Protesters held hostages soldiers (28)

[Old Hippie]

"...didnt some predict that the Red Shirts would pack up and go home after Week 1 ?..."

 

Yes, many here said exactly that. While it is not (yet) the full scale violence I and some other thought might happen, it is disheartening.

 

 

 

"...Plenty of itchy trigger fingers on both sides now..."

 

 

Part of the problem all along...sooner or later one side or both does something to provoke the other...and well...

[gobbledonk]

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do they have an elite force like the SAS or SEALS?....i imagine yes of some sort??

 

The Thai Police have an anti-terrorist unit that is supposed to deal with certain events, but I dont know what the Army has up its sleeve. Lets face it - if they wanted to get serious they could have the streets awash with protester's blood, but that is exactly what the instigators of the grenade attack on the troops want. What are the lives of a few hundred protestors/troops when you are trying to topple a regime ? The reality, of course, is that people get caught in the crossfire, but how many of us will even remember individual deaths in 6 months time ? Its all just footage for the evening news now, sadly.

 

 

 

[Flashermac]

I don't think there will be a deus ex machina this time. Too old, too ill.

 

 

I live miles north of the clash scene, but last night I caught a whiff of sulfur on the wind blowing north. I recognised it as the smell of gunpowder. I could smell it all the way out here.

 

 

 

[gobbledonk]

For those of us with dim memories, this is what artillery can do to a modern city :

 

http://www.country-data.com/frd/cs/syria/sy01_06a.jpg

 

Granted, that is from Beirut way back in the Civil war, but I think it illustrates how much fun it would be to try to maintain a protest cordon if the army got serious.

[Sporty]

Is this Seh Daeng's wonderful doing? He has bragged about training Red Shirts in guerrilla warfare and promised to the lead them against the Army ... of which he just happens to be a member.

 

I do despair about Thailand. The situation is a bad or worse than the 1970s. Thailand doesn't move forward, it goes in circles.

 

 

p.s. Outside of the "war zone", you wouldn't know anything is happening.

 

 

 

Seh Daeng's work, partly for sure, military faction of the Reds.

 

His real involvement as I see it, is up country. Mr T, Seh Daeng and other cronnies (Class 10?) sre heros and have the country folk, believing they are the real Thais and all their troubles, are caused by the rich people, in Bangkok.

 

We know, what went down in Bangkok, in the last month, but protest in Bangkok are just the tip of the iceberg.

[Coss]

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do they have an elite force like the SAS or SEALS?....i imagine yes of some sort??

 

I am given to understand that the special forces of the Thai army are as good and as hard as any in the world.

 

And as such, if deployed, likely to kill more protestors than is good for the politics of the situation.

 

But from way away over here, it seems the dance has only just begun.

 

Shame really, especially from a bunch of Buddhists.

 

Coss

[Boo Radley]

Seems to be a picture of the captured soldiers in Thairath.

http://www.thairath.co.th/gallery/view/pol/1712

[WorldFun]

umm why would the 'hostages' be without shirts (hostage HQ only got red shirts & thus wouldn't dare share a clean one with the enemy - OR...

Could it be the reds are mainly made up of gay fat old dirty bastards....

[WorldFun]

think I just saw some soldiers (hostages) returned on tv (tnn24?)?

if true its a good sign & one of the most clever deeds the reds did recently...

[gobbledonk]

Hard to read from the footage we are getting here - red shirts still smiling despite the deaths. Weird.