in Thailand, we were so caught up with the concern of losing tourist dollars, the authorities thought it was possible to keep the public out of the loop.

Then, in August 2003, a key al-Qaeda operative, Riduan Isamuddin, an Indonesian known as Hambali, was suddenly arrested in Ayutthaya. It was revealed later that the Bali bombers, members of the regional terrorist outfit Jemaah Islamiyah, had been visiting Thailand to plan their 2002 attack in Indonesia.

http://www.thaivisa....e-anything-but/

Just trying to save face and avoid "upsetting" the tourists.

Spot on. Thailand will not call PULO in the South terrorists despite the fact that's what they are. Beheadings, bombings and continuous murdering of Thai citizens. They are only "insurgents". No terrorists in this counrty.

[geriatrickid]

Hezbollah has everything to lose and nothing to gain by carrying out a terrorist act here in Thailand,, neither do have the resources or in my opinion the will to carry out such an alleged attack.

They have carried out attack in other places around the globe, so not a matter of capability or lack of resources.

Attacks aren't always directed at the country, but at targets within that country. That doesn't usually help bystanders much.

Your comments may prove too succinct and rational for some.

[flying]

Hahahahaha. This is too funny. You haven't the slightest idea what you are writing about.

I dont know ......I am not the one double quoting a post & going off on a bender.

Let me simplify for you.................

Your original post that I replied to implied the only reason a Lebanese would be in Bangkok was

1) to eat humus...or

2) Complete a terrorist act

I pointed out how dumb that was.

That flights from Lebanon stop in other countries????Man what are you smoking

I cannot fly from the US to Bangkok either without stopping in other countries so what?

My flights average 21-28 hours....again so what???

At the end of the day your original post is classic ....fear mongering

Edited January 15, 2012 by flying

[Pseudolus]

One would assume they have walked along Sukhumvit Soi 5, picked up the first middle eastern people they saw, and said "that will do". Although I more believe it is just the American Government trying to put some fear into the potential voters here in Thailand and continue their Huxley style leadership through fear they have mastered over the last 20 years or so, IF there is an attack in Bangkok, it will be a tad bad for all concerned.

[harrry]

It was all a irresponsible ruse from the start.

The fact that the American Embassy recalled the warning almost immediately cancels all further speculation.

It started because of an Israeli report that was not backed up with any facts period.

Fear Mongering nothing more.....

It looks to me if the original was sent and some lower level staffer (possibly local ) sent the recall as he/she feared that tourism would be affected. THis meant the message had to be set again.

Edited January 15, 2012 by harrry

[Jingthing]

One would assume they have walked along Sukhumvit Soi 5, picked up the first middle eastern people they saw, and said "that will do". Although I more believe it is just the American Government trying to put some fear into the potential voters here in Thailand and continue their Huxley style leadership through fear they have mastered over the last 20 years or so, IF there is an attack in Bangkok, it will be a tad bad for all concerned.

OMG, so you think the Obama administration engineered this whole thing over the tiny number of potential expat votes in Thailand?

[Pseudolus]

One would assume they have walked along Sukhumvit Soi 5, picked up the first middle eastern people they saw, and said "that will do". Although I more believe it is just the American Government trying to put some fear into the potential voters here in Thailand and continue their Huxley style leadership through fear they have mastered over the last 20 years or so, IF there is an attack in Bangkok, it will be a tad bad for all concerned.

OMG, so you think the Obama administration engineered this whole thing over the tiny number of potential expat votes in Thailand?

Reported on every major News Corporation in the world. Target is not just Thailand if one were to believe this, but expat voters world wide. "You are not safe - let's bomb iran"

[geriatrickid]

Hahahahaha. This is too funny. You haven't the slightest idea what you are writing about.

I dont know ......I am not the one double quoting a post & going off on a bender.

Let me simplify for you.................

Your original post that I replied to implied the only reason a Lebanese would be in Bangkok was

1) to eat humus...or

2) Complete a terrorist act

I pointed out how dumb that was.

That flights from Lebanon stop in other countries????Man what are you smoking

I cannot fly from the US to Bangkok either without stopping in other countries so what?

My flights average 21-28 hours....again so what???

At the end of the day your original post is classic ....fear mongering

You based your argument on the premise that because there was a Lebanese embassy any visits by Lebanese nationals were absolutely legitimate. Fine. Well, when we then use your logic, and show that there is no embassy, then by your very own argumment, the Lebanese national had no legitimate reason to visit Thailand. That's your argument. I don't share it as I recognize that some people travel to places for personal reasons. However, what I have done is to demonstrate that you were wrong, not that you will acknowledge that.

In respect to travel time in the airline industry, travel time is an important factor in whether or not there will be a vibrant tourist industry. Yes, you might fly from the USA, but it is not the same situation. A more appropriate comparison would be a flight from LAX to HNL, which is typically 6 hrs. If that flight became 14 hours of flying, ignoring preflight travel and waiting etc and the cost was approximately 2X what it is now, there wouldn't be much interest in the LAX-HNL route. Visitors would pick more convenient and cheaper destinations. Well, that's what the situation is for Beirut to Bangkok.

How is it classic fear mongering to point out that there are no economic, cultural or educational links betweenTthailand and Lebanon.

What reason would a 48 year old male from Lebanon have for coming to Thailand? If he's not coming for business reasons, to visit a wat, to learn Thai, then do you think he's going to Boyztown in Pattaya, or delivering some contraband, or coming to check out something that can go Kaboom? I don't know. You telll me how many Lebanese tourists visited Thailand last year, especially 48 year old males traveling alone and tell me what cities they typically visited. (If you need a help, you might want to check the tourism authoirty of Thailand data base.)

[pimay11]

One would assume they have walked along Sukhumvit Soi 5, picked up the first middle eastern people they saw, and said "that will do". Although I more believe it is just the American Government trying to put some fear into the potential voters here in Thailand and continue their Huxley style leadership through fear they have mastered over the last 20 years or so, IF there is an attack in Bangkok, it will be a tad bad for all concerned.

OMG, so you think the Obama administration engineered this whole thing over the tiny number of potential expat votes in Thailand?

Reported on every major News Corporation in the world. Target is not just Thailand if one were to believe this, but expat voters world wide. "You are not safe - let's bomb iran"

Some of these posts are a laugh a minute.

[Jingthing]

One would assume they have walked along Sukhumvit Soi 5, picked up the first middle eastern people they saw, and said "that will do". Although I more believe it is just the American Government trying to put some fear into the potential voters here in Thailand and continue their Huxley style leadership through fear they have mastered over the last 20 years or so, IF there is an attack in Bangkok, it will be a tad bad for all concerned.

OMG, so you think the Obama administration engineered this whole thing over the tiny number of potential expat votes in Thailand?

Reported on every major News Corporation in the world. Target is not just Thailand if one were to believe this, but expat voters world wide. "You are not safe - let's bomb iran"

That's silly. Thailand has a real history of hosting foreign terrorists. Again, I don't believe for a second that the Obama administration wants to bomb Iran or wants Israel to bomb Iran. On the other hand, if Iran asks for it, like blocking the Straits of Hormuz, war of some kind will start in earnest.

[OzMick]

One would assume they have walked along Sukhumvit Soi 5, picked up the first middle eastern people they saw, and said "that will do". Although I more believe it is just the American Government trying to put some fear into the potential voters here in Thailand and continue their Huxley style leadership through fear they have mastered over the last 20 years or so, IF there is an attack in Bangkok, it will be a tad bad for all concerned.

OMG, so you think the Obama administration engineered this whole thing over the tiny number of potential expat votes in Thailand?

Reported on every major News Corporation in the world. Target is not just Thailand if one were to believe this, but expat voters world wide. "You are not safe - let's bomb iran"

If Iran would stop funding the idiots who for idealogical reasons think it is necessary to kill Westerners wherever they may be, then the likelihood of Iran being bombed would be greatly reduced.

Of course this logic will not be recognized in Tehran as it is run by a moron midget and old men who think that killing non-believers buys them a ticket to heaven.

[OzMick]

One would assume they have walked along Sukhumvit Soi 5, picked up the first middle eastern people they saw, and said "that will do". Although I more believe it is just the American Government trying to put some fear into the potential voters here in Thailand and continue their Huxley style leadership through fear they have mastered over the last 20 years or so, IF there is an attack in Bangkok, it will be a tad bad for all concerned.

OMG, so you think the Obama administration engineered this whole thing over the tiny number of potential expat votes in Thailand?

Reported on every major News Corporation in the world. Target is not just Thailand if one were to believe this, but expat voters world wide. "You are not safe - let's bomb iran"

That's silly. Thailand has a real history of hosting foreign terrorists. Again, I don't believe for a second that the Obama administration wants to bomb Iran or wants Israel to bomb Iran. On the other hand, if Iran asks for it, like blocking the Straits of Hormuz, war of some kind will start in earnest.

I expect it will be the brief kind.