When I was in Riyadh, Houthi missiles would fall from time to time; now I am in Bangkok where a new war threatens.

Following a peace conference between Thailand and Cambodia held in neutral Kuala Lumpur, Thailand and Cambodia accuse each other of violating the cease-fire. Responding to these violations, Thai fighter jets strafed a Cambodian casino in the border areas between the two countries.

Casinos are legal in Cambodia but illegal in Thailand. There are nevertheless clandestine casinos in Thailand which compete with legal casinos on the other side of the border. The casino attack had nothing to do with an effort by the morality police to reduce wagering: the Thai Air Force reports that the casino’s roof was being used to direct cross-border drone strikes.

Thai gamblers' custom has always been welcome at the Cambodian casinos. A Thai passport is accepted as collateral for an extension of credit at the casino cage. If a customer for some reason does not qualify, Thai and Cambodian loan sharks are happy to extend credit on unfavoble terms.

After losing–and they always lose–the gamblers try to return to Thailand by crossing the border through the jungle, using paths where border controls are absent so no passport is required. Unfortunately, these informal entry points have been mined: both sides blame each other for laying the mines. I tend to believe the Thais in this instance as one of their soldiers lost his leg while on patrol in the area. That would not have happened if the Thai Army had laid the mines.

The US Press analysis of this conflict centers around Donald Trump, the American president who was happy to insert himself in order to win more peacemaking cred. On the ground, Trump is irrelevant; outside American borders he matters little.

Cambodia has always been the dark to Thailand’s light; in whispers Thai people discuss the powers of ancient Khmer magic. Cambodian soldiers get yang sat ghost shirt tattoos to protect themselves from the bullets of the enemy. The enmity runs back for centuries and Donald Trump believes he can put an end to it all with a phone call.

(As in, “Out of the frying pan into the…”)