The US Military Expands Its Military Influence

photo courtesy of Kompas.com

The Indonesian Special Forces is known as the “Kopassus.” The group was founded in 1952 to counter-terrorism and gather intelligence. Like any other special military bodies, Kopassus possesses special privileges such as being untouchable by civil law jurisdiction and military trials. Unfortunately, this ability was abused indiscreetly by the members of the team. They have been involved in many kidnappings and killings of regional rebellions and activists. The notorious acts turned worst when, in 1998, members of Kopassus were involved in the mass gang-rape of Chinese-Indonesian women. NGO and the Indonesian human rights groups quickly took an immediate action by reporting these crimes as human rights violations. The military group was banned from any activities since then.

photo courtesy of NYTimes.com

On July 22^nd, 2010, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived in the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta. Appointed by the US officials, Gates met up with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the curresnt President of Indonesia. The Senator’s mission was to lift all bans against the infamous Special Forces over human rights abuses which were committed in 1998. Although Gates’s attempt was a debatable attempt, he believed that there have been military reforms in Indonesia since then. This is true because Indonesia had been under military tyrant, PresidentSuharto, for more than three decades (which might have caused the deterioration of Kopassus's morality). Ever since the decline of military pressure, Indonesia has lessened its military forces. Believing that everything has changed, the United States gave the permission to Kopassus to resume its activities. Training programs will begin immediately under the supervision of the US military.

New York Times gave a very insightful report in this event. It began with the highlight of Senator Gates's objective on visiting Indonesia. Then, it went on to the internal situation on both the United States and Indonesian human rights organizations. Both sides were not very delightful of Kopassus's revival. They both feared this group's returning notoriety. [link]

Although USA Today reported Kopassus’s infamous deed of kidnapping East Timor activists, it did not provide a compelling story of this whole event. This kind of reporting is expected of a news Mcnuggets like USA Today. [link] CNN World brought less detailed report in this issue. However, it relieved the worry that is brought about in New York Times’s coverage. Ever since President Suharto’s fall in 1998, Indonesia has been transitioning into the world’s third largest democracy. It means that the government and the people have become more liberal-minded, responsible, and knowledgeable. [link] BBC News provided a similar coverage to New York Times, but the report added new key information to this issue. It says that Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim nation. Therefore, resuming Kopassus activities might actually help wipe out, track, and limit Islamic Fundamentalist terrorism. [link]

Being published in Indonesia, Kompas chronicled the event from the very beginning to the very end. First, it described Senator Gates’s arrival in Indonesia. He just came from Seoul to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Secretary of Defense Purnomo Yusgiantoro. Kompas briefly discussed the Senator’s objective on visiting Indonesia. (It also mentioned President Barrack Obama for viewing Indonesia, a nation where he used to live, developing as a prominent nation in East Asia.) [link] Immediately an hour later, Kompas updated the issue by highlighting Senator Gates’s statement on resuming Indonesia’s Special Force, Kopassus. [link]

A video regarding Senator Gates's statement can be found here: [link] video courtesy of Reuters.com

The next day, Kompas continued its coverage by highlighting the US officials' complain and worry about Kompassus's revival. However, they stayed optimistic because of Indonesia's improvement in terms of democracy and its politics. [link]

photo courtesy of NYTimes.com

During the Cold War, the US Military stationed missile bases in Turkey. These bases were safety precautions from the Soviet attacks. If the United States were to be attacked, Turkey would prepare its missiles and counter immediately. The Soviets followed the same action by positioning missile bases in Cuba. Thus, the intense circumstances brought up the Cuban Missile Crises. In current times, the United States seem to perpetuate its military influence throughout Asia. Indonesia was approached to be given the permission to reinforce its military power. Perhaps, the objective was to eliminate Islamic Fundementalist threats. However, Indonesia was not the only country approached to have its military power strengthened. In the meantime, South Korea and the US Military began their drills. This was due to the heated tension between South Korea and North Korea. The United States seem be rounding up its power in the Pacifics. Are we foreseeing another war in the East?

Works Cited:

Bumiller, E. and Onishi, O. "US Lifts Ban on Indonesian Special Forces Unit." New York Times. 22 Jul. 2010. Web. 25 Jul. 2010.

"US to resume ties to Indonesia's special forces." USA Today. 22 Jul. 2010. Web. 25 Jul. 2010.

Saputra, A. "US to resume ties with once-notorious Indonesian mulitary unit." CNN World. 22 Jul. 2010. Web. 25 Jul. 2010.

"US Drops training ban on Indonesian special forces." BBC News: Asia-Pacific. 22 Jul. 2010. Web. 25 Jul. 2010.

Sunu, Leo. "Menteri Pertahanan AS Tiba di Jakarta." Kompas. 22 Jul. 2010. Web. 25 Jul. 2010.

Purnomo, Kristanto. "AS Kembali Kerja Sama dengan Kopassus." Kompas. 22 Jul. 2010. Web. 25 Jul.2010.

Purnomo, Kristanto. "Senator AS Sesalkan Kerja Sama Kopassus." Kompas. 23 Jul. 2010. Web 25 Jul. 2010.

Sang-Hun, Choe. "As Tensions Rise, US and S. Korea Begin Drills." New York Times. 25 Jul. 2010. Web. 25 Jul. 2010.