Showing 21 - 30 of 43
The big issue: How to make a terrorist
Alan Dawson, Published on 06/09/2015
» Thailand and international terrorism have a history that goes way back. The current calls for security forces to get serious about threats to the country are only echoes of the past 40-plus years.
The big issue: A degree of intervention
Alan Dawson, Published on 09/08/2015
» There was a certain air of mystery about the publication of this year’s United States human trafficking report which now has been mostly solved.
The Big Issue: Bigger than an ambassador
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 19/04/2015
» The whole system of rotating US ambassadors is broken. When we might lay eyes on Ambassador Glyn Townsend Davies in a limousine flying US fender flags is a mystery as great as when Mr Obama was finally going to officially name him as the replacement for Kristie Kenney.
The big issue: Swaying bamboo
Alan Dawson, Published on 01/03/2015
» Pisan Manawapat has one general job and one specific job in his new role as Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the United States of America. Both could serve as plots for Mission Impossible, although a Hollywood happy ending is not assured.
The big issue: Sparing country [redacted]
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 14/12/2014
» In 2002, in the wake of the 9/11 terrorism and US military pushback, the CIA opened a secret facility in central Thailand. The agency brought two high-level al-Qaeda operatives, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, to the site and launched a new programme of "enhanced interrogation" techniques on them including physical assault and waterboarding, distressing many US officials.
The big issue: Our man in Milan
Alan Dawson, Published on 19/10/2014
» The spotlight fell even more strongly on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha last week. And no one, not the most vengeful anti-coup opponent, seemed to feel worse about the constant attention than the man himself.
Freebies for rice farmers
Alan Dawson, Published on 05/10/2014
» It's not a bad job, all things considered, to be a member of the military government. The pay's fine, the perks are outstanding, you don't have to put up with any of that "democratic protest" nonsense like Beijing's flunky in Hong Kong suffers.
The big issue: Testing the water
Alan Dawson, Published on 28/09/2014
» The regime is beginning its fifth month in power with a couple of important outside trips. The message to the foreign community is — "We're here, we're not going away, so let's just get back to business as usual."
Signed, sealed, undelivered
Alan Dawson, Published on 31/08/2014
» The United Nations and Myanmar are in the process of proving that a nation on the tipping edge of being controlled by criminals can be rescued and brought back to the road to democracy.
The big issue: Foreign affairs
Alan Dawson, Published on 13/07/2014
» For months, if not years, prior to May 22, most Western and some Asian governments had lobbied the Thai military hard, stating or plainly warning that a direct overthrow of the government would bring strong reactions, some measured punishments and loud recriminations from overseas.