Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Sunday

Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Sunday
concluded her visit to New York, Tunisia and Libya with positive
results.

At least, Megawati's address at the UN General Assembly and
her visit to Libya will immensely benefit the country.

Before the UN General Assembly, Megawati raised the problem of
terrorism, which has disturbed the lives of the world community.

Unlike other world leaders, the Indonesian president did not
only speak of the impact of terrorism but she also touched on the
root of terrorism itself.

In Megawati's judgment, unfair treatment by Western countries
of the Palestinian nation is one of the reasons for the emergence
of radicalism, which has finally led to terrorist acts.

Meanwhile, her visit to Libya has indicated how much we care
for that country, which has been enduring a terrible destiny.

Through its leader, Moammar Qaddafy, Libya has also shown it
wants to cultivate closer ties with Indonesia.

Megawati has homework to do to make her foreign trips even
more essential.

So far, the first steps made by the President are not
frequently followed by the actual programs.

Our weaknesses are sometimes seen as trivial because we
concentrate too much on big matters without "a sense of detail".

The president's homework is to remind her cabinet members to
follow up every policy she makes.

Another important homework the President has to do is to
settle domestic problems, such as the preparations for next
year's General Elections.

-- Kompas, Jakarta

Bush's speech before the UN

It was a tale of two speeches, a contrast in styles and
personalities that vividly illustrated the gulf dividing the
modern world. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly
yesterday in New York, George Bush was uncompromising,
aggressive, a shade defensive and at times threatening. At
another level, his speech conveyed a deep sense of self-
righteousness, based on what he defined as "moral clarity" and
"moral law." This was the U.S. president's first appearance
before the U.N. since he usurped the Security Council, split the
international community and launched into his war against Iraq.
If anybody was hoping for contrition, or gestures of
conciliation, they will have been largely disappointed. Olive
branches were in short supply as Mr. Bush, eschewing any genuine
effort at consensus-building, resurrected his old black and white
view of a planet devoid of neutral ground and divided between
civilized and uncivilized. ... Some Americans may find
reassurance in this robustly simplistic analysis. But the rest of
the world will look on uneasily, as before. Mr. Bush had an
opportunity yesterday to build bridges - and chose instead to
burnish his self-image as the square-jawed, undaunted Captain
Marvel of the fight against evil. It was thus an opportunity
lost. ...

-- The Guardian, London

Anti-missile system
for airliners

The move by the Bush administration to spend US$100 million to
begin establishing an anti-missile system for commercial planes
is good news.

That's $40 million more than the administration was expected
to request. And it does reflect attention to the mounting concern
that terrorists could try to use shoulder-fired rockets to shoot
down a passenger plane. ...

It is no secret that hundreds of these types of missiles are
for sale worldwide.

And it's no secret that this would be the kind of attack that
appeals to those who sent airliners crashing into the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon killing nearly 3,000 people.

Because the money would be spent over two years in two phases,
critics such as Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., have said it's too
little and the timetable is too slow. Schumer has proposed $10
billion to equip the nation's commercial planes with anti-missile
systems.

But each undertaking in defense begins with a single step.
This is the first move in securing this kind of protection for
the thousands of people who fly daily across the United States
and around the world.

We're glad we're taking it.

-- El Paso Times, El Paso, Texas

The Bush administration
and the UN

Is it time the Bush administration admit it was wrong to go to
war in Iraq without the involvement of the United Nations?

Yes. And in a round about way that was what the president did
when he spoke to the General Assembly yesterday, even though he
stood firmly by his decision to take the country to war.

There were few olive branches in the president's speech, but
it was still quite a turn about from the days before the war when
our nation would have flung itself head first into this mistake
without even asking the United Nations to consider the question
if it were not for the British. ...

So now the great United States returns to this institution the
administration so despises to ask for money and help.

Iraq is a mess, a costly mess. So costly, in fact, that our
president is asking this nation to pay an additional $87 billion
for the reconstruction of Iraq, and this at a time when the
economy is still floundering. ...

The president did the right thing going to the United nations
asking for help and saying, among other positive things, that the
United States would not abandon its responsibilities to Iraq.

Now he needs to go a step further and let the U.N. take a
leadership role in the process in a way that will bring about the
rapid ascension of a democratic government in Baghdad and as
swift an exodus of American troops from that country as possible.

-- The Anniston Star, Anniston, Alabama

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Neue Luzerner Zeitung, Lucerne, Switzerland, on Switzerland's
national airline joining the OneWorld alliance of airlines:

... The top management of "Swiss" said a year and a half ago
that joining an alliance was the (new airline's) most pressing
strategic problem. Now that the issue has been resolved ... the
image of Swiss can be improved.

From the economic point of view the "wedding" of Air France
and KLM (in the SkyTeam alliance) increased the attractiveness of
Swiss for OneWorld. That made it probably easier for the Swiss
governing board to accept the politically "more comfortable"
solution.

Going with Lufthansa would have been a more solid solution
economically. But it would have had costly consequences - for
Swiss and for Zurich airport. ...

OneWorld instead of Lufthansa. Is this really the "best
solution," as Andre Dose asserts? ... Joining the alliance does
not solve the airline's main problems. It has to fly out of the
red on its own as soon as possible, and it has to build an
adequate blanket of capital to be ready for "storms" to come.

These are huge challenges in view of the competition. Snubbed
Lufthansa might put up a stiff fight.

The optimism on display is understandable. But caution is
advised. Swiss has so far failed to convince banks and other
investors of its long-term "fly-ability." Joining the alliance is
one step in this direction, no more.
---
The Times, London, on Mr. Bush's presentation at the U.N.:

... To skeptics in the General Assembly, Mr. Bush insisted
that there was no disagreement about the essentials. America,
too, was dedicated to the defense of collective security and the
advance of human rights. He called on them to "move forward." The
call was skillfully picked up by Mr. Annan with his insistence
that the U.N. was prepared to play its "full part" in working for
a satisfactory outcome in Iraq. And Washington's forbearance over
his previous criticisms was repaid by his call to the whole
international community to help in the rebuilding of Iraq. It is
this realism that will, eventually, triumph in New York. No
country wants the instability in Iraq to continue: even radical
governments understand that a lawless land attracting every
manner of terrorist with a grudge will become the source of
indiscriminate violence. Stability can be underpinned only by a
rapid return to normality, law and order and economic growth. For
that, the U.N. specialist agencies can be useful. That is why the
UN itself has become a target for Baathist militants and al-Qaida
sympathizers. That is why more troops from other nations are
needed on the ground. Mr. Bush was therefore speaking from
strength yesterday. America has not yet tabled the resolution
giving U.N. blessing to an international force. But France has
already conceded that it will cast no veto, even if it offers no
support. Passage of the resolution is only a matter of time. ...
His administration may find itself hurried by the electoral
timetable, the rising cost and domestic concerns. But it has so
far shown considerable resolution to stay the course. Mr. Bush
faced his critics yesterday with a judicious mix of
determination, diplomacy and defiance. The U.N. would be wise to
heed his call to arms and join battle to rescue Iraq.
---

---
The Citizen, Johannesburg, South Africa, on cricket and terrorism:
It would be naive to hope that sport could escape the ugly world of politics. The on-off South African cricket tour to Pakistan is a reminder that all is not well, no matter how much those of us who are sports fans like to switch off from other happenings.
South Africa is not alone in having jitters about visiting the troubled region. Last year New Zealand pulled out midway after a bomb near the team's hotel killed 11 French engineers.
Australia and the West Indies have also backed off.
The Pakistanis are a wonderfully passionate cricketing nation, represented by gifted, mercurial players. Every effort must be made to keep them well represented in the international game.
But not at the risk of anyone's life.
---

The Daily Telegraph, London, on Mr. Bush's appearance before the
UN General Assembly:

Far from coming cap in hand to the General Assembly, Mr. Bush
was as confident as he was when he last addressed that body a
year ago. Then, he warned it that it would become irrelevant if
it failed to meet Saddam's defiance of its resolutions.
Yesterday, he did not admonish, but left his listeners in no
doubt of his determination to prevail in Iraq and of his
conviction that all nations of good will should contribute to
this endeavor. His speech reached beyond the differences between
Security Council members over Iraq to what he listed as the
scourges of our age - terrorism, weapons proliferation, HIV/Aids,
famine and the slavery of child prostitution. How persuasive it
proves will emerge over the next few months. Mr. Bush first wants
a resolution authorizing an expanded but not determining UN role
in Iraq. Then he would like troop contributions from countries
such as Pakistan and Turkey, and increased financial commitments
from a donors' conference in Madrid next month. He may yet be
disappointed in some of these ambitions. But the tone of his
speech suggested he thought the worst of U.N. obstructiveness was
over.

--- MORE[

GetAP 1.00 -- SEP 26, 2003 00:03:58