U.S.
investments are threatened. Should the IMF insist, that as part of any bail-out package subsidies on fuels, fertilizers and other basics be removed, these measures should generate sufficient ground swell along with their depleting dollar reserves, to create the desired environment for change.â
âAnd if this fails?â the President guessed he already knew the answer.
Why did it so often come down to this?
âThen our only other option would be to support a coup.â
The American leader listened to the succinct statement, and slowly shook his head. He reached across and lifted the delicately shaped, silver-filigree keris , which had been decorated with precious stones and designed as a letter opener. It had been a gift from the Indonesian President, presented during his stay at Camp David the year before. Immediately, memories of Suhaptoâs visit reminded him of the reciprocal invitation to join the aging Javanese on his ranch outside Jakarta. It would now be an opportunity lost, and he was saddened that the man who had been Americaâs friend for more than three decades, would now disappear from the worldâs stage.
He recalled listening to a Voice of America broadcast back in time, when he, not unlike many other young Americans who had avoided the draft and left for overseas, suffered severe homesickness and occasionally sat around in London with others in similar situations, wishing they could return home.
It seemed, at the time, that his country might soon be fighting a war on two fronts as the violence in Indonesia escalated. When was that? he struggled to remember, deciding that it had to be somewhere in the mid-Sixties.
He had not suffered the scars of war, as had so many of his fellow countrymen. Instead, he had only the unpleasant reminder of a wound he had received from falling down the British college steps. This recollection unconsciously sent his hand to touch the soreness which, until this day, remained along the length of his leg.
âThanks gentlemen,â he said, rising, then moving to look out through the window. âYou know what my preferred option is, of course,â he said, tiredness evident in his voice. The President then turned slowly to face the three men. âI donât want Suhapto harmed if at all possible. He has been a good friend to this country, and we should let him go as quietly as can be arranged. Understood?â
âOf course, Mr. President,â Cohen answered, the CIA Director and National Security Adviser also nodding affirmatively. There was a brief silence, the Secretary managing to choke another cough. They waited; a few minutes ticked by, then the President nodded, almost absentmindedly, permitting the keris to slip slowly from his hand, onto the table.
âKeep me posted,â was all he said, before turning back to peer through the window again, the specter of a Moslem Indonesia loaded with nuclear-capable missiles weighing heavily on his mind.
Unaware that their Indonesian intelligence sources had blundered seriously, the Presidentâs advisers quietly took their leave, each returning to his own powerful security realm to initiate steps to remove, and replace, the Javanese born President, believing that these actions would preclude any emergence of an Indonesian Islamic state, and the threat of a Chinese dominated Asian-Middle Eastern trade bloc.
* * * *
The Middle East
Abdul Muis
Haji Abdul Muis was most impressed with what he had observed, relishing the knowledge that very few Iranians, let alone foreigners such as he, had ever been given access to the countryâs secret installation. The Haji acknowledged that it was his position as leader of the Indonesian Mufti Muharam Moslem party which had provided him with this opportunity to inspect these sensitive facilities. This was his third visit to Iran, his efforts to consolidate his relationship with the powerful ayatollahs , so far
investments are threatened. Should the IMF insist, that as part of any bail-out package subsidies on fuels, fertilizers and other basics be removed, these measures should generate sufficient ground swell along with their depleting dollar reserves, to create the desired environment for change.â
âAnd if this fails?â the President guessed he already knew the answer.
Why did it so often come down to this?
âThen our only other option would be to support a coup.â
The American leader listened to the succinct statement, and slowly shook his head. He reached across and lifted the delicately shaped, silver-filigree keris , which had been decorated with precious stones and designed as a letter opener. It had been a gift from the Indonesian President, presented during his stay at Camp David the year before. Immediately, memories of Suhaptoâs visit reminded him of the reciprocal invitation to join the aging Javanese on his ranch outside Jakarta. It would now be an opportunity lost, and he was saddened that the man who had been Americaâs friend for more than three decades, would now disappear from the worldâs stage.
He recalled listening to a Voice of America broadcast back in time, when he, not unlike many other young Americans who had avoided the draft and left for overseas, suffered severe homesickness and occasionally sat around in London with others in similar situations, wishing they could return home.
It seemed, at the time, that his country might soon be fighting a war on two fronts as the violence in Indonesia escalated. When was that? he struggled to remember, deciding that it had to be somewhere in the mid-Sixties.
He had not suffered the scars of war, as had so many of his fellow countrymen. Instead, he had only the unpleasant reminder of a wound he had received from falling down the British college steps. This recollection unconsciously sent his hand to touch the soreness which, until this day, remained along the length of his leg.
âThanks gentlemen,â he said, rising, then moving to look out through the window. âYou know what my preferred option is, of course,â he said, tiredness evident in his voice. The President then turned slowly to face the three men. âI donât want Suhapto harmed if at all possible. He has been a good friend to this country, and we should let him go as quietly as can be arranged. Understood?â
âOf course, Mr. President,â Cohen answered, the CIA Director and National Security Adviser also nodding affirmatively. There was a brief silence, the Secretary managing to choke another cough. They waited; a few minutes ticked by, then the President nodded, almost absentmindedly, permitting the keris to slip slowly from his hand, onto the table.
âKeep me posted,â was all he said, before turning back to peer through the window again, the specter of a Moslem Indonesia loaded with nuclear-capable missiles weighing heavily on his mind.
Unaware that their Indonesian intelligence sources had blundered seriously, the Presidentâs advisers quietly took their leave, each returning to his own powerful security realm to initiate steps to remove, and replace, the Javanese born President, believing that these actions would preclude any emergence of an Indonesian Islamic state, and the threat of a Chinese dominated Asian-Middle Eastern trade bloc.
* * * *
The Middle East
Abdul Muis
Haji Abdul Muis was most impressed with what he had observed, relishing the knowledge that very few Iranians, let alone foreigners such as he, had ever been given access to the countryâs secret installation. The Haji acknowledged that it was his position as leader of the Indonesian Mufti Muharam Moslem party which had provided him with this opportunity to inspect these sensitive facilities. This was his third visit to Iran, his efforts to consolidate his relationship with the powerful ayatollahs , so far
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