The Wall Street Journal, October 11, 2002
U.S. Threatens a Pullback of Staff
U.S. Believes Jakarta Attack Targeted American Official; Cleric Is Suspect In
Jakarta Blast
By JOHN MCBETH and BARRY WAIN
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The U.S. government believes a grenade explosion in Jakarta last month was a
botched terrorist attack on an American official, and Washington is threatening to
begin evacuating diplomatic staff unless Indonesia cracks down on Islamic militant
groups.
U.S. officials say Indonesian investigators have uncovered evidence that the Sept. 23
attack was ordered by Abu Bakar Baasyir, an Islamic cleric who allegedly heads
Jemaah Islamiyah, a group with suspected links to al Qaeda that has been implicated
in terrorist activities in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines during the past year.
The intended target was a house occupied by an employee of the U.S. Agency for
International Development, the officials say.
U.S. Ambassador Ralph Boyce, in meetings with senior Indonesian government
officials this week, has pressed Jakarta to seriously investigate the incident and to
improve security for U.S. personnel and their families, according to Asian and
Western diplomats. Mr. Boyce told the Indonesians that if American lives and
property aren't better protected, the U.S. Embassy may begin to evacuate
nonessential embassy staff, the diplomats add.
The ambassador's warning intensifies pressure mounting on Jakarta from the U.S. and
its Southeast Asian allies to move against Mr. Abu Bakar, who runs an Islamic
boarding school in Central Java and who says he isn't involved in terrorism or with
Jemaah Islamiyah. Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines have detained scores of
alleged followers of the 64-year-old cleric, including some who have confessed to
being Jemaah Islamiyah members and to have planned attacks on U.S. and other
targets in those countries at Mr. Abu Bakar's instigation. But Indonesian police have,
in the past, insisted they have no evidence connecting him to terrorist activities.
In a telephone interview Thursday, Mr. Abu Bakar called the allegation that he was
involved in the grenade attack "a big lie." Saying he didn't have "anything to do with
it," the cleric added: "This is all part of American moves to try to capture me. They will
engineer any moves or slanders in order to silence Islamic activists. This is an
American political game aimed at weakening the Islamic struggle by capturing leading
Islamic figures."
What to do about Mr. Abu Bakar is a thorny problem for Indonesian President
Megawati Sukarnoputri, who could provoke a political backlash in the world's largest
Islamic country if she mishandles the terror issue. Analysts say she risks being
branded "anti-Islamic" by political opponents, a label that could cost her votes in
elections scheduled for 2004. While U.S. officials say they believe Mrs. Megawati is
personally "on board" in the U.S.-led war on terror, her cabinet ministers and security
officials have yet to respond with the tough action against local militants that foreign
critics are seeking.
Any significant withdrawals of U.S. personnel from Jakarta could further sour
Indonesia's gloomy foreign-investment climate and hurt tourism. Already there is little
U.S. investment on the horizon, and established investors have long been
accustomed to working under heightened security risks. Tourism by Americans has
been greatly reduced since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The strain of such a withdrawal also could complicate U.S. efforts to resume some
form of military cooperation with Jakarta, which has gained new impetus since the
2001 terror attacks.
The grenade incident occurred just two weeks after several U.S. embassies in
Southeast Asia were closed for several days after Omar al Faruq, an alleged al Qaeda
operative detained in Indonesia in June, told U.S. interrogators that Jemaah Islamiyah
planned to attack them. Since then, workers have erected a concrete barricade in the
street outside the Jakarta embassy and have bolted steel plates across all
second-floor windows.
After the grenade exploded in a van near the U.S. official's home, killing one of the
vehicle's occupants and blowing off the driver's leg, U.S. officials initially said there
was no indication that American interests were targeted. In contrast, Indonesian
police said it appeared to be a bungled attack directed at Americans. Both parties
soon changed their minds.
While the police later suggested the incident stemmed from a debt dispute, the U.S.
became "100% convinced" that it was a serious terrorist attack aimed at the U.S.
official, say Asian and Western diplomats. They say the injured driver confessed to
Indonesian investigators that the attack was "commissioned" by Mr. Abu Bakar, who
has praised Osama bin Laden as a "true Islamic fighter."
During recent days, Mr. Boyce has expressed his concern in meetings with
Indonesia's coordinating minister for politics and security, Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono; its armed-forces commander, Gen. Endriartono Sutarto; and its police
chief, Gen. Da'i Bachtiar. On Tuesday, Mr. Boyce briefed about 40 Jakarta-based
ambassadors and other diplomats.
A U.S. official based in Jakarta contends the threat is "as great as it has ever been,"
adding that "there is a renewed commitment to get us, not only from grenades but
also from car bombs."
A Southeast Asian official adds the driver's alleged confession means there is enough
evidence to start an investigation of Mr. Abu Bakar. "The Americans have told the
Indonesians that if they don't do something about this case, they can only conclude
that the Indonesians aren't serious about protecting American lives and property," the
official says.
-- Rin Hindryati contributed to this article.
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