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I know the Muslims are trying to get a toehold here--so is the army on the side of the Buddhists or the Muslims?

It's amazing how many people jump straight to wondering if Muslims are involved.

Thailand's Muslim population is relatively small and isolated. They're certainly capable of carrying out terrorist attacks, but they're nowhere near the capability to take over a city hall, let alone the national government.

The split in Thailand is, in large part, urban/rural. Thaksin has never been very popular in Bangkok, but he's beloved in the countryside. He's a telecommunications billionaire, the richest man in Thailand, and there have been persistent claims that he's used the government to make his family even richer.

As to who's side the army's on, Thaksin's or the opposition's, that remains to be seen. There's evidence of a split within the army, and the tanks outside the government house are apparently tied to the opposition, but that's not clear.

The most hopeful sign is that the leaders of the coup hastened to pledge allegiance to the king. He's the most stabilizing force in the country, but the flip side is that he remains revered in part because he only rarely gets involved in politics. I don't see any way he'd choose a side, but he could try to keep everyone calm (which they appear to be) and call for elections soon.

General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin is Thailand's first Muslim Army Commander-In-Chief and was appointed to his position on September 8th, 2005. The Commander was 59 at the time and from the time of his appointment, will have two years in office before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60. He was chosen, in the view of many, specifically in the hopes he would understand the situation better than any predecessor and resolve things.

Reuters report from Sept. 2005: Analysts believe that the appointment of the Muslim chief to head the Thai army would help win over Muslims in the south, Reuters said. "His understanding of Islam can help the Army to customize their operations to win hearts and minds of Muslims in the south," said Panitan Wattanayagorn of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. He maintained that Sonthi, Vietnam War veteran general, was promoted to his post because of his battlefield experience and expertise rather than his religion. "He is the most qualified of the candidates," Panitan said.

His military background is impressive and unsurpassed by any other Army personnel. He's attended the best schools and academies the Army has and had been in charge of numerous positions. He's the best the Army has and is considered by many to be Thailand's best hope for resolution of hostilities. Problem is, he's been hamstrung by having to implement Bangkok's decisions and policies which aren't necessarily his own desires and these policies continue to flame the discontent so prevalent there. If Bangkok continues to hold the reins of power... and absolute control of the situation, then he is restricted in just how HE would handle things.