Thailand: Deadly Nuisance

Deadly Nuisance

September 7, 2007: The Islamic terrorism in the south is more like a crime wave than a totally disruptive terror campaign, as is found in parts of Iraq, Pakistan, Africa, Colombia and Afghanistan. But 100-200 casualties a month, among a population of about two million, gets peoples attention. Much of the violence is still directed at Moslems, which is because most Moslems don't support the Islamic terrorists. So the battle, for the Islamic radicals, is with security forces, and fellow Moslems who don't want a separate Islamic state. Apparently the idea of a religious dictatorship is very unpopular down south. Many of the Islamic terrorists have regular gigs as smugglers or gangsters, and just want less of a police presence in the south. The nearly four years of violence has had the opposite effect. The government is trying to entice more southern Moslems to risk their lives and cooperate with the government, by starting economic development projects down south, and setting up more government operations (and more jobs for Moslem locals). While the tide has turned in the governments favor, if only because people are getting tired of all the violence and security measures, the unrest is likely to go on for years. That's how it's played out in the past, and the current bout of Islamic unrest seems no different.

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