At this point, it can be asked why Thailand should have been exposed to its enemies at the moment when the Americans were preparing to disengage from Southeast Asia. Of course, the Thai leaders were obsessed with the problems of security in neighboring countries which had served as buffer states for a long time. Besides, during the American expansion of the Vietnam war into Cambodia and Laos, U.S. military forces poured into Thailand in increasing numbers and the level of U.S. military assistance skyrocketed. This large-scale military assistance to Thailand in the years 1970-1972 served as a means to placate the Thai military rulers as the U.S. continued to benefit greatly from Thailand’s military facilities. Thailand therefore became in a sense the last bastion of American power in mainland Southeast Asia.