Chief of Thai troops stationed in Iraq was authorized by the government to decide the time to evacuate if security situation deteriorated there, local press on Saturday quoted the Defense Minister Chetta Thanajaro as saying.

The minister said that if the situation deteriorated so that the Thai troops could no longer perform their humanitarian task they could leave for Kuwait along a prepared route.

Colonel Montri Umaporn, the commander of the Thai-Iraq Special Force 976, would coordinate with the Polish-led multinational force and could order the troops evacuated immediately in the event of an emergency, he said.

It's the second time in a week that the Thai government has showed flexibility on the issue of pulling troops out of Iraq.

The Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday said Thailand would withdraw its troops from Iraq if the troops were under attacks.

Thaksin made the remarks after a Senate debate over withdrawal. The government previously insisted to withdraw the troops only after the authority transition expected to complete in June in Iraq.

The debate over withdrawal has gaining heat since early April when letters from unknown group and people threatened to launch terrorist attack against Thai target for Thailand sending troops to Iraq.

A couple of foreign embassies in Bangkok have also received mails sent from Thailand threatening attacks for their alliance with the United States on the Iraq issue.

However, the government's new position on the issue incurred criticism from the opposition.

Bangkok Senator Kraisak Choonhavan said that it was wrong for the government to let the chief of the Special Force in Iraq alone make the decision about any evacuation.

"The Prime Minister and security heads should go to Iraq and assess the situation first hand," he was quoted by newspaper The Nation as saying.

The more than 400 Thai soldiers in Iraq are mostly medical staff, mechanists and engineers. Two of them were killed in last December when an attack against foreign troops in Karbala occurred.

The security issue has become a major concern of the Thai government since the country was believed to have been more involved with the United States war last year and the southern provinces were caught in unrest in this year.

Thailand was granted with the Non-NATO status last October for arresting Jemaah Islamiyah's (JI) second headsman Hambali in August and sending troops to Iraq in September.

There's also report saying that the US Secretary of State Colin Powell telephoned Foreign Minister Surakiart on Tuesday seeking toshore up Thai support for the US-led operation in Iraq, which has received a blow with the recent announcements by Spain, Honduras and the Dominican Republic of troop withdrawals.

The US and the multinational force will consider sending troops to protect the Thai non-combatant troops, Foreign Ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow said.

Source: Xinhua