Thailand Hires Assassin As Security Adviser
Charles Johnson
Sat May 26, 2007 at 6:16 pm PDT • Views: 346
Thailand’s government, installed by military coup, seems to be realizing after more than 2,000 murders that their policy of appeasing the jihadis in the south isn’t working. So here’s a wakeup call to the “insurgents:” Thai generals ask former assassin to be security adviser.
BANGKOK: Frustrated by their inability to pacify a Muslim insurgency and concerned about rising impatience toward their rule, Thailand’s generals have named a former commando and self-described assassin as their top security adviser.
The appointment this month of Pallop Pinmanee, a retired general notorious for his harsh tactics but admired for his survival instincts, appears to be an acknowledgement that the military-backed government’s conciliatory approach toward Muslim insurgents in southern Thailand has failed.
“The way to solve the problem in the south is to get the people on your side,” Pallop said in an interview this week. But if the violence continues, he said, the military should carry out “search and destroy” missions against the insurgents. “If we cannot make them surrender, then we have no choice - we have to destroy them.”
(Hat tip: sr_soph.)
Frank says: