A second problem is simply: dialogue about what? The conflict is essentially a political problem. The Thai state has a legitimacy deficit in a region where most people are Muslim and speak a local form of Malay as their first language. But successive Thai governments have tried to deny the political nature of the militant cause, waffling endlessly about drugs, smuggling and criminality, and have been unwilling to talk seriously or consistently about autonomy or other forms of decentralization. Given the serial insincerity of the government side—Thai security officials often see ‘dialogue’ primarily as a means of identifying and neutralizing militant leaders—why should any militants engage in substantive discussions?