– The Thai courts refused a request to extradite Viktor Bout (aka The Merchant of Death) to the United States. Bout, an notorious global arms dealer, is accused by the U.S. of attempting to sell more than 700 surface-to-air missiles, a massive cache of automatic weapons, and airplanes and helicopters to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a Colombian separatist group. FARC is widely considered to be a terrorist organization and major drug trafficker, but not by the Thai government. The Colombian government, which has been at war with FARC for decades, is a chief ally of the U.S. in Latin America.
Thai judge Jittakorn Wattanasin ruled that the extradition treaty does not apply to Bout, because he was not a Thai citizen. Further, since FARC is not an illegal organization in Thailand dealing with them is not illegal; therefore, there is no reason to extradite him. If the Thai prosecutors office does not appeal within 72 hours Bout will go free. Bout claims to be innocent of all charges and until now, has always escaped trial. He was arrested in a 2008 joint Thai-U.S. sting in Bangkok. The Russian government wishes for Bout’s release. Bout is also believed to have sold arms in several conflict areas, often to both sides, in Afghanistan, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Sudan since the 1990’s. As a result he is wanted by various nations. A character based on Bout was played by Nicholas Cage in the 2005 movie “Lord of War”.
– The Malaysian Information Minister Rais Yatim has stated that it will not use an internet filters but instead, find alternative means to protect its citizens from the scourges of internet pornography, sedition, and fraud. This filter was rumored to be rolled out at the same time Malaysia’s broadband use will double. The opposition contends that the ruling parties are more concerned about the increased number of Malaysia’s who would be exposed to disfavorable information concerning the government than pornography.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
