October 21, 2007: Islamic
terrorists continue to trouble the Moslem south, with five or six attacks a
day, causing 5-15 casualties. There has recently been, on average, at least one
bombing a day. The bombs are not large, and are usually placed near army or
police, but most of the casualties tend to be civilians. Moderate Moslems are
increasingly resisting the militants, and that has resulted in more terrorists
attacks on these Moslems. The police intelligence effort keeps making progress
in identifying terrorists. This is forcing the terrorists to spend more time
avoiding arrest. Once the identity of a terrorist is known, he can no longer
hide in plain sight. Despite this, the level of violence continues to grow,
with about a hundred dead each month, and nearly 2,700 dead since the terrorism
began in early 2004. All this in an area with a total population of about two
million.
October 17, 2007: The
air force, by virtue of their being part of a military dictatorship running the
government, got authority to spend $1.1 billion over the next decade to buy
twelve Swedish JAS 39C/D ("Gripen") jet fighters, and two AEW
(airborne radar) aircraft. The JAS 39s are to replace a squadron of 14 elderly
(1970s) U.S. F-5 fighters. The air force wanted F-16s (to complement the 59
already on hand), but the U.S. refused, because the military had recently
tossed out the elected and government and established a dictatorship. But
there will be new elections soon, it's possible that elected officials will
cancel the Swedish deal before it can be carried out. The Swedes are hoping
that the newly approved (by referendum) Thai constitution, which gives the
military more political power, will keep the sale safe.
