Coup Puts Thailand's Dream of World Role on Ice
Thailand's military coup puts paid, for the time being at least, to the country's ambitions under Thaksin Shinawatra to play a more assertive role on the regional and international stage. Surfing the wave of confidence that came with swift economic recovery from the 1997 Asian crisis, Thaksin never missed a chance to fly the flag, from sending troops to Iraq, to hosting world leaders' summits, to pushing for a Thai to succeed Kofi Annan at the United Nations.