One glance at a list of the worst terrorist attacks in the past two decades shows their immense geographical diversity. This has truly been a global problem, with terrorists making no distinction between countries large and small, rich and poor. But until Oct. 12, the South Pacific has been largely spared by the terrorist wave sweeping the globe. In a region that rarely dabbles in power politics, many governments adopted the tempting fallacy that "it can't happen here." And yet it did.
The perpetrators of the monstrous atrocity in Bali, Indonesia, had only one goal: to kill as many people as they could. Certainly, Bali's tourist area was chosen as a target because of its large number of Westerners, but of the nearly 200 people who perished in the Pacific Rim's bloodiest terrorist attack ever, there were representatives from every continent. In this sense, and in many others, this attack reminded people of the World Trade Center disaster.
The brunt of the bombing, however, fell on two countries that have never before suffered from terror of this scale. It was, in effect, their Sept. 11. This event has resulted not only in the loss of life, but also in the crippling of the Indonesian economy. Foreign investment, which the country has lacked since the Asian financial crisis, will be even harder to attract during these uncertain times. For its neighbor Australia, America's strongest ally in the South Pacific, this was the deadliest attack on its citizens since World War II. In fact, when describing the injuries of survivors, one Australian doctor said that "they were the sort of thing you would only see in a war-like situation."
It is estimated that half the casualties in Bali were Australian--an astonishing number when you consider that the attack was hundreds of miles from Australian soil. It appears probable that Australians were targeted because of Prime Minister John Howard's uncompromising stance against terrorism. The United States must never forget that his government was one of very few in Asia that provided military assistance during combat operations in Afghanistan. As we remember the loss suffered by families from Melbourne to Perth, we have to realize that, very likely, they are paying the price of their country's historic alliance with America.
There can be little doubt that al-Qaeda played a pivotal role in this brutal bombing, whether or not its operative actually placed the explosives. The indiscriminate murder of innocent civilians, the targeting of a major center of economic life and the sheer scope of the operation��all of these point to one and only one culprit. Al Qaeda has been busy lately, orchestrating attacks on U.S. troops in Kuwait, as well as the French oil tanker Limburg in the Arabian Sea.
The latest in this series of terrorist acts proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the threat posed by Al Qaeda remains as real and severe as it was one year ago. The quiet year after Sept. 11 may well come to be viewed as the calm before this new storm.
The government of Indonesia could not have prevented this bombing, just as the United States could not have stopped the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11. But there is no question that Jakarta bears responsibility for consciously ignoring warnings from the United States and regional allies about its domestic terrorist groups.
For the last year, the government has been on the receiving end of the intricate intelligence-sharing agreement it joined as a member of the ASEAN alliance. Instead of working with Singapore and the Philippines in tackling the threat of Jemaah Islamiah and other home-grown elements of the Al Qaeda network, Indonesia did next to nothing, even in the face of personal pleas from President George W. Bush to its head of state, Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Jakarta must acknowledge that it committed a grave error in pretending that the danger from Islamic extremists was exaggerated. Washington and Canberra certainly have a vested interest in persuading it to make this admission, and even importantly, to take the lessons of Oct. 12 to heart. It is not enough to condemn the terror--concrete action must be taken to prevent such atrocities in the future. There are encouraging signs that the government of Soekarnoputri is finally ready to make some tough decisions.
Within days of the bombing, the cabinet was considering an emergency decree that would authorize the police to detain terror suspects without specific evidence. This would not be an overreaction under the circumstances considering the dire situation.
The United States also has a role to play in helping Indonesia crack down on militants. Now is no time for the Bush administration to sit back and adopt an isolationist stance simply because the attack was "over there." Whatever Jakarta asks for--money, equipment, intelligence, even military assistance--should be provided, and promptly.
It is true that Indonesia does not have a particularly good record on human rights, but that is no reason to deny it aid that will make it easier to bring killers to justice and secure the population against further harm.
In spite of the country's lackluster record in fighting terror, it deserves our full support as it takes on this menace. It is worth repeating here, as Secretary of State Colin Powell and Howard made clear, that this new battle in the war on terror is not a battle of faiths or civilizations. The vast majority of people in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, are outraged by what happened and will not stand for further violence. We must support and protect these people.
They suffered great loss in this tragedy, and while we may criticize their government for its past shortcomings, there is no question that the entire world will stand with Indonesia at this trying time, as it stood with the United States after Sept. 11. For the people of Indonesia, Australia, and every other nation that lost citizens in Bali, we have to renew our determination to win this war.
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