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Quite often, the Thai people learn secrets about their own country from abroad. Sometimes these secrets are to do with agreements made by Thai leaders with foreign leaders. Thus it was no surprise at all when US federal prosecutors revealed in a document submitted to a New York court as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, that "waterboarding" of terrorist suspects had taken place at a secret jail in Thailand.

Of course, no Thai leader or senior official who was in office during the first term of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra would say anything on the matter.

Since the whole rendition operation occurred in 2005 under Thaksin's nose, he must be held responsible. He had a penchant to do things on his own, and to make decisions without consulting any person.

Thai-US relations, and many other bilateral ties, were often exploited by Thaksin alone. As a former business leader, he knew what the US government really wanted and was willing to accommodate it at all times. When he first came to power in 2001, he displayed an ambiguous attitude toward US involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. After that he picked up on things quickly and changed his non-committal stance to one of close cooperation with the US on its anti-terrorism campaign.

The secret cooperation between the Thai security forces and US special forces in arresting Hambali, the chief of the Southeast Asian branch of al-Qaeda, was a good case in point. It showed the deep level of undercover cooperation between the two countries.

The Thai people did not know about the arrest at all. Fortunately, the news was leaked to The Nation in August 2003 a few hours before a press conference by President George Bush in Washington DC on the same day.

It must be noted here that under Thaksin, there were many secret negotiations and deals, known only to him and his counterparts. Thaksin made a habit of "four-eyes" meetings to decide on major policies, especially those that would benefit him and his family business directly. Some of the controversial deals included the tax-free sale of ShinCorp to Temasek and the Exim Bank Bt4-billion loan to the Burmese regime. These are just a few examples.

Doubtless, the US took extraordinary steps to reward Thaksin's enthusiasm. George Bush, through his fast-track power, initiated the Thai-US free trade area negotiation ahead of many other important US trading partners. At that time, the US wanted to make a strong point that the FTA negotiation was a political incentive for countries that cooperated with the US in its "war against terrorism".

As it turned out, it was an undertaking that both sides were not ready for. After two years of painful negotiations, the whole thing collapsed. In return, Thailand was the first Asian country to announce that it would send troops into Iraq to help with the reconstruction there. After one year, the Thai government became reluctant to follow up with the second batch of troops because of the ongoing insurgency in the southern provinces of Thailand.

Yesterday, Army chief General Anupong Paochinda vehemently denied the existence of secret prisons. He was right to do so. After all, he was not the Army chief at the time. In any case, any evidence of such makeshift detention facilities, due to the nature of their secrecy and activities, could easily be dismantled.

Suffice to say, Thai-US relations are more than skin-deep. Thailand is one of the US's closest and oldest allies in the region. When the US faces any emergency in its regional strategies, Thailand has always been in the overall picture. Now, however, it will be more difficult for such cooperation to occur again without debate in the Parliament.

Thanks to the 2007 Constitution and the far-sightedness of the charter's drafters, Article 190 prohibits the government from negotiating any bilateral or multilateral agreement without first gaining the approval of the Parliament. The checks-and-balances mechanism, common in developed countries, is pivotal to ensure that there is no conflict of interest, as there were in past practices.

Both bureaucrats and lawmakers have to learn to keep each other informed on matters affecting the national interest. In the future, the mechanism should ensure that secret deals or leader-driven negotiations without oversight will not happen again.

Thai-US relations are very important. The two countries celebrated 175 years of diplomacy last year. But the time has come for Thailand to review its strategic ties with the US to make it a real partnership, more attuned to the new regional environment with the emergence of China and India.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya is scheduled to visit Washington DC in late April to discuss Thai-US relations. With President Barack Obama occupying the White House, overall American foreign policy, especially in regard to Asian countries, is more forward-looking. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that Washington will listen more to its allies and friends. It is thus hoped that a new and fresher Thai-US friendship will emerge soon.