"Russia, China and the United States are using their military and economic power in the ruthless pursuit of power and domination," Godec said. photo credit: Photo copyright Richard S. Ehrlich
BANGKOK, Thailand -- In an unusual display of non-diplomatic language directed at his own country, former U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Robert F. Godec publicly denounced "the reckless and erratic actions of the United States" and President Donald Trump's Iran War.
He also took a swipe at Israel.
"Unfortunately the United States under President Trump is now undermining the [post-1945 international] system," Mr. Godec said, citing Washington's tariffs, political aggression against Greenland and Canada, seizure of Venezuela's former president Nicolas Maduro, the Iran War, and assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei.
"The regime in Tehran is abhorrent, but the United States, working with Israel, undertook this war of choice alone.
"People around the world are bearing the consequences, which could yet get much worse," Mr. Godec wrote in a 1,367-word statement published Thursday (April 23) on the opinion page of the Bangkok Post, the daily English newspaper for foreigners and Thailand's establishment.
The Senate confirmed Mr. Godec to be ambassador to Thailand in 2022. Previously, he was ambassador to Kenya and Tunisia.
The career diplomat moved into the stately, garden-graced ambassador's residence in Bangkok in 2023 and retired in 2025. He now resides in this Southeast Asian nation.
"In the world of Donald Trump, other countries must do as the United States wishes," Mr. Godec wrote.
"The reckless and erratic actions of the United States under President Trump have done extraordinary damage."
Mr. Godec's statement warned that "Russia, China and the United States are using their military and economic power in the ruthless pursuit of power and domination."
Describing this triad, he said, "While the actions of China and Russia have challenged the system for years, it is the United States that has ruptured it, and the resulting chaos is accelerating.
"At a moment when U.S. leadership was urgently needed, what the globe has gotten is war and threats of war, policy volatility, strategic confusion, and personal vitriol."
While ambassador to Thailand, Mr. Godec voiced support for U.S. Indo-Pacific miliary strategy and reportedly tried to sell F-16 warplanes to the Royal Thai Airforce.
During his Thailand tenure, he also supported international LGBTQI+ rights.
He told a 2024 LGBTQI+ event in Bangkok: "I want every young person in Thailand who feels different to know you are not alone.
"Your identity is not a flaw. And this embassy stands with you."
He reportedly told a Thai media workshop just before the November 2024 U.S. election: "No matter who becomes the president ... Thailand will be the first friend in the region."
The current Trump-appointed U.S. ambassador to Thailand is Sean K. O'Neill who previously was consul general in Chiang Mai, this country's second-largest city.
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Richard S. Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based American foreign correspondent reporting from Asia since 1978, and winner of Columbia University's Foreign Correspondents' Award. Excerpts from his two new nonfiction books, "Rituals. Killers. Wars. & Sex. -- Tibet, India, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka & New York" and "Apocalyptic Tribes, Smugglers & Freaks" are available at
https://asia-correspondent.tumblr.com