[Marxism] Indionesia defense minister sees improved US role if Obama wins

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Waiting for Barack
Indonesia's defense minister looks at how an Obama presidency could reshape
foreign perception of the United States.

Erika Kinetz
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Updated: 5:49 PM ET Apr 14, 2008
In the crumbling living rooms of middle-class Jakarta, men and women who
once knew Barack Obama have claimed him as their own, a neighborhood boy
made good. Obama has a fan, too, in Indonesia's minister of defense, Juwono
Sudarsono, the first civilian to be appointed to the post. Educated at
Berkeley and the London School of Economics, Sudarsono is a soft-spoken
intellectual who has held posts under every Indonesian president since
Suharto. Last Friday, the day after he met with U.S. Navy Adm. Timothy J.
Keating, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, Sudarsono talked with
NEWSWEEK'S Erika Kinetz about what an Obama presidency might mean for the
world at large, and for the warming military relations between Indonesia and
the United States, which ended congressional restrictions on military
funding to Jakarta in 2005. Excerpts: 

NEWSWEEK: How do you think an Obama presidency would affect U.S.-Indonesia
relations?
Juwono Sudarsono: Symbolically it would be very, very important for us, as
it would be for the whole Asian [and] African continents. If Obama is
elected as president, I think it would reignite the United States as the
real light star of hope-that it symbolizes a multiethnic, multicultural,
multireligious nation. That's the most important aspect, the symbolism of
it. Translating it into American foreign policy will be much more difficult.

What would the biggest challenge be?
Domestic performance. The credibility of a foreign policy rests on the
domestic performance of a country. As the largest Muslim country-but not an
Islamic state-our biggest challenge is to deliver on our promises at home to
be credible abroad. The so-called Muslim moderate promise actually depends
on how we deliver on promises at home, on how we provide outreach to the
Muslim poor so they will not be attracted to radical ideologies, be it
secular or religious. 

In 2006, when then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Indonesia, you
spoke about America's overbearing foreign policy. How is America doing now? 
I think I was misquoted at that time. I did say structurally the United
States is too powerful, so, like it or not, the United States will be seen
as overbearing everywhere, especially in Muslim countries, because [the
United States] represents the epitome of what other countries are not. You
[the United States] are white. You are Christian. You are rich. Your
technology is superior. All of these countries are not . It's a phenomenon
Americans cannot understand.

If you could vote as part of the American global polity, who would you vote
for?
Right now? I would vote for Obama. I think he has this message of decency,
of fairness, of transcending racial hatred, which cuts across all countries,
all nations. 

U.S. policy in terms of military relations in Southeast Asia has changed in
the last few years. This upsets human rights groups that have negative
things to say about the Indonesian military. [Amnesty International and
Human Rights Watch, among others, say the Indonesian military is guilty of
human rights abuses.] 
We've been able to persuade liberal congressmen that just to be against a
country because of its military dominance domestically-whether it's
Indonesia, Cambodia, or now in Pakistan, or in Egypt-can be detrimental to
long-term U.S. interests . The real issue is can the country be governed
effectively. In many cases, particularly in Third World countries, the only
institution that can run the country is the military. But this is anathema
to the precepts of liberal democracy . I think [Obama] would understand that
a liberal democracy needs a certain degree of economic well-being. 
 
How did your visit with Adm. Keating go?
Our focus is on Hercules transport C-130 [aircraft]. That's the most
strategic and important equipment we need. It's not only for troop
movements. It provides immediate rescue to troubled areas as a result of
earthquakes, tsunamis, floods. The U.S. has provided more of the spare parts
for these transport planes. They also provided spares for some of our F-16s
which we bought 15 years ago . We have reinstated IMET-international
military education and training. We need more and more captains and majors
trained in the U.S. so in time they will become leaders of the military and
maybe in time become minister of defense . At the moment we are only getting
about $16 million a year. It's peanuts. But that's the balance of political
forces in [the U.S.] Congress. We are still suffering from this overhang of
this image of the cruel military of the past, of military suppression during
the Suharto years.

The United States restricted military ties with Indonesia until 2005, in
part, because of alleged Indonesian human rights violations in East Timor.
The military leaders of that action have all gotten off. Just a week ago
your supreme court overturned the sentence of Eurico Guterres, a notorious
militia leader. 
The important thing was we did this on our own terms. Judgment was not going
to be sent to Geneva or the Hague . We had this Commission on Truth and
Friendship we established between East Timor and Indonesia, which just
released its findings. This was the way we wanted to resolve the issue. This
was sufficient. Of course, it was not sufficient for the NGOs in Washington
and Geneva. 

What is the biggest challenge to America's image abroad?
Ultimately, it's domestic performance. If there is a fairer America, as
symbolized by this hope given by Obama, it will do a lot of good. If you
treat your own citizens, especially your minorities, much better it will
create a much more important message than anything the secretary of state or
the president of the United States talks about. I gave up on diplomacy when
I was ambassador in Britain. The real diplomacy was being done by bankers
and traders. The embassy was just a post office. 

Barack Obama has a real fan base in some middle-class Indonesian households.
What do you think would change from having that experience in the White
House?
As I read from his books, I would hope that would create a sense of mission.
That things can be improved. I would hope he would create the terms and
conditions of a more perfect union . The United States has replaced Great
Britain as the power where the sun never sets. Now the sun never sets on the
back of the American GI. They are everywhere across the world. You have a
$550 billion defense budget, which is equal to our GDP. My yearly defense
budget is your defense budget maybe for one day and a half. 

So you want to be friends with America, then? 
I would like to engage Indonesians, particularly poor Muslims, that under
Obama, America will be a much better force for good for the world. That its
size, reach, economic and political influence can provide hope . If he wins,
it would create an optimism among Indonesians, particularly minorities, that
perhaps in the next 10 to 15 years there can be a non-Javanese president in
Indonesia. It's doable.

URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/132061


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