Home
> Authors > Multitasking In Indonesia
Multitasking In Indonesia
By
Karen Martell
January 30, 2005
In a gesture of compassion and with an eye for opportunity,
the Bush administration immediately responded with aid, military
personnel, and equipment to those countries hit by the December
26 earthquake and subsequent tsunami. The tsunami caused tremendous
destruction and human suffering, but also created an opportunity
for the U.S. to rebuild its image in the Islamic world.
Given the invasion of Iraq, the attack on Afghanistan, and the
United States’ ongoing support of Israel, the United States
must win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world if it is to
achieve peace in the Middle East.
“The tsunami has served as the perfect opportunity for
the United States to gain influence in these countries, as long
as it leaves an impression in the minds of the Muslims that the
United States is giving and affectionate” said Condoleeza
Rice in her testimony during the U.S. Senate hearings. Already,
Rice concluded, “the tsunami has achieved great profits
for us.”
The opportunity is particularly great in Indonesia, the most
populous Muslim nation.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the U.S. has directed US troops
and naval forces to Indonesia and established “American
corners” in Indonesian universities as a means to highlight
the American way of life and to illustrate American values.
American NGOs, donor agencies and foundations such as the Asia
Foundation have directed millions of aid dollars to ‘progressive’ and ‘liberal’ Indonesian
and Malaysian Islamist NGOs, think tanks, universities and other
institutions as a means to prevent those countries hit by the
tsunami from falling into the hands of anti-American streams
of political Islam.
In addition, the U.S. has eliminated Indonesian relief groups
linked to local Islamist parties like the Partai Keadilan Sejahtera
(PKS) and movements like the Hidayatullah, with the concern that
they may be working with radical Islamic forces.
A press release from the Center for Strategic and International
Security, reiterated the importance of U.S. intervention in the
Muslim world, “The United States’ role in countries
such as Malaysia, Turkey, and Indonesia will determine whether
these countries will serve as model Muslim states, meant for
others to follow.”
As for those receiving the aid, some are apparently weary of
U.S. intentions. “After the September 11 tragedy, followed
by the attack on Afghanistan on the pretext of getting Osama
Bin Laden for it, and then invading Iraq on the questionable
basis of supposedly amassing weapons of mass destructions, the
Muslim world will never trust the U.S. as a nation that stands
for freedom, human rights and justice,” said Ahmad Azam,
President of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (ABIM).
Likewise, Dr. Farish A. Noor, a Malaysian political scientist
and human rights activist based at the Zentrum Moderner Orient
(ZMO) in Berlin said, “The treatment of the so-called terrorists
in Guantanamo Bay, the massacre in Falluja and Afghanistan while
ignoring the series of assassinations of Palestinian leaders
has destroyed whatever credibility the U.S. had left as an advocate
for peace.”
The United States past involvement may also influence how it
is received.
America was a strong supporter of the Soharto regime from 1965
to 1998. In The New Rulers of the World, John Pilger
explains how the United States and England helped General Soharto’s
troops to usurp President Sukarno, a popular leader opposed to
western economic views of liberalization and globalization.
The regime change resulted in the murder of 500,000 to a million
people. A CIA report described, “the massacres rank as
one of the worst mass murders in the 20th century.”
Perhaps the United States’ most recent role will overshadow
these past events. As President Bush said in an interview with
ABC News on Friday January 14, “many in the Muslim world
have seen a great compassion in the American people and I’ve
got to tell you, our military is making a significant difference.”
Contact Karen Martell at martelka@stanford.edu
