You could be hoodwinked. And don't say you haven't been warned.

Why? Because these supposed letters are simply too comical - and even preposterous - to be true. Now, we know why the Thai government has been so reluctant to release them to the Thai public in the first place.

I even suspect that they were forged to tarnish the good reputations of Thaksin Shinawatra and President George W Bush.

Thaksin was supposed to have said in the first paragraph of the note that he was writing as a "caretaker prime minister" complaining about "a threat to democracy in Thailand since early this year". Any sensible Thai citizen would find it hard to understand why someone who has assigned himself the task of "preparing the best possible democratic path for the next government following new national elections this fall" would tell the US president that Thai democracy is under threat.

In fact, any educated Thai would consider it a great insult for a caretaker premier to find it necessary to write to the head of another country declaring himself the champion of democracy - not only of Thailand but throughout Asia as well.

This racket of letter-forging constitutes a real menace to Thailand's democratic future. They even made Thaksin write another paragraph to "assure" Bush in a way the Thai leader must have thought would please the superpower's chieftain. No way, Thaksin, in his right mind, would ever write something like this:

"During this period, I want to assure you that I will take steps to help get the country ready for free and fair elections, and to work to shift the national debate from one that is emotionally charged to one that reasonably discusses the central questions of Thailand's future, including whether the country's political governance will be decided through the ballot box or in the street. The answer to that question, Mr President, will have an important impact on the future course of democracy in Asia."

If Thaksin had really written that and meant it, then someone else must have forged the earlier part of the note to Bush that said: "My political opponents, because they knew they would again lose, boycotted the April elections and left the political situation in Thailand in deadlock."

You simply can't claim to hold "free and fair elections" while predicting that your party would win and that your opponents would surely lose. And these forgers expect Bush to read it without laughing his head off?

The real smoking gun, though, is when Thaksin was supposed to have blamed "various extra-constitutional tactics to co-opt the will of the people" allegedly employed by his "opponents" who, according to the text had tried to "provoke violence and disorder" - and failed.

You could argue that on June 29, six days after the letter was supposedly sent to Bush, Thaksin did mention "extra-constitutional charismatic figure(s)," in a specially-convened conference of senior bureaucrats from around the country, and as such the note must be genuine.

I doubt it. Any leader in his right mind wouldn't string out his country's dirty linen all the way across the Pacific Ocean. Besides, Thaksin is supposed to be intelligent enough to know that when he uses that sort of subtle language ('poo mi barami' or charismatic person), which confuses many Thais, could create utter linguistic chaos at the White House. Thaksin had no reason to befuddle Bush. He couldn't have written such a complicated letter.

I was also inclined to conclude the letter was faked when I read: "There has been a threat to democracy in Thailand since early this year. Key democratic institutions, such as elections and the observance of constitutional limitations on government, have been repeatedly undermined by interests that depend on creating chaos and mounting street demonstrations in Bangkok as a means to acquire political power that they cannot gain through winning elections…"

Thaksin, of course, knew that Bush must have been briefed by his aides, who must have read in-depth analytical reports from the US Embassy in Bangkok.

He couldn't possibly have written anything that would suggest that the US president was naive enough to assume that the hundreds of thousands of protesters who rallied against the sins of the "Thaksin regime" were only stooges organised by the caretaker premier's opponents.

But the most tell-tale sign that the supposed exchange of letters between Thaksin and Bush was a shameful scam, a frame-up to besmirch Thaksin and Bush's honour and reputation, was in Bush's alleged reply. Bush didn't show any personal sympathy or support for the supposedly embattled Thaksin at all. The US president's supposed note only emphasised "our two nations' friendship" that remains strong.

If it was really from Bush, the letter couldn't possibly have carried such a condescending tone, such as when Bush tells Thaksin: "Free and open political systems can be unpredictable…but the Thai people are resilient and Thai democracy is strong and I know that your country will emerge from the current situation with renewed focus on that which makes Thailand great." Good old friends don't try to lecture each other on the fundamentals of political science.

For "Bush" not to show some degree of sympathy for his embattled friend called "Thaksin" is unthinkable.

How could "Bush" not condemn the "extra-constitutional tactics" employed against his good friend "Thaksin" back home when it was so obvious that it was a cry for help from a friend in need?  No, a true friend doesn't simply brush off a friend's desperate request for help by saying: "…it is my sincere hope that all parties can find a way forward that respects the great achievements of Thai democracy…"

No, real friends don't write these sorts of letters to each other. What you read is nothing but part of a huge scam cooked up by letter-forging rackets in both countries determined to undermine good bilateral relations.

Suthichai Yoon