The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has moved a major step closer toward normalizing military ties with the Indonesian military (TNI), which it hopes will be a key ally in its ”war against terrorism” in Southeast Asia. The Senate voted 61-36 Thursday to defeat an amendment that would have barred funding for enrolling Indonesians in Washington’s International Military Education and Training (IMET) program until it cooperates fully in an investigation into the killing of two U.S. teachers in West Papua last summer. The administration’s eagerness to restore military aid and training to Indonesia – first restricted in 1991 after a well-publicized massacre in East Timor, and then cut off entirely in 1999 when TNI-backed militias ransacked the former Portuguese colony – has made it a top foreign-policy priority since the Sep. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against New York and the Pentagon. Full Story
About OODA Analyst
OODA is comprised of a unique team of international experts capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to global corporations and governments.