The 145;reluctant146; General

Throughout months of political stalemate, Thai army commander Sondhi Boonyaratglin swore the military had moved on from its days of meddling in government. But having broken the mould as the first Muslim military chief in an overwhelmingly Buddhist country, the decorated Vietnam War veteran demonstrated that some habits are just too tough to kick. With Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at the United Nations in New York, Sondhi and his counterparts in the navy, air force and police carried out Thailand8217;s 18th military coup in 74 years of on-off democracy. The 59-year-old appeared on national television on Wednesday morning to announce the formation of a 8216;Council of Political Reform8217;.