That is all I could think of when I was reading an article on the latest bomb threat in Bangkok and the Thai Government doing damage control – The Temptations song “Ball of Confusion”.

The Thai Government has mucked up all weekend with this bomb threat warning that the American Embassy in Bangkok posted on Friday the 13th, 2012.

Supreme Army Command

All weekend, we have been receiving “information” at The Nation and the Bangkok Post that has been so confusing since the Thai Government has not coordinated their press release voice.  Thai Politicians love to talk and the conflicting reports we have received from the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister (Chalerm), and the Military all contradict each other, and point the finger at the American Embassy as being the cause of the confusion – when in fact it was and still is the Thai Government.

There is an article today in The Nation that sets out to clarify the position(s) of the Thai Government and instead of seeing things clearer, the article, Govt moves to limit fall out on terror, muddies the waters even worse and makes the Thai Government look even more incompetent than it did during the 2011 floods.

The Yingluck government yesterday appeared to adjust its public relations strategy involving terrorism threats, after concerns arose that Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung’s hasty remarks in the wake of the latest US warning could have made things worse.

Chalerm=Open mouth, insert foot.

Government leaders yesterday held a press conference to allay the anxieties, saying security authorities were on top of the situation to ensure the country remains a safe tourist destination.

I’m sorry.  My anxiety is not allayed.  If anything, I have lost any shred of confidence I had in the current Thai Government.

The press conference was organised after Chalerm’s off-the-cuff remarks prompted fears they could backfire to fuel terrorist activities.

Terrorists now know that Thailand is a soft target, you won’t be incarcerated for plotting terror attacks (Thai Government needs to wait for the explosion before they can do anything), you can get in some practice in the South of Thailand without much worry, and if you do get caught, just have a bunch of money at hand to pay your way out of jail.

“Security officials, such as those from the police, the military and intelligence agencies, have been monitoring the situation and it is not their duty to reveal whether any suspicious individuals are travelling through Thailand,” Deputy Prime Minister Kowit Wattana said, arguing that hasty disclosure would have caused unwarranted concern.

Notice how the The Nation and/or Thai Government Deputy PM Kowit have changed the wording of “cause panic” to “cause unwarranted concern”.  Kind of like in America calling an illegal alien and undocumented immigrant.

Kowit appeared to downplay Chalerm’s comments regarding the police interview of a Lebanese man as a person of interest.

More subtleties from the Thai Government – the Lebanese is now a “person of interest” and not a “bomb threat Hezbollah terror suspect”.

Kowit said that at this juncture, the government and officials could keep the situation under control – and there was no cause for concern that Bangkok could be a target for an international terrorist attack.

Nah.  Bangkok could never be a target for an international terrorist attack.  Nor could New York City, Washington D.C. Bali, Mumbai, or the rest of the world.

Echoing Kowit, Defence Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapha said intelligence and security agencies had been alerted to possible Hezbollah activities last month.

And the Thai Government didn’t warn the public other than to say that places in Bangkok where folks would be celebrating New Year’s Eve may face a bomb threat – no mention that this was Hezbollah or any other outside terrorist organization.

Authorities did not arrest a man considered suspicious because it was deemed futile to take him into custody before evidence of a crime became clear, Yuthasak said.

Ahhh. So the Thai Government needs to wait for the bomb to explode before anyone can be arrested.  I guess conspiracy to commit a terrorist act on foreign soil doesn’t count.

“Thai intelligence and security officials had an understanding with their Israeli and American counterparts that the situation would be monitored in a discreet manner so as not to stir unwarranted anxiety,” he said.

To a degree, yes.  But, once the Thai Government arrested one guy, Atris Hussein, – oops – identified a “person of interest”, and took him for a cup of coffee and a chat, and the other suspects persons of interest escaped toured Bangkok, it was the obligation of the American Embassy to warn its citizens that bad guys were on the loose.

The US Embassy’s no-nonsense warning on its home page on Friday – that US citizens in Thailand faced a serious, immediate terrorist threat – prompted a swift, albeit somewhat confusing, denial from the Yingluck government. It is the first dent in a seemingly smooth bilateral relationship since the changing of the political guard in Thailand after last year’s election.

NOT TRUE.  The U.S. Embassy never said “immediate” – they said “possible”.  It was a warning not to hang out in obvious touristy spots – nothing more, nothing less.  And, yes, the denials came out flying after that – mainly from the Thai Government Deputy PM Chalerm – adding to the confusion.

Yuthasak reprimanded the United States for making a unilateral disclosure in a travel warning wrongly pinpointing Bangkok as a potential terrorist target.

HUH?  Wrongfully pinpointing Bangkok?  Where did this come from?  All weekend the reports from the Thai Government and all over the Internet specified Bangkok as the possible target from 13-15 January.  More confusion.

The US had acted in panic because of a mistaken suspicion an attack was poised to happen on January 13-15 and its action adversely impacted on Thailand, he said.

Give me a fucking break.  Acted in panic?  No way.  It was a warning based on reliable intelligence.  This is soooooo typical of Thai Politicians in the Thai Government – get caught, deny everything, and point your finger elsewhere – usually at the victim.  This is all about FACE and TOURISM.

“I would like to confirm that Thailand is [not] a terrorist target,” he said. Although terrorist suspects might have maintained activities in Bangkok, which is known in security jargon as a soft target, they were taking advantage of Thailand’s free society, rather than staging an attack on the country, he said.

Hmmmmm.  How many have died in Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, Songkhla in the past 9 years – something like 5,000 at the hands of terrorists.  And, just for the record here is the correct “security jargon” for soft target:

soft target 1. a person or thing that is relatively unprotected or vulnerable, especially to military or terrorist attack.

So, the Thai Government got that wrong too.  Bangkok is a “soft target” because anyone could go anywhere tourists hang out and blow the place to shit.

All suspicious individuals had departed Thailand and any attempts to stir up trouble had been foiled, he said.

Stir up trouble?  I thought that Bangkok wasn’t a target.  Or, were they?  More confusion.  And, all the “suspicious” individuals had departed?  Now they are “suspicious” and not “Hezbollah terror suspects”?  Does this include the “person of interest”, Atris Hussein?  I still haven’t seen a photo of this suspect person of interest.  I wonder if we will read in the future that individuals released by the Thai Government blew something up elsewhere.

He said the initial alert about a terrorist plot mentioned two individuals. One was detained after officials located him via his use of the Internet. Another fled the country.

What plot?  I thought that Bangkok was not a target.  If, the Thai Government had this so “under control”, how did this individual flee the country?

The detained man told police about the Hezbollah plot. After giving his statement, he was deported. The man was identified as Hussein Artris, a Lebanese man holding a Swedish passport, according to Israel News.

Unbelievable!  Atris Hussein has gone from “Hezbollah terrorist” to “person of interest” and now “detained man”.  And, again, I thought it was mentioned that Bangkok was NOT a target.  Deported?  Doesn’t make sense.  Since this detained man had done absolutely nothing wrong, why was he deported?  Oh, and his name, according to his passport, is Atris, not Artris.  Why does the Israel News know more about this than the Thai Government?  They are the ones that posted his passport photo online – not the Thai Government.  I still think that this guy doesn’t exist or, that the Thai Government never had anyone in custody.

His fugitive accomplice was believed to be Naim Haris, a Hezbollah operative.

How does the Thai Government know this?  And, did this Naim Haris flee Thailand or is he still roaming the streets of Bangkok?  Why wasn’t this “person of interest” detained by the Thai Government?

Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul denied speculation his ministry would summon and lodge a protest with US Ambassador Kristie Kenney.

Well, that is what he said on Saturday that he would scold the Ambassadors from America, Australia, and Canada.  Guess someone told Surapong to shut up and go back to Chiang Mai.

Surapong said he had voiced his disappointment that the US did not consult the Thai government before issuing the travel warning but did not mention a protest.

Backpedaling to save face since the Ambassadors would have either ignored Surapong or told him to go pound sand.

At the prime minister’s instruction, he would today launch an awareness campaign that the terrorist anxiety was unwarranted, he said, adding his ministry would also clarify the true situation with foreign governments. Some 14 countries had already alerted their citizens about the potential terrorist attack.

Thai Government – form a committee, schedule some meetings, accomplish nothing.  How can Surapong clarify the situation when nothing is clear?

Government House officials said Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was displeased that Chalerm had gone overboard in disclosing sensitive details about international terrorism.

HUH?  I thought the Thai Government said there was no terrorism in Thailand.

Chalerm was curiously absent from yesterday’s mobile Cabinet meeting in Chiang Mai, although his aides claimed he stayed behind in the capital in order to monitor the situation.

Right – put the Thai Government idiot in charge of monitoring a situation which now supposedly never existed.

Following the mobile meeting, Yingluck pledged to ensure safety for the tourism industry and foreign visitors. She said the police, military and National Security Council were working around the clock to foil any terrorist plots.

But, again, there are no terrorist plots in Bangkok.  Hezbollah terrorists were here on holiday.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said Thailand was disappointed the US had opted to issue its travel alert before consulting the Thai authorities.

Why?  Since when does the U.S. Ambassador need permission from the Thai Government to warn the American people?  If Ambassador Kenney had tried to consult with the Thai Government, she would have walked out of the meeting with a headache and no clear answers.

“Despite the close monitoring [of the situation] and mutual cooperation between the two countries, the travel warning was issued with a direct impact on Thailand,” he said.

Which made the Thai Government look like fools for not releasing the information first – again – to save face and tourism.  The Thai Government has yet to learn to be open and upfront instead of sneaky and hiding the truth.  It definitely will come back to bite you in the ass.

Officials would seek to form an understanding on the issue with the US, he said.

More Thai Government face saving.  If the Thai Government would come out with a comprehensive report on what the hell happened over the weekend, and be completely honest (I know), maybe they would earn a gram of credibility.

Tags: bomb threat chalerm foreign minister hezbollah prime minister surapong terrorist thai government yingluck