Wolfowitz rules out direct U.S. attack on RI<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
While confirming that Indonesia is listed among those
\ncountries targeted in the ongoing United States'-led war against
\ninternational terrorism, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D.
\nWolfowitz has ruled out any direct attack on the country he once
\nserved as ambassador.<\/p>\n
In an interview published by The New York Times on Tuesday,
\nWolfowitz lumped Indonesia with Somalia, Yemen and the
\nPhilippines in the group of countries where terrorist
\norganizations still find sanctuary.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, Islamic groups have fought with Christians in
\nSulawesi and Maluku, areas where the government \"is extremely
\nweak,\" the former U.S ambassador to Indonesia said.<\/p>\n
\"You see the potential for Muslim extremists and Muslim
\nterrorists to link up with those Muslim groups in Indonesia and
\nfind a little corner for themselves in a country that's otherwise
\nquite unfriendly to terrorism,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"In the case of Sulawesi, the concern is there isn't enough
\nmilitary to protect the local population or to create the kinds
\nof stable conditions that keep terrorism down.\"<\/p>\n
He said that while Indonesia had expressed a willingness to
\ncrack down on terrorists, the government there was fearful of
\ncausing a violent backlash among its large Muslim population.<\/p>\n
Wolfowitz said the United States was prepared to provide
\nassistance, though the Pentagon was under restrictions about
\nconducting certain joint exercises with the Indonesian Military,
\nwhich has been accused of human rights abuses.<\/p>\n
Those restrictions, he said, \"really need to be reviewed in
\nthe light of Sept. 11\".<\/p>\n
He said it was unlikely, however, that the United States would
\nconsider direct military action in Indonesia, \"because it's such
\na big and disparate place\".<\/p>\n
Wolfowitz, who has a reputation as one of the more aggressive
\nmembers of President Bush's war council, suggested that the
\nPentagon could opt to put off the bigger and politically more
\ndifficult targets in the war on terrorism like Iraq, and
\ntherefore avoid conflict with some of its most important Arab and
\nEuropean allies, which have been leery about taking on Baghdad.<\/p>\n
Instead, he said, the military was now engaged with friendly
\ncountries like the Philippines that would welcome American help
\nin ridding themselves of terrorist networks.<\/p>\n
The Pentagon is also looking hard at possible terror bases in
\ncountries like Somalia and Yemen that are weakly governed and
\nill-equipped to uproot them, he added.<\/p>\n
Wolfowitz said that America's devastating bombing campaign in
\nAfghanistan had already persuaded many nations that have
\nsupported terrorism to change their ways, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n
\"I'd say almost everywhere one has seen progress,\" he said. \"A
\nlot of that progress is motivated by the sense of American
\nseriousness and the fear of getting on the wrong side of us.\"<\/p>\n
Iraq, however, has shown no signs of opposing terrorism, he
\nsaid, adding that while President Saddam Hussein \"is keeping his
\nhead down these days, that should not leave the impression that
\nhe doesn't continue to do a bunch of things that concern us\".<\/p>\n
Wolfowitz said that Somalia, perhaps more than any other
\nplace, fitted the bill of a lawless state that drew terrorists
\nlike a magnet.<\/p>\n
\"Obviously Somalia comes up as a possible candidate for Al
\nQaeda people to flee to precisely because the government is weak
\nor nonexistent,\" Wolfowitz said.<\/p>\n
But the Times said he acknowledged that U.S. options were
\nlimited in Somalia, where, he said, \"by definition you don't have
\na government you can work with\".<\/p>",
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