From: Terry W. Colvin (fortean1@mindspring.com)
Date: Fri Jun 06 2003 - 00:40:30 MDT
In my opinion one of the major factors that turned the rural Thai people
off of the commie doctrine was the provision of a wide network of ROADs
linking their villages to other centers of population.
Remember, early '60s not all that much rural electrification in NE
Thailand, virtually no TV, not very good distribution of newspapers and
magazines outside the main towns. The real rural population didn't see
much in the way of government services and much of what they saw was
corrupt (like now). What they often heard was groups of well trained and
motivated commie agitators agitating against the government and then
promising a bright future once true commie led "democracy" triumphed.
Starting about 1956 USAID (USOM at the time), came into Thailand and one of
the major projects was ROADS, big ones, like the Friendship Highway, and
smaller dirt ones, too, all over the place.
Previously the rural dirt farmer raised his few crops, ate most, perhaps
had a small surplus available for sale, but no way to move it to
market. His village might of had a school, no electricity, no med clinic,
perhaps a cop, lucky to have a small store, didn't have much of anything.
Along came the road punching through, brought communication with the
outside world, newspapers, more goodies for sale in the local store, an
incentive to raise a few more veggies for sale, since they could be moved
to market, a medic for the clinic, more stuff.
Along with all this, too, came corruption, but that could be dealt with,
just raise some more veggies. What it brought was an end to the agitator's
promises of paradise that hadn't come to pass, a minor level of prosperity
was at hand, through the current government. People stopped listening to
the agitators and joined the village level capitalist society.
The commies were still around in the woods through the end of the '70s,
agitating away but not gaining much ground. What really knocked them out
was General Chavalit's policy of an amnesty for all who turned in their
guns and rejoined society. This of course, before Chavalit went ga ga and
got into politics.
The amnesty program worked. Do remember one occasion about 1981 when about
3,000 former CT turned themselves in at Mukdahan, a grand ceremony for
them, and a real amnesty.
So, let's hear it for rural roads!!!
Mac
At 06:52 AM 05/30/2003 -0600, Jimmie H. Butler wrote:
>Dear Pete, Paul, and everyone,
>
>I guess from my studies of the Cold War and the 1960s, it's hard for me to
>imagine that the Russians/Chinese leadership would have laid out a plan
>that said once we have control of old French Indochina, we're done. If it
>hadn't been for our commitments in the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization,
>I believe the Communists would have tried to keep moving south all the way
>to Singapore. I believe Dave MacDonald has some experience fighting the
>communist insurgency in Maylasia. We know of the insurgency efforts in
>Indonesia. Would the Communists have been satisfied to leave Thailand as
>an island of freedom within the Southeast Asia empire they were trying to
>establish? I can't imagine that. They may have published statements that
>say they had no interest in Thailand (I'm not aware of any), but then
>General Giap has said he had no intention of making Khe Sahn the American
>Dien Bien Phu. Note that he said that after he was forced to withdraw and
>not when the outcome of the siege remained in doubt.
>
>I believe it's in Air Commando One about General Aderholt that some of the
>detailed information is provided about Bill Lair coming into Thailand in
>the early 1960s and organizing the Thai anti-insurgency forces. The
>providing of American helicopters to the Thai forces was a key to mobility
>that helped the Thai forces counter the insurgents.
>
>Certainly a communist takeover of Thailand would have been more of a
>challenge than in places like old French Indochina. A study of earlier
>history shows that Thailand was kept as a buffer state between the British
>empire on the west and the French empire on the east. So the Thai people
>hadn't been a colony with the accompanying underpinings of anti-colonial
>resentment that emerged in South/Southeast Asia after World War II. And
>as most of us know, the Thai king was highly revered by most of the Thai
>people.
>
>I believe that if there had been little or no American effort against the
>North Vietnamese ambitions to take over French Indochina, heavy pressure
>would have come to bear on Thailand.
>
>Jimmie
>
>
>
>
>
>Jimmie H. Butler
>Nail 12
>NKP Feb 67-Jan 68
>A Certain Brotherhood at
><http://Stealthpress.Com/acb>http://Stealthpress.Com/acb
>Info on the War in Southeast Asia at
><http://jimmiehbutler.com>http://jimmiehbutler.com
>Proud Charter Member of the Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood
> <http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org>http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org
-- Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1@mindspring.com > Alternate: < fortean1@msn.com > Home Page: < http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8958/index.html > Sites: * Fortean Times * Mystic's Haven * TLCB * U.S. Message Text Formatting (USMTF) Program ------------ Member: Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood (TLCB) Mailing List TLCB Web Site: < http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org >[Vietnam veterans, Allies, CIA/NSA, and "steenkeen" contractors are welcome.]
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