Bush erred on Indonesian military training: Report

Bush erred on Indonesian military training: Report

Agence France-Presse, Washington

President George W. Bush misspoke last week when he said the
United States was ready to launch new military training programs
with Indonesia, according to administration officials cited in
Monday's Washington Post.

No new programs are planned or have been approved, the
administration officials told the daily, speaking on condition of
anonymity.

"We want to move ahead with increased military-to-military
cooperation with Indonesia, which is in both of our interests,"
one senior official said.

But progress on that front "will be pinned on continued
cooperation from Indonesia on the investigation into the murders
of two Americans" in Papua, the official went on.

"The investigation is moving forward due to the improved
cooperation by the Indonesia government."

Two Americans were killed and eight others were wounded in
August 2002 when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a convoy
carrying employees of the U.S.-owned Freeport copper and gold
mine near Timika in Indonesia's easternmost province.

In an Oct. 14 interview with Indonesia's SCTV, ahead of his
trip to Asia, Bush was asked if the slaying of two U.S. citizens
in Papua had changed U.S. military policy toward Indonesia.

"No, as a matter of fact, we're going to discuss mil-to-mil
relations between Indonesia," the U.S. president replied.

"For awhile, the Congress put restrictions on it. But now the
Congress has changed their attitude, and I think we can go
forward with a package of mil-to-mil cooperation because of the
cooperation of the government on the killings of two U.S.
citizens," Bush said.

Congressional opposition to renewed U.S. military training in
Indonesia -- mostly halted over the 1999 bloodshed in East Timor
-- has in fact grown since closed-door hearings in May, when a
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst testified that military
personnel were seeking to withhold evidence in the Papua murders
from FBI agents, the Post said.

Jakarta receives other types of military assistance, notably
counterterrorism training, from Washington.