CT ASSISTANCE TO THAILAND

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 000258

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2016
TAGS: PTER PREL PINR PGOV PINS PBTS ECON TH
SUBJECT: CT ASSISTANCE TO THAILAND

REF: SECSTATE 04536

BANGKOK 00000258 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Alex A. Arvizu, reason 1.4 (b) (
d)


1. (S) Summary: Thailand is the recipient of a wide range
of U.S. training and assistance programs to help the RTG
combat terrorist and extremism. We believe that the
assistance programs detailed below are making a contribution
to the RTG's efforts. This message provides information on
CT assistance provided by INL/NAS, RSO, CA, and JUSMAGTHAI.
Post will provide separately additional information regarding
CT assistance from other agencies. Despite the training
already provided to various elements of the police by the USG
and other donors, we see the police as the area where
additional assistance, of the right kind, could have the best
impact. Assistance to the Office of the Prosecutor in the
Ministry of Justice is the second priority for additional
assistance. End Summary.

ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE
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2. (S) Together with other interested countries, we now have
in place a spectrum of CT assistance which covers many of the
crucial areas. However, the lack of effective cooperation
between the police and prosecutorial system remains a very
serious hurdle to effective counterterrorism efforts. The
deficit of effective public prosecutors familiar with
national security case law undercuts our efforts to improve
the police. Poor police work undermines the best
prosecutorial effort, while weak prosecutors can invalidate
the best police tradecraft. When both are lacking, public
confidence in the justice system--and rule of law--declines,
a major issue in the restive South. (According to one NGO
here, of 60 national security cases brought before courts in
the South since 2003, seven have been dismissed or ruled in
favor of the defence, while the remaining 53 are pending.)
Therefore, we would support additional assistance for the
Office of the Prosecutor in the Ministry of Justice.


3. (S) Despite the existing programs for police training, we
believe that the police remain one of the weakest links in
the RTG's CT efforts. We and others are providing assistance,
as detailed below, but we believe a more coordinated
assistance package could yield much better results. The
first step would be to have an organization with appropriate
expertise (ICITAP comes to mind as one possibility) to do a
comprehensive assessment of CT assistance to the police and
recommend a program. We recognize that there are serious
issues to be considered before proceeding with this option.
One is the poor human rights record of some elements of the
police. Another is the willingness of the police leadership
to make systemic changes needed to improve police
performance. Taking into account both concerns, we still
believe that there are partners here we can work with.

REVIEW OF CT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
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4. (S) Many USG agencies at post have assistance programs
with a CT element. We include below a review of training and
assistance provided by RSO, INL/NAS, CA, and JUSMAGTHAI.
Post will provide separately further information on
assistance from other agencies.

RSO
---


5. (SBU) As administered by the RSO, ATA and Force Protection
Detachment training to RTG security elements in 2005-6
includes:
--Combating Transnational Terrorism
--Explosive Detection Canine/Trainers
--Terrorist Crime Scene Investigation
--Explosive Detection Canine/Handlers
--Cyber Terrorism Incident Response
--Police Executive Role in Combating Terrorism
--VIP Protection
--IED Terrorist Techniques
--Force Protection/Officer Safety/Terrorist Methodologies
--Surveillance Detection

INL/NAS PROGRAMS

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6. (SBU) INL funds and manages the International Law
Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Bangkok, which provides courses
throughout the year that improve RTG security forces,
capabilities. Thai participation in the international
training program is typically limited to four persons per
class. This training includes:
--Post Blast Investigation
--Crime Scene Investigation
--Police Executive Role in Combating Terrorism
--Combating Domestic and Transnational Terrorism
--Supervisory Criminal Investigators Course
--Tactical Safety and Survival Course
--Personnel and Facility Security


7. (SBU) In addition to these courses, NAS is now working
with ILEA to develop additional training for RTG participants
only, including:
--Crime Scene Investigations, 1st Responder Training
--Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing
--Crime Scene and Lab Forensics


8. (SBU) NAS also funds a ABA/CEELI program on judicial
ethics; over the next 8 months, this American Bar
Association-conducted program will hold seminars and training
on Legal Ethics, Judicial Ethics, and Prosecutor Ethics as
well as a seminar for the National Counter-Corruption
Commission (NCCC). It will provide expertise for
professional ethics curriculum development, and support other
public awareness/outreach activities. Finally, INL supports
a Bangkok-based Resident Legal Advisor from the Department of
Justice, who works out of the embassy on issues of legal and
procedural reform and anti-corruption measures.

CA/PISCES
--------------


9. (S) As part of the Terrorism Interdiction Program, the USG
is providing Thailand with a customized border control
computer network system known as PISCES (Personal
Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System.)
Phase I of the program received US$5.7 million in funding and
became operational at Thailand,s three main international
airports in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket in 2005. Phase II
involves installation of the system at sixteen additional
mid-sized border posts and will have a budget similar to, if
not slightly larger than Phase I. Phase III includes 40
smaller crossing points and will be funded by the RTG.
Phases II and III are scheduled to be completed by the end of

2006. The PISCES program in Thailand is the largest single
PISCES project globally and implementation of the project in
Thailand is being used as a model for other PISCES systems
throughout the world.

JUSMAGTHAI
--------------


10. (S) JUSMAGTHAI executes security assistance training
activities to enhance Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTARF) CT
capabilities, counter-insurgency operations, civil affairs
and psychological operations, information warfare, Royal Thai
Navy (RTN) maritime patrol and amphibious warfare capability,
and Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) aerial surveillance and close
air support capability among the services. Future JCETS from
the rest of FY 04 to FY 07 are focused on training and
conducting counter-insurgency operations with those forces
that are currently in or designated to rotate into such
operations in southern Thailand.


11. (S) JUSMAGTHAI sponsored a crisis management seminar in
the fourth quarter of FY 03. We have provided unclassified
DoD and related source materials available on the Internet.
We are also in the process of assisting in determining the
equipment requirements for the RTARF. We are pursuing all
opportunities to include Nuclear/Biological/Chemical basic
and response training during existing exercise, to include
CG-06. We are sustaining our ongoing counter-narcotic
efforts, as the supporting effort to enhance the Thai
military and law enforcement integration of operations and
intelligence. The current models for military/police task
forces and intelligence fusion centers have significantly
enhanced the RTARF and civilian law enforcement agencies'
ability to combat terrorism and narco-terrorism, and we would

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like to expand on efforts in the common tactics, techniques,
procedures as well as interagency coordination required for
counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism operations.


12. (S) FY04 JCET programs focused more on a direct response
to assist the Royal Thai Army (RTA) in training conventional
units in counter-insurgency operations including more
comprehensive human rights training before they deploy to the
South. This training was conducted by the U.S. 1st Special
Forces Group (1st SFG) together with counterpart units from
the RTA Special Warfare Command (RTA SWCOM). FY05/06 focused
more on developing a capacity within the RTA SWCOM to conduct
this type of training themselves. RTA SWCOM and the 1st SFG
identified a select cadre of Thai Special Operations troops
from the RTA SWCOM and the Army Regions to be the lead for
any counter-insurgency training within Thailand,s Armed
Forces. Capacity-building remains our focus well into FY 07.
Since FY04, over 2500 Thai soldiers from 50 different units
have been trained in counter-insurgency by US SOF.
BOYCE