More inspection, not war, should follow U.S. report: RI

More inspection, not war, should follow U.S. report: RI

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Fresh suspicions fanned by a United States report over Iraq's
alleged hidden weapons of mass destruction should be used as case
for intensified United Nations inspections, not war, Indonesia
said on Thursday.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda refused to call
U.S. State Secretary Colin Powell's report on Iraq a smoking gun
that justified war.

"For Indonesia this evidence must still be verified and
checked further by the UN inspection team," he told reporters
following a Cabinet meeting.

Powell presented to the UN Security Council on Wednesday a
multi-media case for considering Iraq in "material breach" of UN
resolution 1441. The resolution orders the disarmament of Iraq's
weapons of mass destruction.

Powell drew a disturbing picture of Iraq maintaining and
producing an arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, more
than a decade after the UN had first ordered their destruction.

Hassan described the information, pooled from telephone taps
and satellite photos, as intelligence reports.

"To the U.S. this may be enough to declare Iraq uncooperative
and launch a military strike." But Indonesia, he said, agreed
with Germany, France and China to extend the work of the UN
inspection team in Iraq.

"The consequence of a war is too big to bear, not just for
Iraq but also for the world," he said.

Indonesia has demanded that any actions against Iraq should be
taken under a UN framework, and said a U.S.-led unilateral strike
against Iraq was unacceptable.

The U.S. has often intimated that it would not need a U.N.
mandate to attack Iraq, insisting that Baghdad posed too serious
threat to be ignored.

Powell's presentation did not alter the prospect of a war in
Iraq since the U.S. had already made up its mind about it,
claimed foreign political analyst Riza Sihbudi of the Indonesian
Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

"The presentation was simply an effort to maintain U.S. ties
with other countries," he said.

Washington has been trying to woo skeptical allies such as
France and Germany into supporting a military strike. But its
message so far has been mostly akin to U.S. President George W.
Bush's "either you are with us or against us" remark after the
Sept. 11 terrorist strike.

The U.S. ambassador in Berlin, Daniel Coats, said that
"serious doubts" were emerging in the U.S. as to whether Germany
was still a reliable ally given its anti-war stance, AFP
reported.

Indonesia's ties with the U.S. would also come under pressure
with or without a U.N. mandated war in Iraq, foreign political
analysts threatened.

They warned the U.S. that it was exposing its interests here
to a risk of violent backlashes from radical groups should it
attack Iraq.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has seen
a rise in anti-American sentiment since the U.S. launched its
global war on terrorism.

Legislators reiterated on Thursday their objection to the U.S.
going it alone in Iraq, saying it would set a bad precedent to
the world.

Chairman of the House of Representatives Commission I on
political, security and foreign affairs, Ibrahim Ambong said the
U.S. could not attack Iraq if the UN's inspection team extended
its work in that country.

Sutradara Ginting of the House's Indonesian Nationhood Unity
(KKI) faction warned of a rise in radicalism on the back of U.S.
war talks.

Numerous anti-U.S. demonstrations have led to tighter security
in and around the U.S. embassy in Jakarta.

About half of its staff was sent home shortly before the first
anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks as well as the Oct. 12 Bali
terror bombs, and embassy officials said they had no plans of
bringing them back.

Brisk progress has been made in catching the alleged bombers
behind the Bali blast, which killed at least seven American
vacationers, but as the extent of their network here was still
unclear, analysts said American interests remain at risk of
attack.