Surachai Sirikrai, a political scientist from Thammasat University, said the significance of the letter was to warn other countries about the possibility of violence and that they should not think negatively of the premier.

Surachai said he thought Thaksin wanted to send a message that he has been put under pressure without having done anything wrong.

"Thaksin wanted to tell them [the international community] that if he uses violence to protect the country's interest, they shouldn't be scared," he said.

Surachai said leaders of the countries that Thaksin sent letters to might laugh at him for being "ignorant" of democracy. "In Western countries, protests are part of the democratic process," he said.

Kasit Pirom, a former ambassador to Washington, said that if the leader of any other country wrote the same kind of letter that Thaksin did - blaming everyone but himself for the political crisis - they would resign.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, an associate professor of International Relations, said the letter showed that Thaksin had made public policy by himself, which was inappropriate as this should be done by referendum or through the diplomatic process.

"Bush's reply was a cold rebuff, as he said Thai democracy is strong, so Thaksin shouldn't worry. Bush also showed he wanted to distance himself from our country's problems," he said.