While the United Nations has announced that it is pulling its peacekeepers out of East Timor , the international community needs to continue to support this small island nation. According to Constancio Pinto of the Embassy of East Timor, ?the two biggest issues facing East Timor now are the economic and security issues.? With one-half of the population unemployed and a lack of foreign investment, economic aid from foreign nations is still needed. Pinto has first-hand experience as an insurgent and has a keen understanding of his nation’s security issues. Pinto was a leader of the East Timorese underground before independence before he was marked for death by the Indonesian military and forced to flee his homeland. For four years, he has been an East Timorese representative to the US.

?The security issues are as important as ever before,? said Pinto. With its proximity to Indonesia and Australia , this tiny country could be important in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). After the 1999 intervention of the United Nations, radical Muslims felt that East Timor belonged back with Indonesia. Osama Bin Laden mentioned that East Timor had been stolen by the crusaders. According to Pinto, ?we seem to be on the terrorist agenda. They took great pride in killing Sergio Vierra de Mello in Baghdad” [Terrorist Incident]. De Mello led the UN effort to stabilize East Timor after the removal of the Indonesian military and militias. The UN Mission to East Timor is a widely acclaimed success. But, with a porous border with Indonesia, mountainous terrain, and ease of maritime access, this underdeveloped country has everything terrorists might require to operate in Southeast Asia.

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