RI must stop denying presence of terrorists, says Wolfowitz

RI must stop denying presence of terrorists, says Wolfowitz

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz urged Indonesia
on Tuesday to stop pretending that it does not have a terrorist
problem, warning that al-Qaeda's prime target was Indonesian
democracy, Agence France-Presse reported.

In an interview with CNN, Wolfowitz said the government in
Jakarta was more serious and focused about the problem since the
terrorist bombing in Bali.

But, he said, "I still think there are a far too many
Indonesians who haven't quite heard the call yet," he said.

"In many ways, the prime target is Indonesian democracy," he
said. "This is not the kind of government that al-Qaeda wants to
see governing the Muslim world."

"They'd like to create the kind of economic misery, the kind
of divisions between Indonesia and the West that can lead to
ultimately turning Indonesia into the worst kind of Islamic
state," he said.

"They have a long, a very long way to go if they're going to
succeed, because that's not the way Indonesian people are. But
they, I think, are prepared to kill hundreds of thousands of
people to try to achieve that goal," he said.

Wolfowitz, a former U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, acknowledged
that the government faces a tough challenge in balancing civil
rights with security. "So I think we need to be careful about
preaching to Indonesians," he said.

"At the same time, I think they should stop being in denial
and stop pretending there's no terrorist problem and stop
pretending that this is just something the Americans invented and
get on with developing good, solid democratic methods for dealing
with these people," he said.

In a different interview with an Indonesian TV station,
Wolfowitz said that Indonesia was up to the challenge in
balancing the struggle for democracy with the fight against
terrorism.

The American Forces Press Service, which carried the
interview, said Wolfowitz used the opportunity to reiterate the
point that America is not an enemy of Islam, terrorists are.

Wolfowitz, who served as U.S. ambassador to Indonesia under
the Reagan Administration, invoked those close personal ties in
getting his message across to Indonesia.

"If Indonesians don't do something to stop terrorism in
Indonesia, it's going to have really terrible consequences for
democracy in that wonderful, important country that I love so
much," Wolfowitz said.

He said it's a shame the United States constantly has to
defend its actions when this country has such a strong history of
defending and aiding Muslim populations.

"The United States, I believe over many years and particularly
in the past 10 years, has regularly gone to the aid of oppressed
Muslim populations.

"I don't think we've got something to defend in our record."

Wolfowitz cited U.S. military interventions to assist Muslim
populations in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Somalia, and noted the United
States fought the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War to liberate and defend
Kuwait from Iraq's Saddam Hussein.

He also said millions of Muslims in Afghanistan are better off
because the United States helped overthrow the Taliban regime in
that country.

"No one ever said that we were fighting for Islam when we did
that, but we happened to be defending Muslim populations.

"It is the terrorists who are the real enemy of Islam.

"It's their very perverted, extreme, distorted version of the
religion that they're trying to not only use as a justification
for killing Americans and killing Westerners, but also the
justification for subjugating Muslims."

Another aim of terrorist organizations is to drive a wedge
between democratic Muslim nations, such as Indonesia, and their
friends in the West, he said.

"It is, I think, very noteworthy that you can read now on al-
Qaeda websites elaborate justifications and glorifications of the
killings in Bali," Wolfowitz pointed out.

He said Indonesia faced a challenge all democracies face, to
effectively fight terrorism and still protect the civil liberties
of its people. This is complicated because the terrorists use the
freedoms of democracy to hide their goals of undermining
democracy.

"Their theory probably is that if they can increase the level
of misery and desperation in this country with such a heavy
Muslim population, they hope to gain more recruits for their
rather evil cause," Wolfowitz said.

The TV program's interviewer pointed out to Wolfowitz that
some pundits in Indonesia have suggested the United States is
responsible for the Bali attack.

Wolfowitz vehemently dismissed the suggestion.

"That is just totally unbelievable fantasy," he said. "I can't
believe that anybody rational actually believes that. The
evidence is so clear that al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden and the
terrorist organizations that are connected to them have been
behind a whole series of horrible attacks on innocent people and
they claim credit for it.

"In fact," he added, "if you go to some of their web sites,
they're boasting about the attacks in Bali. It's inconceivable
that this was done by the United States, and I can't imagine
anybody informed or educated believing that."