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.

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