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Politics : War -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas M. who wrote (3556)	9/12/2001 10:31:04 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 23908

Thomas... That was a different time, with decisions being made during a tense period of the cold war, with the US pulling out of Vietnam in shame, and the only geographical obstacle between the Vietnamese and Australia being the vastly spread chain of islands known as Indonesia. Look at this map and tell me where the majority of shipping traverses between the S. China sea and the Indian Ocean.. cia.gov Yep... right through the middle of Indonesia. It's little wonder that the US was pouring Billions into Indonesia, as we were into Thailand, in hopes that we could contain and chekc the communist advance throughout SE Asia. Indonesia was clearly the last "buffer state" before a direct invasion of a major democracy. Do I believe that US leadership condoned Indonesia brutalizing the East Timorese? I highly doubt it because of the embarrassment that results from being associated with our weapons being used for these operations. And I can tell you that back in 1994, I PERSONALLY was reading some policy papers that crossed my path, concerning the sale of CH-47 chinooks to Indonesia. It was considered politically sensitive enough that any support that DOD was lending to train their pilots here in the US was considered unofficially "confidential". So it's not like we have brazenly flaunted to the world that we have approved of such abuses. It's just a calculated decision based upon the current strategic position of the US at the time. The bottom line was if we didn't provide them the arms and support they desired to fight their internal battles over their sprawling archipeligo, they Russians and Chinese were more than willing to do so. Either way, the East Timorese would have suffered because they want to be an independent little state of their own (which no economic means of self-sufficiency, I might add). So don't lay this rap solely on the US... There have been more people who have died as a result of the expansionist and totalitarian policies of communism, than have died from regimes supported by the US. Are we blameless... no... but NEITHER DID WE CREATE THIS HATRED. It was there WAY BEFORE we ever entered the picture. And it's clearly evident that you have more sympathy for 200,000 people who died 30 years ago, than you do for the 10-20,000 who died 24 hours ago in your own nation. So I have to ask you Thomas... how should the US respond to the events of yesterday.. Were you the CinC, in charge of the massive economic and military power this nation possesses, what would you do.... More importantly, what would you say to the American people?? I REALLY WANT TO KNOW!! Hawkmoon