CIA Trapped In Its Own
Game In Indonesia
By Kazi Mahmood
Islam Online - South East Asia Correspondent
10-24-2
KUALA LUMPUR (IslamOnline) -- The administration of Megawati
Sukarnoputri is paying a heavy toll in the aftermath of the Bali bomb blast
that killed 180 people and wounded a large number of tourists in the popular
resort of Indonesia, as it is being bombarded from all corners over the
numerous failures in the country.
The streets in Indonesia are bursting with comments that the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) has failed to dragged Indonesia in the war against
terror, while Solehman Buyung, an analyst working for an online magazine in
Jakarta said the CIA "has been trapped in its own game in Indonesia."
Their logic is slowly proving to be true, they say, when they
comment on news reports in local papers that Taiwan officials had a clue
that Bali was going to be blasted into pieces a day before the tragic event.
Megawati's government altogether showed signs of splits on the issue
of terrorism and support to the U.S. in its war against terror, sparking
debates around the archipelago of 212 million Muslims that the moral of the
government is sapping, another commentator said.
While the western media is scrambling to blame Al-Qaeda for the
blast, the media in Indonesia and South East Asia in general is pointing
fingers at the CIA.
The Berita Harian newspaper in Malaysia gave the first page headline
to the news from Taiwan that officials on the Island off China had a hint
that the blast would occur but was told by the U.S. not to divulge the
information.
According to the Taipei Times, the opposition in Taiwan pressed the
government of Prime Minister Yu Shui-kun to reveal the information,
criticizing it for not giving importance to the lives of Taiwanese citizens
who were in Bali at the moment of the blast.
In Indonesia the Republika revealed the bomb used in Bali is a C4
and that plastic elements were found in the discotheque that went flames. It
said the CIA uses this type of material as well as commandos from the U.S.
and some international terrorist groups.
The C4 is ten times more powerful than TNT explosives and is very
expensive, making it accessible only to rich countries, not countries like
Indonesia and groups like those in Indonesia, the Republika said.
The Indonesian military (TNI) has also rejected claims that it might
have links to the Bali blast with reports saying that a former military
aviation officer allegedly prepared the bomb for the blast. The former
officer, whose name is withheld, is being interrogated by police the report
said.
The TNI said it did not possess such plastic bombs, quoting the
Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency, which said that the C4 was made only
in the United States and was used by the U.S. army, or countries that were
allied to the U.S.
With these developments, analysts in Jakarta say there were grounds
for the Indonesian government not to be fouled by the leads given to it by
the CIA or the U.S.
According to Antara news agency in Jakarta, a group of Muslim
lawyers has criticized Indonesian Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil
for his allegation that Al-Qaeda and local terrorists were responsible for
the Saturday night bombings in Bali.
They urged the minister to correct his statement and to prove to
them who the local terrorists were. Abdul Djalil said on Monday that the
method of the Bali bombings showed the involvement of Al-Qaeda, in
cooperation with local terrorists who supplied the necessary logistics.
His assertion is supported by news agencies which said Wednesday
that traces of plastic in the burnt down discotheque in Bali showed the
involvement of the Al-Qaeda in the blast, omitting to say that the C4
originates mainly from the U.S. itself, a political observer working in a
University in Kuala Lumpur told IslamOnline.
Buyung said that the CIA was missing the point in Indonesia, adding
that the U.S. secret service was to be blamed for the Bali blast. "In the
1960s the CIA was a terrific organization and the public was in the dark
over the unexplained, such as the death of U.S. president John F. Kennedy.
"However now we are living in the age of the Internet, news travels
fast and the CIA has proven that it is outdated. It could not predict the
attacks on the U.S. on September 11 last year, but it could predict there
were international terrorists in Indonesia," he said.
First published October 16, 2002
Copyright © 1999-2002 Islam Online
All rights reserved
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