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Beechcraft whenever he wants to s.e the KMT. I gather he acquired the plane, which does bear official markings, round about the time one million dollars changed hands
in 1972.
13. Fifthly, action(not that any is contemplated) against the rebel bands in the hills would have awkward results. The
Thai army or police wo 1d suffer casualties and lose equipment. Loss of equipment is a serious matter. The places at which encounters would have to occur are remote, easy to defend and would be costly to attack. If the attacks were successful and opium traffic or other illegal activities were disrupted, this would cause disaffection among the hill tribes whose livelihood was threatened. Quite apart from the fact that the patron saint of the hilltribes is King Bhumipol, this would result in additional problems in an area in which the Thais have in reality still only an administrative toehold.
14. Although trafficking in narcotics and arms is reprehensible, and condemned at such by Thai leaders from time to time, few Thais are concerned about what happens in remote parts of their country. Buddhist ghilosophy in any case favours the idea of passive contemplation. Nevertheless, fighting does occur, but not always for the reasons publicly stated.
15. Fighting between factions of the Shans or between Shans
ress in terms of a and KIT is sometires written up in the re struggle for political leadership. It is much more likely to be abcnt control of a trade route or the right to tax smuggled goods at a given point. Similarly, attacks by the
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