Word: sarit
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...Although the Red Chinese are wooing the Buddhists everywhere, there is no real evidence so far that the Reds are using South Viet Nam's Buddhists, as the Diem government charges. On the other hand, Diem has not succeeded in using them either-unlike Thailand's Strongman Sarit Thanarat, who has shown that, when handled properly, they can be a solid, anti-Communist force...
...Sarit's speed has been characteristic of his rule since he seized power in 1957. "Anybody can stage a revolution," he said then. "The trick, once the revolution has been staged, is winning public approval." Sarit has succeeded admirably...
...Sarit came into prominence as a hard-drinking, hard-wenching army field marshal who once showed up at an embassy dinner party in Bangkok carrying his own liquor, with the complaint that his host's hooch was second rate. Cirrhosis of the liver and the responsibility of power calmed him down. Though he once was involved in various devious deals, he slashed corruption to the minimum. "He wants his name in the history books, not his money in a Swiss bank account," an observer explained...
Some Foreign Help. Sarit cracked down hard on the Communists, outlawed trade with Red China. Helped by more than $750 million in U.S. aid, he stabilized the economy, achieved a hefty trade balance, and socked away more than $500 million in foreign-exchange reserves that encouraged foreign investment and industrial expansion. The U.S.-built Friendship Highway, from Sara Buri to Korat, facilitated the movement of crops to market, and the government began an agricultural diversification program to lessen dependence on rice, Thailand's single cash crop...
...army will work to perfect its counterinsurgency techniques. More than its neighbors, Thailand has a motive to fight against a potential Communist takeover; of all the nations in Southeast Asia, Thailand alone has never been dominated by a colonial power, has been independent since the 13th century. Sarit is confident that his program will keep it so. "The situation was quite serious," he admits, "but since we started to move in the northeast, the danger has become less acute." Adds a top military aide: "Thailand is in the vaccination stage. We don't have the disease of Communism...