US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK6094

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BANGKOK 006094 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP. PM (SKWAK) 
DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISA (JPOWERS) 
PACOM FOR FPA HUSO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, MARR, TH, PKO - Peacekeeping Operations 
SUBJECT: THAILAND: REQUESTS FOR FUNDING PKO PROJECTS IN 
SUPPORT OF THE WAR ON TERROR 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 143881 
     B. HIGGINS-LAMBERT EMAILS 
 
 1.  (SBU)  Post appreciates the opportunity to propose projects 
supporting U.S. strategic peace keeping and counter terrorism 
objectives.  The Embassy outlines below several projects, in 
priority order, to improve the Thai ability to thwart terrorism 
and to fulfill more effectively its peacekeeping obligations. 
We offer three different categories of projects.  First, we 
propose funding the purchase of a number of items that will 
improve the safety of flight operations at Utapao Naval Air 
Station.  Utapao is a Royal Thai Navy facility that services 
hundreds of U.S. military flights to OIF, OEF or the region per 
year and was the hub for our military relief operations during 
the Indian Ocean Tsunami response.  Second, we have been working 
with the Royal Thai military, PACOM and Washington for some time 
to build a state-of-the-art National Training Facility (NTF) 
that can by used by both Thai and U.S. forces training for 
counter terrorism and peacekeeping operations and to ensure that 
Thai forces have the proper training and equipment to conduct 
PKO and CT operations.  We envision the NTF also becoming a key 
site for joint/combined training with militaries from other 
countries and help us to work with the Thai to strengthen our 
links with other militaries in Asia.  Finally, we propose a 
number of projects aimed directly at promoting moderate 
responses by the Government and by local citizens to the ongoing 
unrest in the southern provinces of Thailand. 
 
2.  (SBU)  PROJECT:  PURCHASING "STRIKER" AIRCRAFT RESCUE AND 
FIRE FIGHTING (ARFF) VEHICLE AND OTHER SAFETY EQUIPMENT FOR 
UTAPAO NAVAL AIR STATION THAILAND 
 
Background:  Utapao has served as one of the key transportation 
hubs in support of the War on Terrorism.  Key air refueling 
operations were supported out of this base during the initial 
air operations in Afghanistan.  The air field also plays a key 
role today as a refueling and rest stop for air crews conducting 
support operations into the operational theater as well as the 
Strait of Malacca.  This base served as the regional staging hub 
for the multi-national response to the December 2004 Indian 
Ocean Tsunami. 
 
Current assessments of the air field indicate that its regional 
and operational support role will likely increase in the 
future.  The crash and rescue equipment located at Utapao only 
marginally meets the requirements for safe operations under U.S. 
Military safety standards.  Communications and lighting 
facilities should also be upgraded.  Increasing the crash and 
rescue readiness posture by providing modern fire fighting 
capabilities will increase the overall safe operations of the 
air field possibly saving the lives of U.S. air crews and 
limiting damage to U.S. aircraft in an emergency.  Initial 
assessments of Utapao indicate that three modern fire fighting 
trucks are needed to optimize the safety response capabilities 
there.  In this proposal, we seek funding for one.  Please see 
para. 6 for our request for a second truck and additional safety 
equipment, should additional funds be made available. 
 
Notional Use:  The continued operation of this air field is 
critical to the U.S. operational mission in prosecuting the War 
on Terrorism. 
 
Cost: Currently under research -- a Striker fire fighting truck 
suitable for Utapao would cost roughly $500,000. 
 
 
3.  (SBU)  PROJECT:  UPGRADING CLOSE QUARTER BATTLE (CQB) 
TRAINING FACILITY, SPECIAL WARFARE CENTER, LOP BURI, THAILAND 
 
Background:  Units assigned to the Thai Special Warfare Center 
are the designated Counter Terrorism forces for the Kingdom of 
Thailand.  This project would upgrade the current CQB building, 
expanding the level and quality of live fire training that can 
be conducted there.  This facility would be a key component of a 
National Training Facility designed to train Thai, U.S. and 
third country CT forces.  The CQB would allow users to hone 
skills needed for direct action missions required during CT 
operations. 
 
The CQB building will be co-located with an Exercise Related 
Construction project at Lop Buri designed to provide a realistic 
urban training environment for U.S. and Thai Special Operations 
Forces.  This directly benefits the training resources available 
to U.S. forces in developing realistic training in preparation 
for missions in support of the War on Terrorism. 
 
Notional Use:  This facility will be used to train Thai and U.S. 
forces in skills sets that directly support counter terrorism. 
It could also be used by other militaries in the region -- 
enhancing our ability to work with the Thai to better integrate 
CT and PKO training in Asia. 
 
Cost:  Approximately $1,000,000 
 
4.  (SBU) PROJECT:  NON-LETHAL WEAPONS (NLW) AND CIVIL 
DISTURBANCE RESPONSE TRAINING FOR THAI MILITARY DEPLOYING TO THE 
SOUTH 
 
Background:  The Thai military seeks to improve its ability to 
respond to various civil disturbances in the three southern 
border provinces of Yala, Narathiwat, and Pattani, particularly 
in light of the incident at Tak Bai in October of 2004 in which 
scores of Thai demonstrators suffocated while being transported 
in military trucks. 
 
During the U.S. - Thailand Senior Leader Talks (an annual 
bilateral military meeting between the U.S. Pacific Command and 
the Royal Thai Supreme Command), the Director of Operations of 
the Royal Thai Supreme Command, Lieutenant General Kemarat 
Kanchanawat, specifically requested U.S. assistance regarding 
NLW training as it relates to civil unrest.  The United States 
Marine Corps (USMC) is the DOD proponent for the training and 
application of NLW.  A USMC Special Operations Training Group 
(SOTG) has the ability to deploy to Thailand and conduct 
comprehensive NLW training.  However, due to U.S. Code Title 10 
restrictions, it cannot use its own operational funds for this 
deployment.  Funding must come from some other source. 
 
Notional Use:  The NLW training conducted by the USMC SOTG 
focuses on rules of engagement and graduated response protocols 
in a practical application environment.  NLW training is a 
viable approach to address the issue of unrest in Southern 
Thailand. 
 
Cost:  Currently under research.  Approximately $150,000. 
 
5.  (SBU)  PROJECT: PUBLIC AFFAIRS TRAINING AND PROGRAMS AIMED 
AT SOUTHERN THAILAND 
 
Background:  Thai scholars and journalists have asked for 
assistance to improve their ability to promote peaceful 
resolution of the conflict in Southern Thailand.  We have a 
number of projects that we can offer to assist them. 
 
A.  Study on People's Peace Movements 
Moderate Narathiwat Muslim community activist Hama Mayunu has 
initiated a program to study populist anti-terrorism movements 
in other countries.  With support from the Thai Government, he 
has already traveled to Indonesia and is seeking to expand the 
project to include the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Israel and 
Northern Ireland.  His stated outcome is to share approaches to 
peaceful conflict resolution with Southern community leaders in 
a series of conferences upon his return.  We would propose 
partnering with the People's Peace Movement Narathiwat for this 
program. 
 
Cost:  $29,000 (Overhead and supplies $3000, Conference $2000, 
Philippines travel and research $5000, Sri Lanka travel and 
research $5000, Northern Ireland travel and research $7000, 
Israel travel and research $7000). 
 
B.  Promoting Journalistic Responsibility and Investigative 
Journalism in the South 
Prominent Southern Muslim moderate Sampan Musordee has recently 
stated that both the national and local level journalists 
covering the South need training in two major areas.  First, 
they tend to report all crimes as terror incidents, confusing 
and exacerbating the situation.  They need training to 
understand their responsibility to report accurately and fairly 
on incidents.  Second, they do not tend to check into local 
claims of corruption and prejudice before publishing.  They need 
training to understand the power and necessity of conducting 
good investigative journalism in the South.  Standard training 
in good journalistic practices would encourage more accurate and 
worthwhile reporting. We would partner with the Association of 
Yala Journalists to conduct training courses. 
 
Cost:  $5,000 per training session -- five sessions would cost 
$25,000. 
 
C.  Community Radio and Democracy 
Media activist Supinya Kangnarong is promoting the concept of 
community radio as a responsible, moderate force in the South. 
Community radio stations broadcast a few hours per day and 
cannot be heard more than 10 or 15 km from the station.  They 
carry local news, views and discussions, and frequently do not 
follow the government line.  These small-time operators in the 
South are influential, but also completely untrained and usually 
lack any concept of journalistic responsibility.  The quality of 
broadcasting would benefit greatly from a program aimed at 
offering an explanation of community broadcasting in the United 
States, including the role of community radios to serve needs 
and interests of specific audiences and how the stations can 
best serve their communities.  We would partner with the 
Campaign for Popular Media Reform to conduct training courses. 
 
Cost:  $5,000 per training session -- five sessions would cost 
$25,000. 
 
D.  Giving Power to Southern Muslim Women 
According to a World Bank study, rural Southern Muslim women 
have little political or economic power.  Many researchers have 
correlated poor women's education and power with a rise in 
poverty, birth rates and political radicalism.  A nascent 
women's group in the South is seeking to give women an increased 
say in their lives, while staying within the bounds of cultural 
and social norms.  It is called Friends of Thai Muslim Women and 
is run by a female professor at Prince of Songkhla University, 
Pattani.  In order for this grassroots organization to create a 
workable game plan, it will require assistance from an 
experienced NGO or international consultant. 
 
Cost:  $7,000 
 
E. Speaker Series on Terrorism. 
The Department has recommended a number of U.S. experts, 
including Tom Sanderson from CSIS, Richard Falkenrath from 
Brookings, Michael Radu from FPRI, William Rosenau and Bruce 
Hoffman from Rand, Audrey Cronin from NDU, Robert Lieber from 
Georgetown and Donald Emmerson from Stanford as persons willing 
to give a series of lectures around the country to a variety of 
audiences. 
 
Cost:  About $10,000 per iteration, we would propose a 
three-part series of lectures to take place over the course of a 
year for a total cost of $30,000. 
 
F.  Speaker Series on Terrorism Financing. 
Thailand is a regional transportation and financial hub.  The 
State and Treasury Departments have put together a series of 
courses to recognize the patterns of terrorism financing.  These 
courses could be based in Bangkok, but also travel to Hat Yai to 
address financial workers in the South. 
 
Cost:  About $15,000 per iteration -- two sessions would cost 
$30,000. 
 
6.  (SBU)  PROJECT:  A SECOND "STRIKER" AIRCRAFT RESCUE AND FIRE 
FIGHTING (ARFF) VEHICLE FOR UTAPAO NAVAL AIR STATION THAILAND 
 
Background:  Utapao has served as one of the key transportation 
hubs in support of the War on Terrorism.  Key air refueling 
operations were supported out of this base during the initial 
air operations in Afghanistan.  The air field also plays a key 
role today as a refueling and rest stop for air crews conducting 
support operations into the operational theater as well as the 
Strait of Malacca.  This base served as the regional staging hub 
for the multi-national response to the December 2004 Indian 
Ocean Tsunami. 
 
Current assessments of the air field indicate that its regional 
and operational support role will likely increase in the 
future.  The crash and rescue equipment located at Utapao only 
marginally meets the requirements for safe operations under U.S. 
Military safety standards.  Increasing the crash and rescue 
readiness posture by providing modern fire fighting capabilities 
will increase the overall safe operations of the air field 
possibly saving the lives of U.S. air crews and limiting damage 
to U.S. aircraft in an emergency.  Initial assessments of Utapao 
indicate that three modern fire fighting trucks are needed to 
optimize the safety response capabilities there.  Our first 
priority request outlined in para. 1 above seeks funding for one 
Striker vehicle.  Should sufficient funds be made available, we 
propose purchasing a second Striker fire fighting truck and 
additional safety equipment. 
 
Notional Use:  The continued operation of this air field is 
critical to the U.S. operational mission in prosecuting the War 
on Terrorism. 
 
Cost:  Currently under research -- approximately $774,400.  A 
second Striker fire fighting truck suitable for Utapao would 
cost roughly $500,000.  Fire fighting agent can be purchased 
commercially for approximately $43,000.  An off the shelf tower 
generator costs $38,800.  A fire station generator costs $26,300 
off the shelf.  A commercial airfield sweeper costs $130,000 and 
a generator for airfield lighting has been priced at $36,300. 
 
7.  (SBU) PROJECT:  COUNTER-TERRORISM TRAINING MULTI-PURPOSE 
RANGE COMPLEX (CTT-MPRC) 
 
Background:  The primary counter terrorism response force of the 
Royal Thai Government, the Army Special Forces, use the training 
site at Lop buri to maintain a high-level of combat readiness 
required for short-notice reaction to terrorist related crises. 
Construction will soon be initiated at the site to build a 
facility for conducting Military Operations in Urbanized Terrain 
(a MOUT site).  The MOUT site will be a key feature of the 
National Training Facility described above.  In order to expand 
the support capability of the training site and to complement 
the MOUT facility, additional infrastructure is required. 
 
Notional Use:  Improving the counter terrorism training 
facilities of the Royal Thai Government directly addressed the 
ability of Thai Special Forces to effectively respond to 
emerging intra-regional threats and to react quickly in 
contingency operations. 
 
Cost:  $400,000 for CTT-MPRC allocated as follows: 
$250,000 for two multi-purpose buildings that can support 
multiple storage requirements, after action review facilities, 
and range control automation. 
$150,000 for a live-fire range with integrated multi-echelon 
engagement capability and real-time training assessment systems. 
 
 
BOYCE