Facts behind 'Supersemar'
\nburied with 'Pak' Jusuf<\/p>\n
Former minister of defense\/Armed Forces commander Gen. (ret)
\nMuhammad Jusuf passed away last Wednesday. There are several
\npoints to be noted about his death. First, because he was a real
\ngeneral who showed genuine empathy and compassion toward his
\nsoldiers. It is no wonder that soldiers idolized him for his
\nefforts to improve their lives.<\/p>\n
He was also popular among soldiers for his impromptu visits to
\nmilitary and police barracks, and for instructing that the
\nrundown barracks be repaired.<\/p>\n
During his five-year term in office as the minister of
\ndefense\/Armed Forces chief, Jusuf made 172 official visits over
\n411 days covering a total distant of 580,000 kilometers.<\/p>\n
When he headed the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) from 1983 to
\n1993 he proved that he was clean. In his speech at his
\ninauguration as BPK head, he said that members of the BPK must be
\nclean before auditing anything.<\/p>\n
Another important point was his role on the drawing up of and
\nissuance of Surat Perintah 11 Maret (March 11 Order, Supersemar),
\nwhich authorized then Lt. Gen. Soeharto to take over presidential
\npower from Sukarno. Jusuf was one of three generals who took the
\nletter to Sukarno at Bogor Palace for signing. No one has ever
\nknown the true story behind making of the Supersemar and this
\nbecame a national mystery. And it will remain a mystery now that
\nJusuf has passed away. Yet no one knows where the original copy
\nof the Supersemar is, which has led to doubts of authenticity.<\/p>\n
Security, unity and political reasons could have been behind
\nJusuf's silence on the matter. From a historical point of view we
\nregret Jusuf's stance because the real facts behind the drawing
\nup of Supersemar and the original's whereabouts will remain
\nunrecorded in the annals of history. -- Kompas, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The two Italian women
\nkidnapped in Iraq<\/p>\n
Simona Torretta and Simona Pari, two Italian women not yet in
\ntheir thirties, are the first western women that have been
\nkidnapped in Iraq. They are not in Baghdad by chance, nor for
\nmoney, nor for adventure, but to bring concrete aid to a
\ntormented population.<\/p>\n
All of this was not enough to save them from being kidnapped.
\nOne would imagine that the terrorists knew it, and for this
\nreason they seized them. To demonstrate that they do not
\ndiscriminate. That we are the enemy, all of us, pacifists or
\ninterventionists does not matter, because theirs is a total war
\nagainst the West.<\/p>\n
Like with all terrorists, also with those that kidnapped these
\nwomen and threaten their young lives, it is necessary to isolate
\nthem ... and dissolve the ambiguity towards a fundamentalist
\nterrorism ... that must be fought with the same determination
\nwhoever the victim in turn may be.<\/p>\n
-- Corriere della Sera, Milan, Italy<\/p>\n
Bush's comments about our
\nability to win the war<\/p>\n
President Bush created quite a stir when he said Monday on
\nNBC's Today show, \"I don't think you can win it\" - meaning the
\nwar on terrorism.<\/p>\n
His political rivals immediately pounced. Democratic vice
\npresidential candidate John Edwards said, \"After months of
\nlistening to the Republicans base their campaign on their
\nsingular ability to win the war on terror, the president now says
\nwe can't win the war on terrorism. This is no time to declare
\ndefeat.\"<\/p>\n
Well, that's politics.<\/p>\n
Bush was hardly declaring defeat. He was being both realistic
\n- acknowledging that the scope of this war makes it more a battle
\nto control than to win - and optimistic.<\/p>\n
We can't \"win\" this war militarily - but we have to continue
\nto do all we can to create the conditions that make a real
\nvictory possible.<\/p>\n
Bush understands this. The Democrats never have. That's why we
\nneed to re-elect the president.<\/p>\n
-- The Courier, Findlay, Ohio<\/p>\n
The Beslan terrorist attack<\/p>\n
The bloody outcome of the hostage crisis in Beslan, North
\nOssetia, has united not only Russia but the entire free world in
\ngrief. ... The horrific tragedy should leave no doubts-even among
\n'human rights' do-gooders-about the savage nature of Chechnya's
\nso-called 'war of independence'.<\/p>\n
Its wagers, like their atavistic kin elsewhere, proved the
\nenemies of civilization the day they made bloodletting a rite of
\npassage towards perverted ends. ... When children are not merely
\ncaught in crossfires, when they are coldly and consciously made
\nto go as lambs to slaughter, it is an outrage against
\nhumanity. ... In the past few years, Russia has suffered as much
\nas India in terms of loss of life owing to terrorist
\ndepredations.<\/p>\n
Chechen 'separatism' has a Kashmiri cousin. Both secessionist
\n'movements' stand hijacked by foreign elements. The latter have
\nbeen spreading their tentacles via cooption of localized strife,
\nin depraved pursuit of \"world domination\" through regional
\ndestabilization. Nine ultras liquidated in Beslan were West
\nAsian.<\/p>\n
Russians seem to have a false sense of security about the
\nremoteness of terror, seen as afflicting Chechnya alone. The
\nMoscow theater strike in 2002 should have put paid to this
\nillusion. Beslan itself followed the downing of two airliners and
\na suicide blast in Moscow. Though President Vladimir Putin's iron
\nwill to crush insurgency has never been doubted, Russia's anti-
\nterror campaign appears reactive rather than proactive, hitting
\nout only after the tragic event. ... It demands a sense of
\nurgency, flowing from popular mobilization and preparedness.<\/p>\n
Russia must have the wherewithal to anticipate sneak attacks,
\nand could learn from India in this regard. Finally, the world
\nmust stand by it as solidly as for post-9\/11 America.<\/p>\n
-- Pioneer, New Delhi<\/p>\n
The factors that led
\nto prison abuse<\/p>\n
Two recently concluded inquiries into the abuse of prisoners
\nby U.S. military personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad
\ndealt only briefly with what might have been the most shocking
\npolicy failure: the neglect of U.S. officials to plan for
\nanything but the most rosy scenario in the wake of Baghdad's
\ncapture. ...<\/p>\n
The relevance of all this to the Abu Ghraib prison problem is
\nthat in October 2003, the facility held 7,000 prisoners and had a
\nguard force of only 90 people, many of whom could not speak the
\nlanguages of the detainees. ...<\/p>\n
The abuses at Abu Ghraib shocked many Americans. What should
\nbe more shocking was the fact that so many top officials
\napparently believed the \"cakewalk\" theory. The first false
\nassumption was that almost all Iraqis would be so pleased to be
\n\"liberated\" that occupation would present no major problems. The
\nsecond was that the remnants of the old regime would simply fade
\ninto the woodwork and not resist. The third was a failure to
\nanticipate that occupied Iraq would become a magnet for every
\njihadist in the region with an itch to kill Americans and other
\ninfidels.<\/p>\n
Bush administration hawks apparently so believed their own
\nspin that they had no plan B or plan C. U.S. military personnel
\nin Iraq are paying for this failure still, often with their
\nlives. -- The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colorado<\/p>\n
S. Korea's alleged nuclear
\nweapons developments<\/p>\n
Following the revelation that the Korea Atomic Energy Research
\n(KAER) conducted experiments to enrich uranium four years ago,
\nsome foreign press agencies have raised suspicions that Korea
\nattempted to develop nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n
Many countries possess the technology to concentrate
\nradioactive isotope material using lasers. The KAER also did the
\nexperiment to separate materials for medical purposes, but found
\nout it was uneconomical and suspended the experiment.<\/p>\n
The research team said that just before dismantling the
\nequipment ... it experimented out of an investigative mind to see
\nwhether it was possible to enrich uranium using lasers.<\/p>\n
It requires 15 kg of uranium to build nuclear weapons, but the
\namount of enriched uranium produced in the KAER's experiment was
\nonly 0.2 kg.<\/p>\n
Moreover, Korea voluntarily reported the experiment. At the
\ntime of the experiment, the facilities of the KAER were not on
\nthe list of the inspection of the International Atomic Energy
\nAgency (IAEA) and the KAER was not obliged to report its
\nactivity.<\/p>\n
In addition, the U.S. State Department spokesman said ...
\n\"Korea is cooperating fully and proactively in order to
\ndemonstrate that the activity has been eliminated and it is no
\nlonger cause for concern.\" The most worrying thing is that using
\nthe issue as an excuse, North Korea may refuse to hold six-way
\ntalks to resolve its nuclear issue.<\/p>\n
The government should try to resolve suspicion raised by the
\ninternational community as soon as possible by clearly explaining
\nthe issue in detail to the IAEA inspection team.<\/p>\n
-- Chosun Ilbo, Seoul<\/p>\n
-----------------------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Belfast Telegraph, Northern Ireland, on the U.S. presidential
\nrace:<\/p>\n
A bullish George Bush has given the Republican convention in
\nNew York the message that delegates wanted to hear. Now the big
\ntest will be whether he will find it equally easy to convince the
\nU.S. that he is the man who can keep America safe. ...<\/p>\n
His objective is to re-establish his credentials with a public
\nwhich still harbours doubts about the basis for the war on Iraq.
\nBut above all, Mr. Bush's strategy is to sound decisive and
\nforceful in order to undermine his challenger, Senator John
\nKerry.<\/p>\n
After a succession of attacks on the credibility of his claims
\nabout his war record, the Democrat candidate is suddenly looking
\nvulnerable. A number of vitriolic diatribes were directed at Mr.
\nKerry at the Republican convention, and some have struck home.<\/p>\n
Above all, Americans want a strong leader who can defend their
\ncountry, and protect their troops overseas. The debate about
\nwhether the invasion of Iraq was justified is being eclipsed by
\nthe more pressing challenge of how best to get the troops
\nhome. ...<\/p>\n
With the conventions over, both parties now launch out on the
\nfinal 60-day phase of the hustings. As the candidates tour from
\nstate to state, a bitter and intense struggle can be anticipated.<\/p>\n
Events will be watched not just in the US but further afield.
\nEven though America does not have as direct an influence on the
\npeace process as it had in the Clinton days, the outcome could
\nhave a bearing on Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Times, on 1,000 troops perishing in Iraq:<\/p>\n
Six U.S. soldiers were killed, two Italian aid workers were
\nkidnapped and warplanes bombed a Sunni enclave in Fallouja, a
\ncity mostly off-limits to coalition troops. It was just another
\nday in the war Tuesday, except for the numbers. By this morning,
\nIraq time, the Associated Press count of casualties stated that
\n1,000 U.S. troops had been killed in Iraq, aside from more than
\n100 other coalition soldiers and thousands of Iraqi
\nnoncombatants. And many thousands more have been wounded.<\/p>\n
It is an obvious point at which to ask: To what end are U.S.
\npersonnel continuing to die? What is it that commanders should
\ntell their troops as they head into lethal streets?<\/p>\n
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday that
\nviolence was increasing because insurgents viewed peaceful
\nballoting, set for January, and a democratic constitution as
\nenemies. That conclusion is debatable, perhaps even a smoke
\nscreen. What's not in doubt is insurgents' view of U.S. troops as
\nthe enemy. It's a belief that unites adherents of the Sunni brand
\nof Islam, who have forced coalition troops out of much or all of
\nthe cities of Fallouja, Ramadi and Samarra, and the Shiite
\nMuslims who fought the Americans in the sacred city of Najaf. ...<\/p>\n
The U.S. will not win a war of attrition. Such wars do not
\nfavor occupying armies. Enclaves off-limits to soldiers give
\ninsurgents staging areas. ...<\/p>\n
Invading nations have an obligation to try to repair the
\ndamage they cause, but armies also need a clearly defined
\nmission. How much are U.S. troops supposed to rebuild? Are they
\nstill meant to install democracy? Or will the U.S. settle for any
\nkind of political stability, even if repressive clerics rule the
\ncountry? ...<\/p>\n
Soldiers and Marines deserve to know, as they head out to face
\nsnipers and roadside bombs, what they're meant to accomplish for
\nthat price.
\n---<\/p>\n
Daily Telegraph, London, on Vladimir Putin and terrorism in
\nRussia:<\/p>\n
Vladimir Putin's refusal to negotiate with Chechen
\nseparatists ... will find a broad echo among Russians. Hatred of
\nthe Chechens was strong enough before last week. Beslan will have
\nintensified it and thereby further legitimized Mr. Putin's
\nrefusal to compromise.<\/p>\n
However, on solving the Chechen problem, Mr. Putin seems to
\nhave run out of options. He has tried the military one in the
\nshape of a second war, which gave the Kremlin control of the
\nplain, but left the population largely disaffected. He has
\nembarked on the political one through Chechenisation, but that
\nwas probably given the coup de grace in May by the assassination
\nof Akhmad Kadyrov, the Kremlin's protege. By treating all
\nseparatists as beyond the pale, the president has boxed himself
\ninto a corner in which political legitimacy is spuriously claimed
\nthrough rigged elections.<\/p>\n
Given the deep-seated corruption of the Russian security
\nforces and bureaucracy, this is unlikely to be the last incident
\nof its kind.<\/p>\n
With each new terrorist attack, Mr. Putin's reputation as the
\nstrongman who can sort out Chechnya will suffer. At the moment,
\nhe is riding on a wave of sympathy for the dead and grieving in
\nNorth Ossetia. But questions are being asked about his handling
\nof the siege, both within Russia and abroad, notably from the
\nDutch presidency of the European Union and Jean-Pierre Raffarin,
\nthe French prime minister. Having propelled Mr. Putin to power,
\nChechnya has become a wasting asset.
\n---<\/p>\n
Egyptian Gazette, Cairo, Egypt, on Ibrahim al-Douri:<\/p>\n
The US-backed interim Iraqi government hoped the capture of
\nSaddam Hussein's second-in- command would be a feather in its
\ncap. But the Iraqi government ended up with egg all over its
\nface, calling into question their cohesion and credibility. First
\nthey said they'd apprehended Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. Then they
\nsaid they hadn't. The announcement was paradoxically made by
\nsenior officials in the Iraqi government. ...<\/p>\n
(Al-Douri's) detention would not have been more timely. It
\nwould have boosted the morale of the U.S. and Iraqi forces,
\nproving that they are moving towards re-establishing security in
\npost-Saddam Iraq. Washington has long blamed al-Douri for
\norchestrating attacks against its troops. His arrest, therefore,
\nwould have deprived the anti-US insurgents of a major mastermind.
\nThe problem is that early announcements that al-Douri was in
\nIraqi hands after a battle in Tikrit have been withdrawn. It may
\nturn out to have been an illusion by the US satraps in
\nBaghdad. ...<\/p>\n
The U.S. command in Iraq and the embattled government of Ayad
\nAllawi were hoping for a propaganda coup from netting al-Douri,
\ndistracting attention away from the quasi-endemic anarchy in the
\ncountry. His detention would have sealed the fate of the Saddam
\nregime once and for all. Furthermore, it would take the lid off
\nthe atrocities perpetrated under the toppled dictator. It would
\ncertainly raise more voices to bring Saddam and his lieutenants
\nto justice. But until, or if, al-Douri is arrested (or Sunday's
\nfirst report is verified), the confusion surrounding his capture
\ncontinues to demonstrate the new government's ineffectiveness and
\nwishful thinking.
\n---<\/p>\n
GetAP 1.00 -- SEP 10, 2004 00:27:44<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/facts-behind-supersemar-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }