BOMBS IN BANGKOK

Eight bombs went off (and one defused) in the city and one in a northwest suburb. The toll is 3 dead and nearly 40 wounded. The location of the bombs followed an interesting pattern. One was at what could be called the southeastern part of downtown (Seacon Square). From there, six others were set a mile or more apart in an arc or crescent design ending in the northwest part of the busiest part of Bangkok. Three of the bombs did not follow this pattern. You can see this on the map *HERE*.

No one has stepped forward to take “credit.” The military government, now in control, is blaming the previous administration. There is some evidence, however, that it was Muslim extremists. I must say there should be no surprise. Considering the Muslim problem in the south of Thailand, I have looked for suspicious characters every time I go downtown.

The US government, along with many others, has issued a travel advisory suggesting avoiding Thailand. That, along with the new harsher visa requirements put in place by the Thai government, might be a serious problem for the economy here.

The Thai baht increased in strength by nearly 3% immediately after, which seems counter-intuitive.

In case anyone was wondering, none of the bombs was closer than 15 miles to me. I found out about it from CNN, which did a fast and fine job of reporting.

AFTERTHOUGHT: This bombing incident strikes me as a training exercise. I would expect more and better.

To put it in perspective, more than 275 were killed on Thai highways over the New Year holiday