Thailand acquits another arms dealer wanted by US

In the span of less than a year, Thailand seems poised to allow a second international arms dealer wanted by the United States government go free. A Thai court just acquitted Victor Bout, snatched in a sting operation, of selling arms to FARC (see our full report -- including a translation from a Russian source -- at JOTMAN.COM).

Concerning the earlier release, according to FEER:

Even more alarming for the Americans, last September Thai officials freed Jamshid Ghassemi, a high-ranking Iranian air force officer wanted in California for exporting U.S. missile parts to Iran. Mr. Ghassemi reportedly wired $700,000 from a bank in Romania to San Diego to pay for the devices, which were to be sent to Bucharest. His Thai lawyer successfully argued “because the defendant is a high-ranking military officer, the United States wants the defendant so they can torture and coerce him into getting information to develop their own weapons,” according to media reports at the time.

The United States wants the defendant so they can torture and coerce him. . . . The policies of the Bush Administration, it seems, have indeed handed defense attorneys around the world a powerful new argument.

Another explanation for the release of Jamshid Ghassemi, of course, is that Thailand's relations with Iran have warmed in recent years, and Thailand did not want to endanger this newly blossoming relationship.