On the Bali bombing

On the Bali bombing

The Indonesian government's caution in pronouncing on the
nature of the Bali Bomb attack is understandable as the country,
alone among the Southeast Asian core nations, has consistently
downplayed the reach of the al-Qaeda terror network from its
Middle Eastern base.

Question: Will Indonesia now be prodded to live up to its duty
of handling the menace? The Bali attack will have taught nothing
if nations most at risk maintain the delusion that dealing with
terror cells would compromise domestic political order.

The Bali incident prompts two questions. First, President
George W. Bush needs to take a step back in the light of the
attack and think hard: Has his campaign against organized terror
been sidetracked by his obsession with Iraq? Second, Indonesia
will be inviting unwelcome American intervention if it does not
face up to what is clearly a violation of its honor.

-- Straits Times, Singapore

Indonesia and terrorism

As the devastating explosion Saturday on the Indonesian island
of Bali shows, the United States can lead the war against
international terrorism - but can't win it alone.

Indonesia - the most populous Muslim nation - is rapidly
becoming a haven for domestic and foreign Islamic terrorists, who
hope to use it as a new base of operations. However, President
Megawati Soekarnoputri has chosen not to bear the political risk
of tackling this enormous security problem head-on and her nation
has just paid a steep price for her timid, ineffective
leadership.

Despite pressure from the United States and Indonesia's
neighbors, Megawati has failed to aggressively push for the
passage of a strong anti-terrorism law that has been stalled in
the Indonesian parliament. ...

Any hope of defeating terrorism requires a high level of
international cooperation - which Megawati has unwisely chosen to
withhold. The tragic folly of that approach should be obvious to
Megawati and other Indonesian political leaders. The terrorists
responsible for the Bali attack cared only about wreaking havoc
against the West, and nothing about the serious harm they caused
Indonesia.

-- The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington

Sniper-induced fear
in Washington

The sniper who is taunting police and gunning down victims at
random is doing far more than frightening the residents of the
Washington, D.C. area. His twisted spree of killing has sent a
shudder through every American.

We can imagine what the fear must be like in Washington and
its suburbs. We can imagine because the victims are just ordinary
people, going about daily routines - pumping gas, mowing the
lawn, going to school, shopping at a strip mall. ...

When police catch him, they will likely find an explanation.
There's already one tantalizing clue: a Tarot card with the
message, "Dear policeman, I am God." That suggests a set of
personality traits to criminologists, so the maniac may start to
come into focus. Many think his skill with a rifle suggests
someone with military or police training. Some theorize he's an
intelligent, middle-aged white man who has recently suffered a
humiliating setback that triggered the spree. In this age, is it
too much to wonder if these could be the deliberate acts of a
terrorist? ...

-- Chicago Tribune, Chicago

Iraqi denial
and deception

Iraq has made denial and deception a finely tuned art designed
to convince the world Saddam Hussein's regime isn't cooking up
deadly weapons of mass destruction.

An analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency called the
Iraqi denial and deception program "a deliberate, methodical,
extensive and well-organized national-level, strategic effort,
which aims at deceiving not just the United States, not just the
United Nations or even the public media, but, in fact, the entire
world."

John Yurechko, a DIA expert on information operations and
"D&D," as he refers to denial and deception, said Hussein goes to
great lengths in concealing his intentions from the world. ...

Since the end of the Gulf War, he explained, Iraq's denial and
deception campaign has had three main goals: blur the truth about
Iraqi compliance with the Nuclear Proliferation treaty and U.N.
resolutions; keep U.N. Special Commission inspectors from
learning the full extent of Iraq's WMD capabilities and prevent
UNSCOM from completely disarming Iraq's nuclear, chemical,
biological and long-range missile programs in accordance with
U.N. resolutions. ...

This is why international inspectors must be given unbridled
access to scour Iraq for biological and nuclear weapons.

-- American Press, Lake Charles, Louisiana

On a war against Iraq

President Bush's speech last Monday seeking support for war
against Iraq was a succinct reiteration of the reasons he thinks
Saddam Hussein poses a threat to U.S. security. But once again,
we think he failed to make the case that a unilateral, pre-
emptive attack by the United States is necessary or even
advisable....

The administration repeatedly has failed to discuss the
potential ramifications of such a strike, how it would establish
a friendly regime once Saddam is gone, how it would deal with
instability in the region caused by a war and how it would pay
for the war and rebuilding a decimated Iraq.

Bush's pose as the liberator of the Iraqi people rings
hollow. ...

The president would do well to consider backing a plan
advocated by some members of Congress, including Rep. John
Spratt, D-S.C. ... Instead, he has called for "coercive
inspections" of Iraqi weapons sites, conducted by a coalition of
forces under United Nations auspices. This approach would have
two advantages: 1. The president would make clear that the U.N.
must enforce its own rules against Iraq; 2. The United States
would make the obvious but seldom stated point that Iraqi weapons
pose a greater threat to its neighbors and even much of Europe
than they do to this country. ...

-- The Herald, Rock Hill, South Carolina