BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Thailand's prime minister, a key American ally in the war on terror, has blasted Washington as a "useless friend" after a U.S. State Department report criticized his government's human rights record.

"I am very upset and annoyed by the report," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters, reacting to the State Department's annual report on the state of human rights in the world during 2003.

He said U.S. Ambassador Darryl Johnson will be summoned to the Foreign Ministry later Friday to hear an official complaint from the government.

In its section on Thailand, the report said the human rights situation in Thailand was generally positive last year but that the government's record worsened on extra-judicial killings and arbitrary arrests.

It cited the killings of drug suspects during confrontations with police during a war on drugs ordered by Thaksin between February and April last year. News reports and human rights groups said more than 2,000 people were killed in what they described as summary executions.

"A report that takes its information from the media is unacceptable to me," Thaksin said.

"What kind of friends are they? They are friends who damage the reputation of their friends every year. What would they do if Thailand issued the same report annually? These kind of friends are useless friends," he said.

Thaksin won personal praise from U.S. President George W. Bush last year after Thai police arrested a top terrorist suspect, Hambali, in a central Thai city. Hambali, an Indonesian, has been described as al Qaeda's pointman in the region. He is now being held by the United States in an undisclosed location.

Thaksin said his government had already explained to the United States last year its position that the drug deaths were caused by internecine fighting among drug barons.

The drug killings caused a huge uproar among local and human rights organizations. The U.S. Embassy had also officially expressed concern about the killings.

The government claims that out of a total of 2,598 homicide cases during the February-April, 2003 period, there were 1,383 narcotics-related deaths, of which just 42 people were shot by police, mostly in self-defense. The rest, it says, were killed by drug gang infighting.

However, the State Department report said the Thai government "failed to investigate and prosecute vigorously those who committed such abuses, contributing to a climate of impunity."

Thaksin did not comment on the overall tone of the report, which considered the general human rights situation in the country as positive.

In a statement late Thursday, the Foreign Ministry said the Thai government is "deeply disappointed" with the report, which it said "contains a number of factual inaccuracies ... as was the case with the year 2002 and 2001 reports."

GOP Survey Question on Terror Draws Ire   
Fri Mar 26, 7:00 PM ET

By GENARO C. ARMAS, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A Republican voter survey used to raise political money identifies Thailand and the Philippines as countries that "harbor and aid terrorists," a description that has angered officials from the two nations.

A question on the National Republican Congressional Committee's "Ask America 2004 Nationwide Policy Survey" asks, "Should America broaden the war on terrorism into other countries that harbor and aid terrorists such as Thailand, Syria, Somalia, the Philippines, etc.?"

Accompanying the survey, which also poses questions about health care, the economy and other issues, was a four-page letter signed by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., which asks for a donation to help "keep the Republican Party in control of the U.S. House."

Officials from both countries say they've been wrongly labeled and would contact the NRCC to complain. Both countries have been praised by the Bush administration for their roles in the anti-terror war.

"For the Philippines to be described as a country harboring terrorism is an entirely different matter altogether," Patricia Paez, a spokeswoman for the Philippine Embassy in Washington, said Friday. "It doesn't accurately describe the view of the Bush administration."

Chirachai Punkrasin, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, said he was surprised by the question.

"In the war on terrorism, Thailand and the United States are on the same side," Punkrasin said. "I don't think we are knowingly harboring known terrorists."

NRCC spokesman Carl Forti said the question was based on information from the Council on Foreign Relations, a New York-based nonpartisan think tank.

"I think the question probably could have been vetted better," Forti said.

The council's Sharon Otterman did not agree with the question's wording. She said the group's Web site identifies the Philippines as a "haven" for terrorism, "but it doesn't mean the state is helping the terrorist groups."

The council did not identify Thailand as either a state sponsor or a haven for terrorism.

The question was one of three on the subject of "the war on terrorism." It asks respondents to check "Yes", "No" or "No opinion."

Syria has been identified by the State Department as a "state sponsor" of terrorism, while the U.S. government doesn't recognize a government in Somalia, which had been torn apart by civil unrest for years.

The unstable situation there has elicited concern in recent years from Washington that it could attract international terrorists.

Neither the Philippines nor Thailand is on the State Department's list of terror-sponsoring nations, and both have faced problems with Muslim extremist groups.

In fact, a 2002 State Department report cited both countries for working closely with other nations in the global war on terror and for strengthening counterterrorist measures.

Punkrasin cited the capture last year in Thailand of Hambali, the alleged operations chief of a Southeast Asian terror group linked to al-Qaida, as a sign of the Thai government's commitment against terrorism.

Meanwhile, Paez noted that President Bush (news - web sites), during a trip to the Philippines last year, praised Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (news - web sites)'s anti-terror efforts. Her country has faced problems with the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf.

Forti said the survey, in its third year, was mailed during the last three months and has been a successful fund-raising tool. It asks for a donation of up to $500 to "help pay for this historic project and help protect and strengthen the Republican majority of the U.S. House of Representatives."

Thailand always find ways to move away from there close allies and back stab them at the end or portrayed them. For example Thailand and U.S use to be kinship brother in Arm partners on every U.S subject. Now they see China as a greater threat and wealthy economy, Thailand now finding ways to move away from the U.S.

Thailand=traitor

Thailand always find ways to move away from there close allies and back stab them at the end or portrayed them. For example Thailand and U.S use to be kinship brother in Arm partners on every U.S subject. Now they see China as a greater threat and wealthy economy, Thailand now finding ways to move away from the U.S.

Thailand=traitor