Land of Smiles or Land of Weapons?
Play
I find it sad that every day I read newspaper articles stating there is not enough money or resources for schools and teachers, hospitals and doctors, or even something as simple as cleaning the rivers.
If the government is so strapped for money, why is the military not being responsible and reducing fiscal waste by doing its job – protecting Thailand from foreign threats – rather than empowering itself? Why does the military keep trying to buy more weapons when there are not enough teachers or doctors and the farmers are so poor?
The junta claims to have acted to stop corruption and reform politics, so how is it applying this principle to the military? Has it trimmed the ranks and reduced the number of generals? The Thai armed forces have twice as many flag officers than the most powerful military in the world. From a corporate perspective, there are too many “executives”. Could the salaries of over a thousand generals be put to better use?
It is time to have an honest discussion about the role of the military in modern society. We might identify two levels of players in this game of violence – pros and amateurs. There is no way Thailand can ever be at the “pro” level and compete with the US, China or Russia. So why waste money trying to pretend to be something you are not merely to gain “respect”? Does Thailand want to be the Land of Smiles or the Land of Weapons?
I left the Land of Weapons to live in the Land of Smiles. You cannot have it both ways – a “smile” forced at gunpoint is really only a grimace.
Darius Hober
