> The Nation - April 13, 2001 > US Special Forces join drugs war > > CRACK troops from the United States will join Thailand's war on drugs > in the coming months, in a new bid to stem the enormous flow of drugs > from Burma. > > About 20 soldiers from the US First Special Forces Group will train > Thailand's newly formed Task Force 399 starting from October, a senior > Third Army officer said yesterday, on condition of anonymity. > > The secretive task force - made up of 100 members of the Thai Special > Forces, two infantry units with about 100 soldiers each and a > 100-strong unit of Border Police - will be based out of Chiang Mai's > Mae Rim district, the officer said. > > The American Special Forces will arrive here next month along with > 5,000 other American soldiers to take part in the annual > joint-military exercise, Cobra Gold, with their Thai counterparts. > > Creating the anti-drugs taskforce is the latest tactic by authorities > to curb the flow of illicit drugs, mostly methamphetamines, from areas > under the control of Burma's armed ethnic rebels, particularly the > United Wa State Army (UWSA), which operates with little hindrance in > Burma's Shan State. > > Anti-narcotics cooperation between Thailand and the US has a long but > relatively unpublicised history, Panitan Wattanayagorn, a security > expert at Chulalongkorn University, said. > > Past operations were pretty much focused against opium-poppy > cultivation and heroin trafficking, which Thailand sees as mainly > affecting other countries. But because growth in synthetic stimulant > abuse has become a local issue detrimentally impacting just about > every corner of Thai society, said Panitan, news about the American > Special Forces working with local troops was likely to attracted great > attention. > > Up to 800 million speed pills produced in Burma's north were expected > to flood into Thailand this year, the officer said, adding that the > UWSA was responsible for most of the illicit drug production. > > The UWSA came into being in 1989 shortly after the fall of the > Communist Party of Burma (CPB). It soon signed a cease-fire with the > military government in Rangoon. The bulk of the UWSA's troops served > as infantry for the CPB, which was backed by the Chinese Communists > before it fell apart. > > Under an agreement with the Burmese junta that allows it some degree > of autonomy, the 20,000-strong outfit has extended its power base in > Burma's Shan State from along the Chinese border southward to areas > across from Thailand's Mae Ai and Fang districts. New towns such as > Mong Yawn and Mong Mai, built by hundreds of Thai labourers and Thai > construction companies, have sprung up in recent years as millions of > methamphetamine tablets, known locally as yaa baa, have been sent > across the border and sold in Thai cities. > > The trade proceeded relatively unperturbed until two years ago when > the bodies of nine Thai nationals from Chiang Mai's Fang district were > discovered by the border near the Wa area. All fingers pointed to Mong > Yawn for the murderers. Thai authorities were forced to impose > economic sanctions against the Wa by closing the border crossing to > their territory. > > The Burmese regime, on the other hand, has come under strong criticism > from both Thailand and Western countries for turning a blind eye to > the Wa's illicit activities. > > Thailand's Third Army commander, Lt General Wattanachai Chaimuanwong, > has accused a number of top Burmese military chiefs of taking bribes > from the Wa. > > > The Nation - April 13, 2001 > > LETTERS > Give credit to the Shan State Army > > I WOULD like to commend you for telling the story of the Shan State > Army (SSA). There are those in the media and other sources who have > been attempting to tell of the changes in direction, especially in the > area of drug production, brought about by Colonel Yaud Serk of the > SSA. These have been laughed off by United States operatives, who have > preached an allied effort with Burma while on the surface, keeping the > country where it belongs, on the drug-producers' list. None of these > US operatives ever went to the SSA area to see if changes had in fact > taken place. > > Do not look for any changes in the US State Department position. > Secretary Powell has named Richard Armitage, who Khun Sa named as his > "US connection", his number-two man and most trusted assistant. Khun > Sa, with the multimillion-dollar reward on his head, resides in > splendour beside his new Burmese allies. The Wa have joined the > Burmese Army in attacks on all ethnic groups, especially the SSA. > These have been repulsed time and again. > > The drug labs and caravans hit by the SSA were joint Wa/Burmese > operations. No pat on the back from the USA for that. You did a great > service by showing the Shan on the march against drugs and > dictatorship. But I would not hold my breath waiting for US State > Department recognition of these changes. It's so much easier to have a > drink in Rangoon, Bangkok or Washington than to get out there where > the truth really lies, in the jungle. Your reporters did that. > > Mark A Smith > MAJOR, USA, RETIRED > BANGKOK > > LAST MODIFIED: Friday, 13-Apr-01 13:57:04 EDT > > --------------- Please let us stay on topic and be civil. To unsubscribe please go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cia-drugs -Home Page- www.cia-drugs.org OM Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
