Thailand 7: September 20, 2007

With last week's tragic events, I don't suppose anyone is interested in continuing reports of Thai hi-jinx but maybe people would like to know what the response to the bombings has been in Thailand.

Last Tuesday evening, Liz and I and our friend Meryl (who was in Thailand on vacation) went out with another couple to help them select a Persian carpet and then went to dinner. We got back to our apartment at about 9:30. A friend had left a phone message saying something about a bomb in New York, but I couldn't make much sense of it and so turned on the TV. I clicked to CNN just as the second tower collapsed. We slowly learned the full extent of the tragedy as the newscasters talked about the other tower getting hit, the Pentagon and the crash in Pennsylvania. Our local cable service includes CNN, MSNBC, and the BBC, so there was no shortage of news coverage. We sat for about an hour, stupefied, just gazing at the TV.

At about 11 o'clock, I got called into the office. In crisis situations like this, the Embassy has certain procedures it follows and there was a need for people to come in and set a few things in motion. Of course, crisis contingencies typically assume that the crisis is here -- in Bangkok directly impacting the Embassy. What we ended up doing primarily was trying to find out what was going on in the US. Early reports were that a car bomb had exploded outside of the State Department and we knew how busy everyone in Washington would be so we didn't try to contact anyone at State directly. The Embassy had just got rid of CNN that week (big mistake) and so we spent much of the night watching local Thai coverage. Immediately after word of the events made it to Bangkok, the Thai government added security at and around the Embassy. However, the most difficult part about getting into work that night was weaving through the press outside the front gate.

The Embassy was closed to the public on Wednesday, but much of the American staff came in. I got in at 6:45 and we reviewed what we had done the night before and discussed what could happen in the future. However, by about 10, I, at least, no longer had any duties directly tied in to the situation and got back to regular work. By this time, the Embassy had re-established its CNN connection and I sat transfixed by the news.

As aviation is part of my portfolio, I've spent some time over the past week talking with representatives from the US carriers that serve Bangkok -- United, Northwest and Federal Express. They've beefed up security and have been able to resume service to the US but the passenger carriers are uncertain about their future. The United country manager has been with the company for years and had friends on the planes. He was in shock. There's little that we can do to help, but we try to facilitate their requests for guidance and provide travel information to Americans in Bangkok.

Though we have such excellent access to information about the tragedy, be it via cable or the internet or telephone calls to friends and family, there definitely is a feeling of detachment being so far away. We see the horror and know what is happening, but I don't think it grabs us the way it must have grabbed all of you. We're angry and confused, but we don't worry about the intentions of planes flying overhead and we don't reflexively shudder at loud noises. We feel that we're part of what all of you in the US are feeling but apart from it as well. After all, there's been no change in our daily routines.

The Thais are wonderful hosts to Americans living in their country and the US community has received many expressions of sympathy and solidarity from Thai citizens. The Thai employees at the Embassy, well-paid by Thai standards, but not wealthy by any means, got together to raise $1,000 to go to the victims of the destruction. The Embassy set up a condolence book outside the front gate that many Thai and other Bangkok residents have signed. Numerous locals and other Embassies have sent flowers and notes of sympathy to the Embassy and for us to forward to Washington. Over the past week, the Thai Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Chief Advisor to the King and other members of the Thai government have come to sign the book, as have the Ambassadors from countries around the world.

The Embassy has hosted memorial ceremonies for Embassy staff and for the American community at large. Surprisingly, in a community of over a thousand Americans, I haven't yet heard of anyone who lost a family member or close friend. The ceremonies are solemn, respectful, and due to the noonday heat, short. Last night, we attended a non-denominational service and candlelight vigil at the local Catholic church attended by over 600 American locals. Earlier yesterday, Liz and I went to services for Rosh Hashannah. Bangkok has about 500 Jews, almost all expats, though several have Thai spouses and brought their children. The Israeli Embassy arranged security outside both Bangkok synagogues, though I don't think that most of the neighbors of the temple we went to even knew it existed. Anyway, there were no problems at all.

In between religious ceremonies, Liz attended a meeting arranged by the Embassy to review security issues. There is a worldwide alert that continues this week and while we have received no information that Thailand has been targeted many people are concerned about their safety. There is an underlying sense of vulnerability when you serve abroad that is not lessened simply by the fact that we now know that Americans can be targeted in New York or Washington as well. I think some of that boiled over and Liz described some very angry people fearful about what might happen next. Though I personally feel quite safe here, Thailand has had a few past brushes with international terrorism. In 1972, Palestinian terrorists held some Israeli diplomats hostage and in the early 1990s an Iranian attempt to blow up the Israeli Embassy was thwarted largely because the driver of a truck packed with explosives panicked and ran after he was involved in a minor traffic accident. The Thai maintain friendly relations with almost all countries in the world and pride themselves on how open they are to people from around the globe. This robably does help them avoid terrorist incidents, but we'd feel a little better if they prevented a few of their visitors from coming in.

Despite the general condemnation of the terrorist acts and sympathy for the victims, Thai public opinion certainly is not unified on what to do next. The Thais are proud Buddhists and highlight the fact that no Buddhist country has ever invaded another country over religion. This sounds true (I'm no expert), so, I'm not sure if they really understand what motivates this small group of religious fanatics. Comments from public figures have ranged from the profound to the ridiculous (one member of parliament urged the US to drop a pig-fat bomb on Afghanistan -- he was forced to resign the next day). Editorials in the Thai press largely urge the government to be cautious, some urging neutrality in the feared conflict. Thailand is a long-time ally of the US and the US currrently is Thailand's largest export market. Yet, Thais also depend heavily on the mideast for their oil supply and watch to see China's reactions. Additionally, many Thai bitterly feel that the US betrayed them when it failed to help bail out their economy when it crashed in 1997 -- even though the US had just done so for Mexico and soon did so soon after for Indonesia -- a country often in opposition to US policies. Thus, some Thai don't want to follow the US automatically. This has been reflected to an extent in the initial public pronouncements of the government, in which the PM and other advisors condemned the attacks but hoped to avoid playing an active role in response. I think that's changed recently and the PM has made much stronger statements of support, but is a sobering reminder to US policy makers. You can't just will a global coalition into existence. It forms as a result of steady engagement on a variety of issues. We can't choose to act unilaterally when we want to and then expect the rest of the world to jump into a multilateral effort, no matter how righteous the cause. There is no silver lining to last week's events, but I hope to see a more participatory US foreign policy in the future.

Anyway, I hope to send further updates on our adventures in Thailand and I hope everyone can return to some semblance of a normal life.