Gerald Ford, 1913-2006
His military operations
in the Gulf of Siam
angered Thailand.He was one of America's less influential and historically important presidents, but Gerald Ford was and is far from well-remembered here in Thailand.
In 1975, the Khmer Rouge seized an American merchant ship near Thailand. At that time, the United States had troops still stationed in Thailand. Without getting permission from Thailand, President Ford sent special forces troops to the American base in Thailand, and then launched military operations from Thai soil against the Khmer Rouge without informing the Thai government about it.
This caused Thailand to feel quite slighted... specifically by the Ford administration... and that was the end of an American military presence in Thailand, as the Thai government threw them out thereafter.
13 comments:
Where did you get your information from ?
A bit off the mark on this one Jil
From the link above that leads to The Nation.
Here is the first 3 paragraphs of the link...
Gerald Ford has been and always will be remembered in Thailand as the only US president to have violated the sovereignty of Thailand. His decision to send US marines to rescue the American crew of the merchant ship Mayaguez seized by Khmer Rouge soldiers in the Gulf of Thailand in May of 1975 was a disaster with far-reaching ramifications. Washington failed to consult Bangkok on its plan to dispatch US marine special forces to U Tapao military base in Rayong province and went ahead with the rescue effort despite not having received permission from the host country. The Thai government was very upset at the violation of the nation's sovereignty, especially newly elected prime minister MR Kukrit Pramoj, of whom it could be said that there was no love lost between him and the Americans.
The incident helped shape Thai-US relations in the proceeding decades. It is not incorrect to say that it was the first time that Thailand learned first hand about the American attitude towards its small but faithful ally.
The US eventually paid a very high price for the incident because Kukrit, who became prime minister two months before the Mayaguez incident, took a tough stand that led to a complete withdrawal of all American troops a year later in June of 1976. The US government could not believe that the incident would lead to such a move.
Wikipedia writes this:
The Mayagüez incident had a direct effect on the political situation in Thailand. The U Tapao airbase had been used by U.S. rescue forces despite an explicit refusal of permission by the Thai government, resulting in considerable anger towards the United States. The Thai government called the act a violation of Thailand's sovereignty, and as soon as they returned to base, all the Marines were immediately flown to the Philippines. Many Thai groups called for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from the country and exhibited an increased distrust of their own military, which they presumed to be complicit in the communications delay permitting the use of its airbase.
You got his "anonymous" ass on that one, kudos to doing your homework.
NOW GET BACK TO WORK!!!!!
late.
Take it easy there Franky. No need to get all offended on my behalf. Heheh.
"Frank Me" seems like a little media whore , but Jil you seem bright enough not to believe everything you read in the papers ehh ?
That's why I included the wikipedia source as well: Because The Nation article was an opinion piece.
For general historical facts that can otherwise be easily confirmed, yes actually... I do believe what I read in the papers. I'm not that pessimistic.
I can give you a couple of more sources that say the same thing regarding this incident and Thailand's reaction to it, but if you have a more specific problem with an individual fact as presented, you should highlight it instead of giving what appears to be a blanket dismissal of the historical accuracy of this post.
... and Franky is Franky. He tends to be a little in-your-face sometimes... most of the times actually... but you get used to him.
Well "Frank Me" can "Wank Me" for all I care. The C.I.A. ( Christians In Action ) had carte blanche to run spec ops where ever the F*UCK they wanted in those dayz in LOS and still do.
I'll wipe my ass with that news source if you print it on some nice floral paper 4 me.
Do you know how much #4 China White those boyz moved for the Thai gov.?
They made Nicky Barnes look like an alter boy all sweet around the lips.
So let me get this straight: Because you insist X, Y, and Z about CIA drug running is true, then A, B, and C about marines fighting the Khmer Rouge and pissing off the Thai government (and every news source that supports it) must be false... The U.S. never launched military operations from U-Tapao against the Khmer Rouge; Thailand was never angry about it; and the American military never left Thailand because of it.
Does that about sum up your position?
You started off as a reasonable person who had some doubts about what I wrote, but you went off into a profanity-laced, tin-foil-hat-wearing deep end area really quickly, my friend.
Well anyway, thanks for reading my blog. I hope that not all of my posts on this blog cause the same ranting and raving Vietnam black ops flashback reactions you're having here.
p.s. Here are some more sources for you to wipe your ass with:
Time Magazine, Monday, May 26, 1975:
When the new U.S. Ambassador to Thailand, Charles Whitehouse, arrived in Bangkok last week, something less than a red-carpet welcome awaited him. Student radicals had festooned the airport with banners reading BASTARD FORD, GET YOUR TROOPS OUT! and FORD, YOU DESTROY INTERNATIONAL LAW. Thai government officials denounced the Pentagon's dispatch of Marines and helicopters from the U.S.-operated Utapao airbase to the rescue of the American merchant vessel Mayaguez as "madness"; Prime Minister Kukrit Pramoj reacted with what he first described as "displeasure" and later as outright "fury." At week's end an emergency Cabinet meeting voted to recall Whitehouse's counterpart, the Thai Ambassador to the U.S., from Washington for consultation.
The amphibious brigade from the 3rd Marine Division had been flown aboard an Air Force C-141 transport from Okinawa to Utapao, over the protests of the Thai government, which had been trying to head off trouble with the neighboring Cambodians by refusing the U.S. permission to launch attacks from Thailand. Prime Minister Kukrit Pramoj of Thailand ordered the Marines to leave by Thursday morning or face unspecified "serious and damaging" circumstances.
Library of Congress:
United States-Thai relations were dealt a setback, however, by the Mayaguez incident in May 1975, when the United States used the airfield at Ban U Taphao without Thai consent as a staging base for the rescue of an American freighter detained by the Khmer Rouge. The incident was seen as a blow to Thai sovereignty and touched off anti-American demonstrations in Bangkok.
Well, I hope the Library of Congress gets your ass nice and clean. Sorry about the lack of floral paper.
p.s.: I probably should mention that I suspect that you are pulling my leg with all of these comments... That you are playing some outlandish characterization of the drug-crazed hippie throwback "The truth is out there duuude" search-the-sky-for-black-helicopters type of deranged paranoid whacko for my entertainment alone. If so, the effort is appreciated. I'm sorry to play the analytical "here's the facts, here's the reality" counter to your "microphones-in-the-wall" approach, but for my part, I try to keep things on an even keel.
Cpt.Jil , you can steer the ship all the way to Texas on that keel you are on. Just don't believe the media propaganda
put forth in those articles.
Remember what Chuck "D" from Public Enemy told us - *Dont Believe The Hype* , and he had that crazy lookin little nigga Flavor Flav with him when he said it !
Well I need to go now and work on my own blog , may be a floater after all the bubbley I had to drank last night.
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