Indonesians Warn Of Terror On Bush Visit

Police Say Threat From Al Qaeda-Linked Militants Increased Before Trip

(AP)  Indonesian police warned Saturday that the threat of an attack by al Qaeda-linked militants has increased sharply ahead of U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to the world's most populous Muslim country.

Bush arrives Monday for talks with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that will touch on the Middle East crisis and the U.S.-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan — the cause of mounting anger among Indonesia's 190 million Muslims.

Though most people here practice a moderate form of the faith, hard-liners are gaining ground and Jakarta's police chief, Maj. Gen. Adang Firman, told reporters that the threat of an attack by militants had "escalated sharply" in recent days.

He did not elaborate or say if a plot by the Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah had been uncovered.

The terror network has been blamed for a series of attacks targeting Western interests in Indonesia since 2002, including nightclub and restaurant bombings on the resort island of Bali and blasts at the Australian Embassy and the J.W. Marriott Hotel in the capital.

More than 240 people were killed, many of them foreign tourists.

Though Jemaah Islamiyah has been crippled by hundreds of arrests in recent years, one of its alleged leaders and most deadly operatives, Noordin Top, is still at large, so "we have to remain vigilant," said intelligence chief Syamsir Siregar.

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Read about Bush's push on North Korea

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See photos of Bush in Vietnam

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Security will be tight on Monday, with more than 18,000 police deployed in the hilly city of Bogor, where Bush and Yudhoyono will meet.

Islamic groups and students have vowed to come out in full force to protest Bush's visit. They have held small but rowdy demonstrations in cities nationwide almost every day this week, including a rally Saturday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta.

"Bush is a terrorist!" chanted 300 protesters gathering beneath a blazing sun. "He is guilty of killing Muslims!"

Hundreds also turned out in Bogor, where rifle-toting soldiers, police and members of an elite anti-terror squad could be seen patrolling the streets near the presidential palace.

A bomb squad was briefly called in to investigate a suspicious vehicle left unattended for two days, but police towed the sedan away after explosives experts determined it posed no danger.

Protests also were held in the cities of Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Bandarlampung and Mataram, and on Bali.

Asked about the terrorism threat, Widodo Adisucipto, a government minister overseeing law and order, said extra "security precautions had been taken."

"There's no reason to panic," he said.

Last week, a man detonated a small bomb at an American fast food restaurant in Jakarta, but police have ruled out any links to Jemaah Islamiyah or Bush's visit, saying the attacker appeared to have been suffering from a psychological disorder.

Only the suspect was hurt in the blast.

[grumpas]

I see they are all showing their love for Bush by wearing masks of him and carrying the American flag!

[usawatchman]

Talk about the TERRORISM

=
Here is OUR GREAT LEADERS
at work selling out OUR COUNTRY to the HIGHEST BIDDERS...

We end up with an ANIMAL ENTERPRISE TERRORISM ACT
How often have you or anyone else been threatened by an ANIMAL ACTIVIST ???

How often is someone in this country
robbed, raped, murdered, assaulted...etc
by illegal aliens

According to the ABOVE
'ANIMAL ENTERPRISE TERRORISM ACT'
the ANIMAL ACTIVIST are the people we need to fear..

These CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIEN
are more of a TERRORIST than ANY Animal Activist ..

These POMPOUS PEOPLE
think they can put the label

TERRORIST on any PIG

and it will fly through the CAPITAL like it had wings...

[agnim]

"You sure don't see them protesting us giving them millions in aid and in cash every year."

Anything our government delude you that it gives to Indonesia is Indonesia's OWN WEALTH dug up by our corporations while polluting their land and leaving big holes in the ground!
Get a grip!

America is a lot generous that you know if you were just a bit learned.
Remember the response to Hurricane Katrina? That's American generosity displayed for all the world to see.

And don't you for one moment believe that we are anymore generous to countries like Indonesia than we are to ourselves.

Our corporations are over there digging out tons of resources from Indonesian space and leaving them in poverty.

[wvce]

President Bush says "Bring it on!".

[heresmy2cent]

Isn't it wonderful how well loved we are everywhere in the world?

[feelfree1]

alphaa10,

Good points. Don't forget the construction of the largest ever U.S. embassy building in the Green Zone.

The U.S. will leave Iraq when:

a)we are forced out by the Iraqi resistance

b)enough of "our troops" refuse to participate any further in the illegal war of aggression against Iraq.

Other than that, the Bush regime has no intention of ever leaving Iraq.

[alphaa10-2009]

junkey said, "And let's pull our military bases out..."
---

The military bases of Iraq, most still under construction, is the most curious aspect of the whole misadventure-- billions of taxpayer dollars went to Halliburton to construct about ten secret "superbases" there for future US force projections in the region. The bases would replace vulnerable US naval assets (carriers cannot even manuever safely in many shallow points of the Gulf), and give vastly increased military staying power as a materiel stockpile/transfer point (to bypass the whole logistics nightmare we saw at Iraq2).

The project was hatched because the Saudis wanted us out, the Egyptians would not even consider it, and there were few other, suitable prospects in the immediate region. In effect, Bush invaded Iraq not because of any WMD threat or burning desire to liberate Iraqis from themselves, but because he needed a solid base structure for military force projection in the region.

Now that Iraq seems headed for partition, who inherits the bases? The bases, themselves, built when Bush still believed he held the winning hand on Iraq, will be used in some fashion by whomever controls the local area. Wouldn't it be ironic that Iran or Syria might control the bases we are (still!) building.

[alphaa10-2009]

I am never surprised that Bush hubris always matches his ignorance (aspects of the same defect), but this incident should remind all Americans Bush is the most hated American president around the world, ever.

While hatred is no substitute for constructive action, hatred erupts when other, smaller nations have no hope on the horizon. Al Qaeda finds fertile soil in those third-world countries Bush ignores in his largely unilateral, nationalistic, and largely inept "war on terror".

Although some al Qaeda principals are dead or
captured, the organization has matured into a worldwide and sophisticated threat. Even capturing bin Laden no longer matters nearly as much as it once did in Afghanistan, when Herr Rumsfeld let him escape.

Now Bush reaps the whirlwind-- his foreign relations shows the same abject failure of due diligence he confessed at Katrina. But clearly, "no one expected the levee would break" here, either.

[jumkey]

Yeah I don't see you doing anything except complaining fartknocker2.

And let's pull our military bases out...because they're there for their benefit. Sure. That's why we have bases all over the world: we're just good-hearted, benevolent people.

Brilliant.

[olebd]

Goods for Nike are made there. I would imagine they employ a good number of people.

I too believe Bush shouldn't be showing up in places like this. His approval rating abroad is even less than what it is at home. It may even be negative-something.

You're doin' a heck o9f a job Bushie!

[feelfree1]

Since "Bush is a terrorist!", as the demonstrators correctly acknowledged, it stands to reason that a visit from him would represent an elevated "terrorist" threat.

Having the puppet-front-man for the most dangerous terrorist network of all time in your country, is DEFINITELY a reason to panic.