We need a man who can lace together the factions within Thailand and rebuild confidence in our establishment.

His promise to heal the nation is welcome. His intentions are noble. But like many before him, this is all easier said than done. Once in office, he will be under massive pressure to concede power to friends and those with influence and money.

Surayud must also beware of incompetence. There will be many alternative directions to take our country. There are also many well-wishers who focus only on superficial results. Long- and short-term choices will be inextricably linked together, creating conflicts of interest.

Surayud's first challenge is to clarify how he intends to focus on people's happiness rather than on GDP. The risk is he will try to make everyone happy and end up making everyone upset. He will need a much more insightful economic agenda to provide people with the right opportunities to work hard, develop and contribute to our economic growth and not take days off at the beach waiting for government hand-outs.

I shall wait in eager anticipation to see whom he appoints to his Cabinet and what policies they will follow that will build on Thaksin's positive contributions. I shall also have a wary eye out for those good-looking programmes that belie vested interests and a lack of thought and discipline.

Outraged Taxpayer

Bangkok

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New leader brings needed honour to the top post

One would hope that before the usual drumbeat of "He's a military man" begins, some writers will take a closer look at Surayud.

Honour, integrity and service to His Majesty the King and country have been the hallmarks of this good and decent man's life. Those who felt he was too honest to be the Thai Army chief are, I suspect, in for a rude awakening. I am certain, as all who know him are, that he will come and provide honest and honourable service. When his duty is done, he will quietly leave. Perhaps those who routinely hate soldiers may want to take a moment to observe a true man of honour at work. If you have complaints with this one, perhaps a look in the mirror is in order. The killer, the terrorist and charlatan shake in their boots in his presence.

Major Mark A Smith,

United States Army (retired)

Bangkok

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Democracy hardly delivered the things we were hoping for

As soon as General Surayud was appointed prime minister, there were already calls from several groups demanding a quick return to democracy and freedom. I would like to ask these groups why they are in such a hurry. In a society where there are more prostitutes than teachers, where most politicians have to buy votes and where parents have to pay tea money to get their children into better schools, what necessity is there to be able to go and cast a vote? I don't even know any more what my representative in the lower house is supposed to do for me or my constituency.

I don't mind being governed by unelected officials if they intend to improve the infrastructure and quality of life of Thai society. For me, it means the poorest people in our society not having to sell their daughters into prostitution or their sons into slavery, and most importantly everyone must be equal under the law. When these most basic elements are achieved, we can start improving our education system and social values. We can rewrite our constitution as many times as we like, but until the real problem is fixed, we will not be able to move forward. Our real problem is that we have too many thieves in our society.

Coldcrab

Bangkok

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Here's hoping the assets panel is fully transparent

Heartiest congratulations to the Council for National Security (CNS) for giving the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) the muscle they need to take back any ill-gotten gains.

May I note, though, that justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. We are not on a witch-hunt. All must be done following the letter and spirit of the law, and we should take pains to educate the rural folk as to why the corruption we uncover hurts them - and why they should not support crooks.

We should also eradicate policy corruption, so I'm glad the AEC can investigate concessions given by ex-Prime Minister Thaksin.

Prevention's much better than cure. Besides taking back any stolen goods and jailing the crooks, the CNS should change the government's concession and procurement processes, making everything transparent and on the Internet. Let's show the world that contrary though it may seem, the coup was to promote the rule of law and government of the people, for the people and by the people.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

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Surely the charter will extend to all people living here

I read a translation of the new interim constitution of Thailand that had been translated from Thai into English. It said the constitution would ensure "the rights of all Thai people". I would expect to read "the rights of all citizens living in the Kingdom of Thailand".

It is, hopefully, a translation mistake?

Marc-Philippe Garnaud

Bangkok

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Looking forward to a flawless Suvarnabhumi Airport

I am sure most of the teething problems with Suvarnabhumi Airport will be ironed out in due course. However, there are some design flaws a child could have foreseen and which will take longer to sort out. The biggest of these is the appalling arrival flow after exit from customs. When there is so much space to play with, why is everyone funnelled into an area not bigger than 200 square metres, resulting in a confusing melee of taxi touts, meet-and-greeters and hangers-on? Another thing is the floor, which consists of tiles and marble throughout. In places, especially where the floor slopes, it is positively dangerous. It is only a matter of time before people are reporting injuries from this. The designer has obviously not spent much time in the tropics. The very intricate nature of the structure is difficult to clean and already a home for millions of creepy-crawlies. Just take a glance upwards when waiting in the immigration queue.

That said, the whole thing will be a magnificent achievement. (When it is finished, that is!)

Alan Mehew

Bangkok

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Few doubts remain that war on Iraq was only about oil

Re: "Escaping US President Bush's vision of the future", Opinion, September 30.

Jeffrey Sachs states the obvious, that the war in Iraq is all about oil. Consider the following:

l America only turned against Saddam after he invaded Kuwait and threatened American oil interests.

l After overthrowing Saddam, the American troops surrounded the oil refineries while refusing to protect the hospitals, the museums or the mental institutions where Iraqi women were raped.

l The stock value of Vice President Dick Cheney's oil company, Halliburton, soared after America took over Iraq. And Cheney was the brains behind the war.

In other words, if you still believe the war had anything to do with weapons of mass destruction or human rights, then you probably believe in the tooth fairy.

Eric Bahrt

Pattaya

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We're missing some prime irony amid the partisanship

Re: "US Democrats have had their share of immorality", Letters, October 2.

It was with great pleasure that I read Grandpa in Chon Buri's most recent letter. He paints Democrats as warmongers at a time when the Republicans are doing their utmost to suggest Democrats are soft on national security. And in an interesting reversal, Bob Woodward's new book reportedly portrays President George W Bush as being more interested in fart jokes than drawing up a military strategy in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Republican leadership in the House has apparently taken a page from the Catholic Church's playbook by covering up pornographic e-mails between Representative Mark Foley and a 16-year-old boy. Like Grandpa, Foley seems to have a taste for irony. According to The Washington Post, "Foley chaired the House caucus on missing and exploited children and was credited with writing the sexual-predator provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006."

When the Republicans aren't too busy prowling teen chat rooms, they're ripping people off (Randy Cunningham and Bob Ney? What about reports that Karl Rove was Jack Ambramoff's frequent guest at sporting events and his restaurant?).

There's nothing worse than hard partisanship. It should be obvious that neither of the United States' two main political parties has the market cornered on good sense and morality. Both parties are responsible for the country's current problems.

Regarding the United States' position on Thailand's coup, I wonder how Bush would react if the same happened in Venezuela, where another authoritarian leader has used populism and the ballot box to consolidate power. Then again, people complained when the United States abandoned its principles to torture people. Now they complain when it sticks by them by criticising a coup. There's no pleasing some people.

John Punch

Bangkok