Get Rodman on the job

I applaud Songdej Praditsmanont’s suggestion that Lee Kuan Yew, Mahathir Mohamed and Bill Clinton should be added to the team of international advisers being assembled to guide Thailand out of its current quagmire. At present the team consists only of Tony Blair and Kofi Annan. Jimmy Carter and George W Bush might also be valuable additions. Carter would offer his usual Sunday-school homilies, which Bush would balance by proposing drone strikes.

May I also suggest adding Dennis Rodman to this diplomatic superteam. The global media hasn’t acknowledged it, but Rodman, through his unique brand of personal diplomacy, recently talked Kim Jong-un out of bombing South Korea, Japan and the US into oblivion. Readers will remember that a few months ago, the “Cool Leader” was talking about turning those nations into a sea of fire. After Rodman’s visit, he backed off. For this feat, Rodman has been mocked and derided by the diplomatic establishment. In my opinion he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. There’s an account of how he did it on Page 37 of the current (August 10) edition of the Phuket Gazette.

Horace Beasley

Bangkok