Bush, an instant 'Oedipus'

The international riddles started to arise following U.S. President George W. Bush's decision to go it alone on his Iraqi campaign a few months ago.

Ordinary world citizens could not grapple with the idea that America refused to listen to the voice of the United Nations and some of its strongest allies, notably Germany, France and Japan. In the beginning everything ran smoothly according to plan and the enemy was annihilated in a matter of a few winks of the eye and Bush was lauded as a hero by his people.

After a few months, however, the grim reality was very different; America by the end of October has lost more than one hundred men, with a constant rate of one to two soldiers killed a day. The battle against international terrorism has not yet been won and questions about Bush's ability to achieve peace are more frequently heard at home and abroad.

America has discovered that it cannot do it alone anymore in the fight against international terrorism. It now needs the help of moderate Islamic countries like Indonesia and Turkey. One can only guess what is in George Bush's mind; Making more friends on the international front or preparing seriously for his re- election at home to beat his Democrat rival in 2004. On both fronts he urgently needs to mend his bruised image. When finally he decided to visit Bali to meet some Muslim leaders and make friends with them, Indonesians were still asking themselves as to the real motives behind Bush's new role as Oedipus, a riddle solver in Greek mythology.

Many Indonesians see Bush as more of a riddle creator than a riddle solver. A small number have protested against his visit of a few hours to Bali. But the Islamic cause has been helped by Bush's visit to Bali, albeit unintentionally. It creates the impression that terrorists are no longer active and that Indonesia is now a terrorist-free country. Bush's Asian odyssey brought him also to Australia while more eyebrows were raised as to the purpose of his visit to a country which Indonesia has had so much friction with in the past.

GANDHI SUKARDI, Jakarta