By Alastair Leithead
Source: BBC News Thailand
A court in Thailand has ruled that the Russian Viktor Bout - suspected of being one of the world's most notorious arms dealers - be extradited to the US. But arguments involving the US and Russia mean he is still in Bangkok, as Thailand does its best not to upset two important allies.
The small private jet has been sitting on the tarmac at a Bangkok airport all week now - with the meter running.
It was hired by the US government and arrived on Monday to pick up valuable cargo, as did the 50 armed men sent to make sure the goods - Viktor Anatoliyevich Bout - made it safely from maximum security prison to American soil.
But there was a snag, a last-minute hitch, a technicality.
Viktor Bout knows quite a bit about aircraft and he also knows a lot about paperwork and bureaucracy.
He ran a logistics business, flying Soviet-era transport planes around the globe.
Those who accuse him of being the world's most notorious arms dealer say the cargo he delivered was UN-sanction-busting guns, his buyers were rebel armies: that he fuelled civil wars across Africa in the 1990s.
'Merchant of death'
They say the nimble way this big, imposing Russian switched flight plans, ownership documents and inventories enabled him to exploit loopholes in the law and avoid the authorities for more than a decade.
Until he was lured to Bangkok with an offer he seemingly could not refuse.
Despite the shackles and chains, he was certainly light on his feet hopping out of a prison bus and into a Thai courtroom for his latest - and some thought final - appearance.
But then he is used to it. Two and a half years he has spent in prison here, going to and from court, fighting extradition, after US agents posing as Colombian Farc rebels arrested him at a Bangkok hotel, after he allegedly tried to sell them weapons.
Not just AK-47s or Kalashnikovs but hundreds of surface-to-air missiles and heavily armed attack helicopters.
That is what is on the charge sheet and that is the case the Americans want him to answer - conspiracy to provide arms to a group Washington considers "terrorists".
The allegations against a man once described as the "merchant of death" by a British politician have been piling up for years.
They come from UN weapons investigators, intelligence agencies, governments and investigative reporters, but Bout denies them all.
He was rumoured to have half a dozen passports and many more aliases.
This version of his shadowy life is said to have inspired the Nicholas Cage character in the movie Lord of War.
Cold War
What is complicated is his relationship with the Kremlin and the Pentagon.
As a former Russian air force officer, his contacts are strong. He is accused of buying arms from the state as the Soviet Union collapsed.
Thailand has found itself in the middle of a battle between two of its allies, wanting to do the Thai thing and keep everyone happy
He not only took supplies into Iraq for the Americans, he also flew to Kosovo for the British Ministry of Defence.
While Viktor Bout has been sitting in the dock - looking a little thinner on each appearance - the courtroom scene has been a throwback to the Cold War, as Russian and American officials have huddled with their lawyers in different corners eyeing each other suspiciously and playing tug of war with Viktor.
Russia is perhaps worried he might turn state witness, and there may be some secrets they would rather not have him spill.
The US wants to see him on trial.
And this is not a game confined to the court - the two nations are lobbing hard behind the scenes.
Thailand has found itself in the middle of a battle between two of its allies, wanting to do the Thai thing and keep everyone happy.
The first court ruling last year was "Advantage: Moscow". Extradition was rejected.
But a week ago, came the appeal.
'Advantage Viktor'
America lodged two new charges including money laundering and fraud as an insurance policy, in case he got off.
But judges ruled he should be extradited within three months. "Game, set and match: US of A".
Officials in court punched the air.
And so they sent a plane.
The Russian foreign minister called it "unjust", and said it could affect relations with Thailand.
Mr Bout's wife blamed American pressure but his Thai lawyer secretly celebrated.
"God saved us," he grinned, with his knowledge of the legal system here.
Those new charges have to be dropped before America can have him.
Viktor Bout now wants the money laundering and fraud charges to come to court because, if that case can be dragged out for three months, the extradition order will expire and a two-and- a-half-year process will have to start all over again.
And from the Thais' perspective, if Mr Bout stays in prison here. they will not be upsetting one big ally any more than the other.
Advantage Mr Bout.
If he is the world's most notorious arms dealer, he will have some very big friends in some very high places.
News Headline
Everyone is a genius
Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – A Einstein
Drawing the line in Liberia
Crimes sponsored, committed, or masterminded by handful of individuals cannot be blamed upon an entire nationality. In this case, Liberians! The need for post-war justice is a step toward lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Liberia. Liberia needs a war crimes tribunal or some credible legal forum that is capable of dealing with atrocities perpetrated against defenseless men, women and children during the country's brutal war. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in Liberia will not produce the intended results. - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Men with unhealthy characters should not champion any noble cause
They pretend to advocate the cause of the people when their deeds in the dark mirror nothing else but EVIL!!
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people - Bernard Gbayee Goah.
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people - Bernard Gbayee Goah.
If Liberia must move forward ...
If Liberia must move forward in order to claim its place as a civilized nation amongst world community of nations, come 2017 elections, Liberians must critically review the events of the past with honesty and objectivity. They must make a new commitment to seek lasting solutions. The track records of those who are presenting themselves as candidates for the position of "President of the Republic of Liberia" must be well examined. Liberians must be fair to themselves because results from the 2011 elections will determine the future of Liberia’s unborn generations to come - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Liberia's greatest problem!
While it is true that an individual may be held responsible for corruption and mismanagement of funds in government, the lack of proper system to work with may as well impede the process of ethical, managerial, and financial accountability - Bernard Gbayee Goah
What do I think should be done?
The situation in Liberia is Compound Complex and cannot be fixed unless the entire system of government is reinvented.
Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption.
Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption.
Any attempt to institute the system mentioned above in the absence of rule of law is meaningless, and more detrimental to Liberia as a whole - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Liberia's Natural Resources
Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.
Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government. The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.
Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government. The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Liberia needs a proper system
If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else. To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law. To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption - Bernard Gbayee Goah
If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else. To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law. To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Solving problems in the absence of war talks
As political instability continues to increase in Africa, it has become abundantly clear that military intervention as a primary remedy to peace is not a durable solution. Such intervention only increases insecurity and massive economic hardship. An existing example which could be a valuable lesson for Liberia is Great Britain, and the US war on terror for the purpose of global security. The use of arms whether in peace keeping, occupation, or invasion as a primary means of solving problem has yield only little results. Military intervention by any country as the only solution to problem solving will result into massive military spending, economic hardship, more fear, and animosity as well as increase insecurity. The alternative is learning how to solve problems in the absence of war talks. The objective of such alternative must be to provide real sustainable human security which cannot be achieved through military arm intervention, or aggression. In order to achieve results that will make the peaceful coexistence of all mankind possible, there must be a common ground for the stories of all sides to be heard. I believe there are always three sides to every story: Their side of the story, Our side of the story, and The truth – Bernard Gbayee Goah