Thaksin hints at troop pullout

[rickfarang]

The Japan Times: April 11, 2004

 

(Note: As of yesterday, Thailand's troops are not allowed to leave the confines of their base of operations.)

 

BANGKOK (AP) Thailand will withdraw its troops from Iraq if they are unable to carry out their humanitarian work there, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Saturday.

 

It was the second time in two days that Thaksin has raised the possibility that the 443-member Thai contingent may be withdrawn before its yearlong mission ends in September.

 

"As long as we can provide the humanitarian aid, we will. But if they can't, they'll return," Thaksin said in his weekly radio address to the nation Saturday. "For now, I've told them to keep doing their jobs."

 

Worsening violence and a string of kidnappings of foreigners in Iraq this past week have worried Washington's Asian allies, including Thailand. Some politicians here have demanded that the troops be brought home.