Posted on 05/20/2003 2:58:19 PM PDT by Sparta
The largest Muslim nation in the world is eager to join the U.S. in its battle against Islamic terrorists, but we don't want its help.
That seems to be the situation with Indonesia – with its 178 million Muslims of a total population of 203 million.
President Megawati Sukarnoputri is asking for help. She's asking an old U.S. arms embargo to be lifted. She's asking for assistance in combating Islamist terror in her own country. She's offering cooperation to the U.S. government and seeking a partnership.
But, so far, the U.S. is not budging.
If the U.S. doesn't recognize the importance of Indonesia in this fight, the likely result will be Indonesia's embrace of Russia as an arms supplier. Indonesia will be less willing to cooperate with the U.S. in the war on terrorism. If Indonesia is rebuffed, we will lose a key ally in this fight.
That's my assessment based on the latest report in my own online intelligence newsletter, G2 Bulletin, which this week includes a major analysis of the Indonesia situation.
Some in Washington are beginning to see the problem. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, a one-time ambassador to Indonesia, wants to lift the 12-year-old ban on arms sales. The Bush administration and Congress need to get behind him.
Things are clearly coming to a head. Gen. Ryanizard Ryacudu, the chief of Indonesia's army staff, recently said: "If there is no one listening to us in Washington, I'm sure that they will be eager to listen to us in Moscow."
Next week, Sukarnoputri is traveling to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin and other top officials. Diplomatic circles in Jakarta as well as in Moscow, say, in addition to presenting a military shopping list, Sukarnoputri will offer the Russians a tempting way to be paid – namely, by including in a package deal the opening of Indonesia's oil market to Russian companies.
This would represent a significant blow to the U.S. oil industry.
There are currently 26 foreign oil companies in Indonesia, working alongside the national company, Pertamina. Seventeen of the foreign companies are American, with Caltex Pacific Indonesia holding close to 49 percent of the total production. Indonesia's oil reserves are estimated at 9.6 billion barrels, making her the 17th largest oil producer in the world. The country also has huge natural gas reserves.
The principal beef with Indonesia has been its human-rights record. The arms embargo was put into place because of Indonesia's abuses in East Timor. Since then, East Timor has become an independent state. Yet, nothing has changed insofar as the U.S. relationship to Indonesia.
In other words, Indonesia isn't at all certain the U.S. is being responsive to efforts being made in Jakarta to curry favor with the U.S.
Meanwhile, Indonesia is battling Islamo-terrorists allied with al-Qaida hell-bent on turning that archipelago into a Taliban-style government in the Far East. Some 10,000 Christians have been massacred in this campaign since 1999 alone.
"Immediately after Sept. 11, as the U.S. declared war on terrorism and looked to unite as many countries as possible behind it, Indonesia was more than eager to join," explains the G2 Bulletin report.
"Sukarnoputri met with American officials, including military commanders, such as Adm. Dennis Blair, head of U.S. Pacific Command, assuring Indonesia's support on the war against terrorism. The Indonesians had hoped, since they had joined the American efforts and intensified the campaigns also against home-grown terrorists, especially against Muslim radicals, the U.S. would lift the embargo and Indonesia's armed forces would be able to receive modern American weapon systems.
"Before the embargo, Indonesia purchased U.S. weapons for an estimated $400 million annually. One analyst said Indonesia's president went a long way to prove her country and the U.S. are friends with a common enemy. Everything went well until Indonesia realized, despite much-improved relations, the U.S. was not lifting the embargo, and, therefore, it had no choice but go to the Russians."
Indonesia is a secular country engulfed in a bitter struggle against religious zealots, including the infiltration of pro al-Qaida elements and the regional pan-Islamic movement Jamaa Islamia. The head of the Jamaa Islamia, Abu Bakr Bashir was arrested and will face trial on charges of treason in connection with the December 2002 massacre of Western tourists on the island of Bali.
This is the time to lift the embargo. This is a logical next step in the international war on Islamo-terror. This is a no-brainer.
Will the U.S. recognize the opportunity? Or will we contribute to the loss of yet another strategic nation even while the U.S. military is busy winning lost nations back to the fold?
We have just given them full military ally status.
That would be the Philippines that recieved full military ally status, not Indonesia.
Indonesia's military has some extreme elements.
So does the Pakistani military, so what's your point?
Well, it "used" to be the largest communist cell in the US--not sure if the Al-Queada cell is the same one or in addition to that.
Musharraf speaks as a US ally but acts, in the geopolitical dimension, as an Axis partner of Laos, Myanmar, the PRC, the DPRK, Iran and Wahabbi maniacs worldwide. What is wrong with this picture?
Ding, Ding, Ding. We have a winner.
Perhaps we should stop nitpicking at the secular forces. Support and encourage them to wipe out the jihadist cancer in their midst.
Excellent words of wisdom.
As well as in the CIA, many of whose senior officials have particularly close interests in the petroleum industry- as does the President.
If you're ever in Venezuela, have a cab driver take you to the CIA headquarters in Caracas.
-archy-/-
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