U.S. Ally in Asia May Have Crossed Line in Terror Fight reports on Thailand’s zealous efforts to fight terrorism and drug trafficking:
Since Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s government began a crackdown on suspected Muslim insurgents in January, more than 100 Thai Muslims have disappeared in the southern part of the country, many of them taken in commando-style raids by unidentified assailants, according to witnesses, Muslim politicians and human-rights groups.
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The controversy comes on the heels of Mr. Thaksin’s bloody campaign last year against alleged drug dealers. The action, criticized by the U.S. and others, resulted in the killing of more than 2,500 suspects and hundreds of arbitrary arrests. Some Muslim politicians from the south and Western diplomats in Bangkok argue that the government’s tactics during the drug crackdown, and its frequent heavy-handed policing in Muslim areas, sparked the current round of violence. Moreover, they say, these tactics have helped insurgents recruit a new generation of angry foot soldiers.