BOMBING IN INDONESIA: HIGH OCTANE SPECULATIONS

A few days ago I was talking with a friend of mine who lives in Indonesia, and, as it turns out, in the capital of that nation, Jakarta. We occasionally talk about various matters of geopolitics and finance, that impact that region of the world. This time, however, as we were talking, the following event literally occurred:

Terror Attacks in Indonesia’s Capital to Shift Regional Balance of Power

There's a number of points one should note in this article, not the least of which is that the nation is (1) largely Suni, and (2) attempts to be a modern Islamic state. Or to put it country simple, Indonesia is not Saudi Arabia, it is not at the epicenter of the exportation of terrorism or terrorist proxy armies of fundamentalist jihadists. With that in mind, one reads this article with an uneasy feeling, for it contains certain statements that suggest that someone, somewhere, wants to expand this "war on terrorism" to encompass the entire Islamic world, whether or not any given component of that world is an epicenter for terrorism. Consider the following statements in this regard:

Indonesia was considered a central theater in the war on terrorism by many policymakers in the Bush administration. Since Indonesia has the largest Sunni Muslim population in the world, poverty and political instability, could fuel the growth of religious instability. The island of Bali was twice  the scene of gruesome bombings targeting foreign nationals. The bombing in 2002 killed 202 people, while the October 2005 suicide attacks killed at least 20.

The US has been giving sufficient military support since the east Timor independence. The US has numerous military training programs with Indonesia. From 2002-04, Indonesia received $1.3 million from US-IMET (International Military Education and Training) program. The IMET program was suspended from 1999-2002 due to concerns about human rights abuses in East Timor by the Indonesian Military. Indonesia got 14.3 million dollar for the Bali Bomb attack in 2002 from US for Antiterrorism Assistance program.

In 2002-2004 The US Department of Defense funded 4.2 million dollars for the education in counterterrorism practices and strategies for Indonesian military and intelligence officials for Counterterrorism Fellowship Program. US also gave 6 million dollars in 2005 for the Indonesian navy for Maritime Security as foreign military financing.

One notes that Washington - as probably Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow and New Delhi, all view the nation as an important and "pivot" nation in the region. But in this respect, there appears to be some "balking" on Jakarta's part:

The US investment expects tougher stand from Indonesia for its role in the regional disputes with the neighboring countries like china. (sic) But Indonesia failed to meet such western expectation by considering that it could unleash a permanent domestic and regional instability. When a country has more than 6% annual growth rate, it will tend to avoid military engagements. But, as the largest country in Southeast Asia, and the largest Muslim-majority democracy in the world, Indonesia is of great strategic importance to the United States—particularly given the challenges posed by the rise of China in Asia. The US has paid special attention in the South East Asia to contain Chinese assertions. As a result it has also paid special attention to the Indonesia. Already Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Japan enrolled themselves in TPP. There is a clear western bloc visible in that region to contain China. But the US needs the full control over the water of the Malacca Strait to control the water navigation in and around South China Sea. It is clear that those TPP enlisted countries in that region will give full support to any western initiative of contain Chinese assertions. Since Indonesia wants to be in the western TPP club, it will also cooperate with the west depending on mutual benefits. (Emphases added)

What is being implied here is that the recent bombing in Indonesia may in fact be a "false flag", an event designed to pressure the nation into submission to western and American goals for the region, and to assume its Washington-projected role as the "pivot" able to interdict the Straits of Malacca, and this indeed appears to be the conclusion reached by Adhmed Rajeev, the author of the article:

From the above discussion we can summarize that the attack on Indonesia was just a beginning to open a new chapter of the wests(sic) war on terror in that region to exert western power influence in the South East Asia to halt Chinese activities in South China Sea when the west is retreating from the Middle east. The retreating West in the Middle East has updated a policy of Chaos and Rule which is being executed from a position behind the curtain.  Since the world is more connected physically and through technological advancements, a power full(sic) economic system like the West can control and use regional and International clashes and disputes in favor of their interests. If West can create disruption, chaos and divisions into far away civilization or a society, the West will be the most beneficiary from every aspect for its long practice of imperialism.  More divisions into a society will bring more chaos into the region. More regional chaos will lead the regional leaders towards the dependency on the West. More dependency on the West means more opportunity to exploit South East Asia from a position of behind the curtain. And very safely, an indirect but full control over South East Asia and its sea will not bring domestic rebellion into the Western world.

Whether or not this is true remains to be seen.

But one can concoct high octane speculations that would just as easily involve other actors "behind the curtain" than the West. As a "moderate" and "modernizing" Islamic state, one that moreover has been combatting its own form of extremism, one can just as easily envision that Indonesia, by its very existence, is a threat to the medievalism of Tehran or Riyadh, or the Ottomania of Ankara, and therefore, that other actors behind the curtain may be involved than just the West.

What is almost certain, however, is the conclusion one draws from all these presumptive "behind the curtain" actors, and that is that someone wants to expand the war on terror to Southeast Asia. One already knows of the struggle of the Philippine Republic with their own home-grown radical Islamicists, and as the history of Indonesia shows, it too has had to deal with extremists. I'm going to suggest, however, in my high octane speculation of the day, that it is precisely from countries like Indonesia, that a scholarly movement for the modernization of Islam, and the "reform" or - better - Enlightenment, might come. This will, of course, make it even more of a target over the short term for the irrationalism and barbarism one sees behind the fundamentalists. In this respect, Indonesia is almost perfectly positioned culturally, and historically, given its connection with the Dutch, for it was the Dutch, after all, who aided an abetted the early European Enlightenment by being tolerant enough to give a home to one Spinoza. TIme will tell, of course, if anything like that occurs, but ultimately I suspect something like it must occur, for it constitutes the best, and most formidible line of defense a nation like Indonesia has to articulate a cohesive culture vis a vis the extremities of Ankara or Riyadh, and to forms of fundamentalist practice of the religion and culture that will only guarantee it a place in the dustbin of history.

See you on the flip side....

Posted in

Joseph P. Farrell

Joseph P. Farrell has a doctorate in patristics from the University of Oxford, and pursues research in physics, alternative history and science, and "strange stuff". His book The Giza DeathStar, for which the Giza Community is named, was published in the spring of 2002, and was his first venture into "alternative history and science".

26 Comments

  1. zendogbreath on January 17, 2016 at 11:50 pm

    this has way too much dejavu all over again to it.

    anyone else here feeling we’ve had this conversation before
    sometime in the last 6 months?



  2. Hawkeye Lockhart on January 17, 2016 at 3:50 pm

    Interesting how East Timor gained “independence” but is now saddled with the USD as ‘national currency’. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss…

    “The dollarisation of East Timor has a distinct class content. Since Indonesian rule ended, the US greenback, along with the escudo and the Australian dollar, has become the currency of the elite economy that surrounds the operations of UNTAET and aid agencies. By contrast, the destitute people of the devastated territory have largely continued to use the rupiah—or relied on barter.”
    https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2000/01/timo-j31.html

    http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/etimor/untaetPU/currency.pdf



  3. LSM on January 17, 2016 at 8:34 am

    then consider the recent terrorist bombings in Istanbul, Turkey; the majority of murdered victims were German tourists;

    the plot thickens…

    be well all-

    Larry in Germany



  4. DaphneO on January 17, 2016 at 2:11 am

    I just see the work of NATO / GLADIO in this. Organised chaos.
    Bringing the two fundamentalisms, Christian and Muslim, together for the “end times”. The Christian ones will want to send the troops in to kill, and the Muslims are happy to do it themselves, as they’ve proven. And the end result will be a very bloody war.



  5. Alkimia on January 16, 2016 at 10:31 pm

    I live in Bali and have many friends in Jakarta some of which are involved with the Australian Consulate there. They announced to our social group in early December that there was a credible information of an impending terrorist attack in Indonesia.

    For what it is worth I noticed in the comments section on a news site (I think it was ABC Australia or perhaps RT) that someone had said that four of the attackers were Caucasian and at least one of Swedish decent. How they knew that I don’t know or whether I should hold much trust in such a comment.

    In my opinion this has a false flag feel about it and it wouldn’t be the first false flag in Indonesia. I think there is much to be suspicious of regarding the Bali bombings. Here is a link to an interesting video and some other links to consider.

    Fool Me Twice
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyUGkjZxDqk

    http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Possible-police-role-in-2002-Bali-attack/2005/10/12/1128796591857.html

    http://911truthaustralia.com/bali.html



    • DaphneO on January 18, 2016 at 2:24 am

      Started watching the first one. I hadn’t seen this much detail about East Timor. It was heart wrenching. “Our” terrorists did it and Howard’s government was no better than the US government…
      As we already knew really.



    • Dan on January 18, 2016 at 2:24 am

      Thanks for those links. Very surprised the smh published that piece.
      Here in Australia there is an unspoken fear that Indonesia will catch fire.
      Is there a movement of Muslims in indo that is proactively anti-fundamentalist?



    • marcos toledo on January 19, 2016 at 12:04 am

      Thanks for the link Alkimia interesting video.



    • zendogbreath on January 23, 2016 at 11:57 pm

      thank you alkimia



  6. DaphneO on January 16, 2016 at 9:21 pm

    I may be way off here but I just think NATO / GLADIO.



  7. batagor on January 16, 2016 at 9:06 pm

    There is also another more simple side to this story.

    On various occasions terrorism in Indonesia has been used as a distraction for more important problems.

    This time important negotiations with PT Freeport were in danger.

    PT Freeport uses several high placed people to push the decision to extend the contract, such as yusuf Kalla (vice president) and Sudirman Said (minister of Energy and Mineral resources) and offers shares in a large hydro energy project in return.

    An earlier example of using terror to distract the population is the Bank Century scandal.



  8. goshawks on January 16, 2016 at 5:11 pm

    I see two ‘undercurrents’ here (as far as who is doing the bombings), only loosely related to each other:

    First, Indonesia has been resisting TPP. Hence the 777 ‘losses’. It would probably be counterproductive to down a third Boeing 777 belonging to Malaysian Airlines. Even sheep have some associative capability. So, ‘anonymous’ bombings to continue the pressure. (And try for a reversal of the findings of their War Crimes Tribunal…)

    Second, I could see a ‘contest’ between the fundamentalist Wahabi subset of Sunni-based Islam and the more-progressive Sunnis. Warfare for the Sunni-Soul of Islam, so to speak. (Much like the ‘warfare’ going-on in the US between the fundamentalist Christian sects and more-progressive elements.) In this, the progressives have a disadvantage: They see the other side as human, not demonic. So, they are restricted in their actions.

    Since there are indications that the Wahabi-side has been under the care-and-nurturing of the same forces that want TPP, there may be a cross-over here…



    • Dan on January 18, 2016 at 2:44 am

      Good points but isn’t widodo keen to join tpp since an oct 2015 meeting with o bama?



      • goshawks on January 18, 2016 at 11:58 pm

        I would take that ‘keen’ as under duress. That was after the second 777 loss and the near-bankruptcy of Malaysian Airlines as a result. Plus, who-knows-what behind the scenes…

        There are all kinds of ways the TPP could be stymied/delayed in Indonesia. I might suggest that the bombings were a subtle way of keeping the pressure on.



        • Dan on January 24, 2016 at 1:06 am

          Point taken.
          Behind the scenes is a few AFP thugs if previous bombings are anything to go by.



  9. Robert Barricklow on January 16, 2016 at 2:29 pm

    To make a comment that is scrubbed is both good and bad.
    Good, in the sense that you think:
    damn that must of been good/it’s no longer there.
    Bad in the sense…
    it’s no longer there



    • zendogbreath on January 17, 2016 at 11:46 pm

      robert,
      do us all a favor. register another member as rb and repost it.
      thank you,
      zdb



      • Robert Barricklow on January 18, 2016 at 4:12 pm

        It is not name specific.
        Here it’s simply some king of algorithm bot target specific language and the other usual suspects. So the longer winded posts have a higher percentage of scrubbed posts[some of which survive after a human eyes oks it as not done in bad taste].
        I sometimes write, as if wielding a sharply, acidic and caustic foil to prick some issues that may offend an elitist’s sensitive skin[although that does seem counterintuitive: elitist/sensitive].

        Then, there is an overall algorithmic bot the searches out the verboten. Usually something that is counter to the prevailing ideology, exemplified by an issue, so sensitive, that it causes immediate censorship.
        You Tube will then censor the obvious heads off, or copyright violation, etc., – all to obfuscate the real agenda of: deleting the other side’s political home runs in videos/writings/and other media forms



      • Robert Barricklow on January 18, 2016 at 4:15 pm

        zenodogbreath, my reply was long and…
        under modulation.

        The explanation explains why I don’t do as you suggest.
        Should it appear some other time? and I know, I’ll tell you.

        I tried.



        • zendogbreath on January 23, 2016 at 11:33 pm

          yep. that’s a pain. feels like stories about living in china we’ve all heard about. irony is that the only difference mr global is making with all this effort is to train us loyal subjects to work around mr global’s stupid games.



  10. Nathan on January 16, 2016 at 1:32 pm

    I’m pulling for Indonesia on this one, I hope they choose the side of creation and not destruction



    • Dan on January 18, 2016 at 2:30 am

      Your an Aussie too aren’t you? If you are I fully appreciate the hope that indo will not fall apart. It’s all a bit close to home considering we are a white western outpost in Asia.



  11. Aridzonan_13 on January 16, 2016 at 11:56 am

    Here’s my IMHO/SWAG on the situation. More externally fueled internal unrest will continue; AND/OR there will be another EQ/Tsunami/or Volcanic episode that will drive Muslims into Austrailia. Reason being, to bring the “War/ Conflict w/o End, Amen” FedGov.Inc foreign policy to the Aussies / Indonesians. To be filed under “We’ll See.”



  12. marcos toledo on January 16, 2016 at 11:00 am

    Don’t our psychopathic elites have nothing better to do. Than turning this planet into a gladiatorial arena for their twisted amusement. And who do these barbarians from Scandinavia think they are that area of the World has been under China sphere of influence for millennia. Is death and suffering all that gives our oligarchs their reason for existence. Have they not rain enough misery and destruction around the World stop already get a life sadist.



    • Milton Zentmyer on January 16, 2016 at 12:39 pm

      Scandinavia? I missed that dot.



      • marcos toledo on January 16, 2016 at 6:48 pm

        It’s the Scandinavians who settled in northern France the Normans. They’re the ones who have been with help from their Western European and Western Asian fellow criminals reigning terror on the World for centuries.



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