Lol, you are certainly aware that Thaksin (you mispelled his name) had significant

[grantcart]

increases in his personal wealth while he was Deputy Superintendent of the Police and Chiang Mai, where he is from was the world center of Heroin trade that prospered at the same time key Police officers accumulated enormous wealth.

I can't understand any progressive accepting the principal of extra judicial killings. As always the killings did give cover so that private scores could be settled including the murder of 19 human rights activists.

But what possible justification do you have for the murder of 78 Muslim teenagers?

For the record the extra judiciary murders were carried out by police who are not trained by the US.

For the record Thais have their own counter insurgency operations that basically defeated the communists by avoiding armed conflict.

http://links.org.au/node/1247

The 1980s marked the end of an era of party oriented revolutionary struggle. Another era commenced which, on the contrary, was characterised by the disappearance of political parties with leftist roots. Unlike in places such as the Philippines, the crisis of the CPT did not give way to a pluralist left, but to the disappearance of the political left. This contrast could be understood in part by the new policy of counterinsurrection implemented in Thailand under the government of General Prem Tinsulanonda. The government offered individual amnesty to CPT members and negotiated the grouped return of guerilla units into newly established villages.

For the record the King does not rule Thailand. Over the decades he has removed the Monarchy from direct involvement in the government. During the 70s he refused to nominate a Prime Minister or Finance Minister and forced the political parties to stand on their own. He is currently an elderly man basically on his death bed. For the last 3 decades he has been a voice against materialism, for self sufficiency, and always urging the government to take policies to avoid violence and nurture reconciliation.

In fact the strategy to not fight with the Communist Party of Thailand but offer them land and amnesty came from the King. General Prem serves as Chairman of the Privy Council.

So lets sum up

You are wrong about

1) Thaksin's name and character
2) The evil of extra judicial killings
3) Thai military involvement in the extra judicial killings
4) The role of the US in Thailand's very successful non violent counter insurgency programs
5) The contribution of the King to the body politic

But you have provided the perfect juxtaposition.

In 1970s while their neighbors were threatened and overcome by violent insurgencies Thailand follows the US's strategy to kill first and creates the disastrous events of October 6, 1976 Massacre. Generals sympathetic to the King, Kriangsak and Prem move to restore Democracy and negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Communist insurgency.

Thaksin becomes Prime Minister and authorizes the murder to counter the Amphetamine insurgency and uses murder to fight the Jihadists who have infiltrated the long simmering separatist movements.

The government has fallen for only one reason: They had only one real policy, Amnesty for the convicted criminal Thaksin. It is universally unpopular, even among the Red Shirts and even though they had an absolute majority in Parliament could not achieve into law.