Thaksin Could Be Overthrown : Observers

[Dutchy]

head

It won't happen Mango. The opposition to TRT isn't sufficiently organized to take over the country's management.

What opposition? The democrats only criticize but have no solutions for Thailand's problems. It's a big dilemma for Thailand, our cheerless leader has undesirable characteristics but there's no real alternative for the Thais.

Dutchy

[snowleopard]

meadish_sweetball   

This has nothing to do with this topic, but should you not be a

" Swedish Meatball "

  sorry just wondering

A mere play on words. Jeeez even I got it.

Maybe that dish is merely a lumpish lump of sweet Swedish Meat with no Balls?

Cheers.

Snowleopard

[mango head]

if thaksin is to be removed from office, i would hope that it can be done at the polls during election time. more violence piled on top of violence can onle be detrimental to the country.  let's not forget that most of us here are guests in LOS.  constructive critiscism and civilised discussion works better than personal attacks and hateful language. jai yen yen everyone. 

                                                                          chok dee

                                                                          mango head

It won't happen Mango. The opposition to TRT isn't sufficiently organized to take over the country's management.

i guess you're right, dr. pat.

many from the oppisition jumped ship to join TRT leaving only junior members to try and fend off thaksin's policies.

[ASIC]

We are reaching a state where Thailand is ruled like the communist China mixed with the lack of opposition as in Singapore. How sad is this? Actually there is a lot of suitable opposition members in Thailand, but it looks like Toxin's total control of the media works. The opposition is never seen doing anything anymore.

By the way... during the last government we had a lot of police officers moved to "inactive" posts. We never see that anymore. What happened? Are all police officers now angles?

I hope he get's toppled and the Thai people demands him jailed indefinitely for neoptism... and hopefully as soon as possible.

ASIC

[Foggy Bottom]

I wonder what the post responses would be regarding the shooting in the south if the persons posting were only people who have flipped the switch from semi to full under combat situations.

No more armchair warriors. Let's hear from the pro's. The ones trained and know the difference between /contain and control/, /take prisoners/, return hostile fire, and open fire indiscriminately.

George and others posted several political analysts views of a large ongoing situation. Lets try to get the maturity of the responses to those posts up above adolescent.

OK then ...

I post this as an ex member of the British armed forces who was trained as, and has seen duty as, an "armed guard" under both sets of issued regulations - peacetime and combat zone.

For peacetime scenarios, even in hieghtened alert conditions the rules are simple -

1. Issue an identity-request challenge stating that you are armed.

2. If the "intruder" fails to respond to the challenge (i.e. stop) then load a round into the breach of the weapon and challenge again. Keep the safety "on".

3. If the "intruder" still fails to obey then state you are ready to fire and order them to halt and be identified.

4. If the "intruder" still continues then fire SINGLE AIMED SHOTS at the centre of the largest visible part of the target.

5. There is no need to issue challenges when the intruder is positively identified as carrying a weapon and is about to use it against any person or asset which you are guarding. In this interpretation, "weapon" may include a bomb or grenade, or a bomb detonation device.

For combat zones - rules as above apply except that steps 1 & 2 may be omitted.

In all scenarios, ONLY SINGLE AIMED SHOTS may be fired. Weapons with fully automatic capability are subject to the operational rules of the weapon and should normally fire only short bursts of not more than 4-5 rounds of ammunition.

The above is a language simplified version of the orders printed on my marksman registration card issued by the UK Ministry of Defence (my mum accidentally included it with a load of personal papers she sent out a few years back)

If you are a static guard in a reinforced post you have lots of good weapon supports from which to take steady aim at an approaching target. You also have a lot more time than most people recognise to line up and fire your shots - especially if you're well trained and have a lot of range practice (ever considered why military and police range-targets have human figures on them?).

A target on a motorbike, whilst moving fast, does travel in a fairly straight line and is an easy target for someone with an M16 or similar SLR (even better for an older 7.62mm FAL or FN SLR due to better accuracy up to several hundred metres but never seen pictures of the thai forces using them) this is especially true if they're coming straight at you.

HOWEVER, any trained military weapons user, facing two guys on a bike coming at him, would automatically aim for the lower abdomen - more chance of the shot going through the driver and into the pillion passenger, thus not having the problem of the passenger continuing to run at him after the bike goes down. Also the SINGLE shot order would be likely to be ignored .... "but Sir, all ten of them shots was single, and aimed, when I fired them".

The two bits I cannot envisage under normal circumstances are -

- dropping off a bike at any speed and holding onto the machete after being shot (or even holding onto it after being shot while running)....

- and so many in the mosque being shot in the forehead - unless snipers were called in to take out anyone showing a profile from behind the walls - the forehead shows before the eyes do when trying to sneak a peak at what those outside are doing - and snipers are very very good at hitting targets of opportunity - ask anyone who was in Yugoslavia in the 80s/90s for example (or in Thailand check with some of the many ex-Vietnam vets).

Gaz

[Foggy Bottom]

Forgot to say - most reporters would classify an M16 or AK47 as a machine gun because they have fully automatic ability.

They are not true machine guns (like an M60 or British GPMG) or even sub-machine guns like an Uzi or Heckler & Koch because of their rate of fire.

But for a reporter, machine gun is a more emotive description of the weapon.