Warnings mount over U.S. move to attack Iraq

Berni K. Moestafa and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As the U.S. inches closer toward a unilateral strike on Iraq, aversion toward such a move is growing in Indonesia, renewing warnings that Washington is damaging its already uneasy ties with Jakarta.

War talks from the U.S. have grown louder following Monday's mixed reports presented by the United Nations inspection team on Iraq's disarmament and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the level of cooperation shown by the Iraqi government.

U.S. senior officials, sidelining a UN mandate to launch a strike against Iraq, heightened fears on Tuesday that war in the Middle East was imminent.

"As a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the international community, Indonesia has no other choice but to condemn such an attack," said respected scholar and former defense minister Juwono Sudarsono on Tuesday.

He stressed that even if the UN issued a resolution against Baghdad for failing to disarm itself, that still could not justify a unilateral attack on Iraq.

But Washington displayed a different attitude. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said a new UN resolution was "desirable" but not "mandatory" should U.S. President Bush decide on war, as quoted by Reuters.

But even without the U.S. going it alone on Iraq, the general sentiment toward the U.S. is at a low point.

Numerous anti-America demonstrations flooded Jakarta's streets after it attacked Afghanistan in late 2001. Many viewed the strike as an act of retaliation rather than self-defense following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The hardening U.S. stance toward Islamic radicals by urging Indonesia do more on possible terrorists links here, has further strengthened the anti-American sentiment.

This was compounded by Washington's recent decision to include Indonesia among 25 countries whose nationals must undergo tighter immigration screening when they are in the States.

Muslim leaders and political analysts warned of a backlash from Islamic hard-liners should the U.S. go on war against Iraq, with or without a UN mandate.

The war in Afghanistan, even with the Sept. 11 attacks still fresh in the public minds, drew calls for Indonesia to cut its diplomatic ties with the U.S.

An unprovoked strike, now better known as a pre-emptive strike, against Iraq will put the Indonesian government in a dilemma.

Indonesia's fragile economy cannot afford souring ties with the U.S. due to the latter's leverage among foreign lending institutions, notably the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

But domestic pressure is likely to demand the government react strongly toward a U.S. attack against Iraq.

"I think Washington understands that as the world's most populous Muslim country, the (Indonesian) government has to do so (condemn) to prevent domestic upheaval," Juwono remarked.