Bushes Arrive In Tense Indonesia

Police Investigate Report Of Possible Plot To Coincide With Bush Visit

(CBS/AP)  President Bush's unpopularity in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has made intense security jitters and angry protests the hallmarks of Monday's six-hour trip to court Indonesian favor.

It is the second Indonesian stop of his presidency. Neither time has he spent the night, nor even more than a few hours, the result of safety concerns in a place where emotions about the Iraq war and his policies in the Middle East run hot.

Bogor Police Chief Col. Sukrawardi Dahlan said authorities were investigating an unconfirmed report that a man wearing a suicide vest would infiltrate the protests. Authorities had also said that the threat of an al Qaeda-style attack had escalated as the visit drew near. The White House said it was confident in the security precautions being taken.

Through sheets of rain, President Bush and first lady Laura Bush flew by helicopter from the capital of Jakarta to this lush hilltop suburb for talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The Bushes strolled smiling up the red-carpeted steps of Bogor Palace, a graceful presidential retreat on vast grounds, signing a guest book and proceeding inside for the day's events.

From the Bush-Yudhoyono meeting and joint appearance before reporters through a discussion with moderate civic leaders and a state dinner, President Bush was not interacting with the general populace or doing anything outside the palace confines.

Braced for the local reaction to the visit, thousands of police and rifle-toting soldiers patrolled Bogor's streets.

Demonstrations by Islamic hard-liners, students, housewives and taxi drivers alike have been staged every day this month, including a march by nearly 13,000 through Jakarta on Sunday where Bush was denounced as a "war criminal" and "terrorist." Thousands more marched Monday, carrying posters showing victims of violence in Iraq.

Anti-Bush protesters tried to seal off American-owned restaurants in two Indonesian cities, witnesses said, and demonstrations were held in at least 10 cities.

For President Bush, the risks of the trip were worth it to bolster Yudhoyono's anti-terror cooperation, celebrate the country's democratic advances, and try to dent anti-American sentiment.

Indonesia has about 190 million mostly moderate Muslims, the most of any country. With significant Christian, Hindu and Buddhist minorities, it has a long tradition of secularism.

But Indonesia has increasingly grappled with extremists, suffering terrorist attacks in October 2002 and October 2005 in Bali, and in Jakarta in August 2003 and September 2004.

Yudhoyono has shared intelligence about the Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah and overseen the arrest of hundreds of Islamic militants.

Indonesia, a country of 300 ethnic groups arrayed over thousands of islands, also is taking steps toward greater freedoms. In 1999, a democratic government replaced a pro-U.S. military dictatorship that had seized power in the 1960s.

President Bush's visit comes near the end of an eight-day journey that included stops in Singapore and Vietnam.

When President Bush last visited in 2003, talks with then-President Megawati Sukarnoputri were focused primarily on terrorism. The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States had changed the equation, and criticism over the Indonesian military's human rights record and the East Timor crisis in 1999 gave way to close ties.

Now, the president is ready to expand the discussion to ways the United States can help improve education and health and bring capital investment to this vast Southeast Asian archipelago that remains deeply poor.

With many Muslims around the world regarding his foreign policies as an affront to their faith, President Bush also was eager to be seen soliciting Yudhoyono's advice about the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, the North Korean and Iranian nuclear standoffs and other world affairs.

President Bush was expected to highlight America's quick dispatch of aid after the December 2004 tsunami that left 131,000 dead, 37,000 missing and 570,000 homeless in Indonesia alone - and after a devastating earthquake in Pakistan in October 2005. He often speaks of both efforts as proof that the United States can be a compassionate friend to Muslim nations.

Yudhoyono, meanwhile, conducts an elaborate balancing act by welcoming President Bush in such grand style.

He needs U.S. help combatting a bird flu outbreak that has killed 56 people - a third of the world's total - and in improving economic growth.

But Indonesia's first directly elected leader must avoid further angering Muslim parties and his political rivals who already accuse him of being subservient to the West.

He indicated before President Bush's arrival that he would demand a timeline for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

And even though the Bush administration now conducts military exercises with Indonesia and has lifted a ban on selling military hardware here, Yudhoyno's government has said it would continue to buy weapons from Russia, not the United States.

[hootcoffee]

as You might recalls: [Put it Zoq.Ok.]
After the death of the prophet Mohammed, there was uncertainty about who would lead the Muslim faithful. The prophet did not specify a successor and several of his companions became religious and political leaders in the following years. Different Muslim sects evolved as certain groups came to support the teachings of one leader over another.

Click the divisions to learn more about the most common Muslim sects.

Source: The Muslim Almanac; World Book Encyclopedia; The Council on Islamic Education; Oxford Dictionary of World Religions

Err 1001 Zccumulatror couldn't repliy hare, either.

[hootcoffee]

I am Neutrals,but however,somehows,anyhow,
On the LEFT Hejn Korner Wei Havzzzz : Them ol' Goys!

op de Write KornER we Shall has,or Evebtualy would Emerge'n'See : Wyhold me ON exactly on RIGYTHe Hen Kornered : de Garudas,
de Dragons, Whuich ones, the Red,the Yellow,The Green ? The Arjuna Resemblers, de Joureeg Of Rahwana, Durssasana,DuruWiksesa, or MX6,Patriout,
ICBM,IBM,Pentiums.
wots so funded on USA/CIA/FBI/WaltzDisyney.

[alphaa10-2009]

Facing embarrassing protests abroad, Bush attempts to salvage the moment by commenting brightly that protests are the sign of a healthy democracy.

So...

Let's reassure Bush all is well with the American democracy by protesting him constantly!

(And count how many times Bush or Cheney questions the motives or patriotism of those who protest.)

[hootcoffee]

"Kenyataannya,meskipun wangas Blanda atau Prancis, Spanyol atau portugis pernah pada punya urusan disini iku bukan berarti kita malah brenti bekerja en start thinking over about nothing at all, at all times, Zip nothing of nobody or even no reply. So, Religion was never meant to grew yup on as Rocketed ScienTed ScenTED
inMate Primate, mate!
Whats you read also this verry BLOG, what a blotch ye might've beeen, whats no skull nexecarylie either zeg,
waaah...... Sekolah apa kau DISINI, disini ?
Here that's were my reports, Coming UP NExT
What Ijs IT d'you want ????
Please ENTER your ORDER, haire :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Otherwise than Foed,droonkard,Voyeurzer, AtleanRecode,I_Wouldn't_Hears-'Em_either_meZelf,
What R U 4 Me kine of quests ?

[rharrin1]

I don't believe air force one broke down. I think bush was sneaking into indonesia being the coward that he is.

[jimmmmy4]

Bush is bad thats why we protest him...

[stranger45-2009]

To BushRocks1 'snicker'

The starting point :
"would I volunteer to fight in Iraq?" is a good one.
But Irak and WWII are different
(and tihs confusion may explain your pseudo)
and many military choose to desert after a first sejour in Irak cause thats not what they signed for.

This war is not to defend a country, its an occupation war.
You may find troops too ocupate a country if you opress your men and glorify domination of the other country's inhabitants, but that would be the dead of US as free country.

Is that what you are waiting for Bush Rocks 1 ?

[bushrocks1]

Would I send my son to this war? You might ask would I send him to WW II? Or Vietnam? Maybe you would distinguish those conflicts and whether you would send your son to fight in them. But that question is misdirected in a very important way: I can't command my son to go to war. He has to make that choice. So the better question would be: would I volunteer to fight in Iraq, WW II, Vietnam? Would I volunteer to fight in any war? Respond if drafted? I don%u2019t know. I'm not equivocating, only addressing that it is a hypothetical. As a hypothetical, I can say, sure I'd fight. But I have nightmares of battle (from my past life as a Jacobite). So how do I feel toward those who do volunteer? Impressed but maturely knowing that many things go into their decision. But I do strongly believe that a country who can't find those men is doomed. The fact that we can find them is one reason why I say there is no failure in Iraq. Objectively, I also believe it for other reasons. An attempt to establish democracy in the Middle East is a bold, brilliant, noble effort, facing a high chance of failure. That's why I greatly respect and admire those who have made the attempt--the Bush administration. They have been resolute, something I have not seen in my lifetime. They may not succeed, for reasons outside their control or fault: traitors on the home front, being a big one. But now those traitors have apparently occupied the high ground. Yet... we're still in Iraq. Why?... I'm waiting.

[feelfree1]

jw218389,

Re: "SOUNDS LIKE THE BUSH ADMIN DOESN'T IT?"

It certainly does.

[feelfree1]

mh4cbs1,

That is an important and excellent point. The mainstream Western press, including CBS, played a vital role in minimizing/villainizing war dissenters, and in trumpeting the dubious threat warnings of the neo-conservatives (aka-fascists) and their collaborators.

Every single ominous/optimistic claim made about Iraq by the Bush League, was already largely-to-thoroughly debunked PRIOR to the March, 2003 illegal U.S. invasion of Iraq, but our media couldn't be bothered with that fact.

This was a serious abuse of public trust, and betrayal of the concept of journalistic integrity, in my opinion. I would like to see those involved apologize for their mistake, and let the American people know how they plan to prevent its repetition in the future.

Thanks for the opportunity to comment.

[bushrocks1]

Would I send my son to this war? You might ask would I send him to WW II? Or Vietnam? Maybe you would distinguish those conflicts and whether you would send your son to fight in them. But that question is misdirected in a very important way: I can't command my son to go to war. He has to make that choice. So the better question would be: would I volunteer to fight in Iraq, WW II, Vietnam? Would I volunteer to fight in any war? Respond if drafted? I don%u2019t know. I'm not equivocating, only addressing that it is a hypothetical. As a hypothetical, I can say, sure I'd fight. But I have nightmares of battle (from my past life as a Jacobite). So how do I feel toward those who do volunteer? Impressed but maturely knowing that many things go into their decision. But I do strongly believe that a country who can't find those men is doomed. The fact that we can find them is one reason why I say there is no failure in Iraq. Objectively, I also believe it for other reasons. An attempt to establish democracy in the Middle East is a bold, brilliant, noble effort, facing a high chance of failure. That's why I greatly respect and admire those who have made the attempt--the Bush administration. They have been resolute, something I have not seen in my lifetime. They may not succeed, for reasons outside their control or fault: traitors on the home front, being a big one. But now those traitors have apparently occupied the high ground. Yet... we're still in Iraq. Why?... I'm waiting.

[jw218389]

From wikipedia:

Under the Nuremberg Principles, the supreme international crime is that of commencing a war of aggression, because it is the crime from which all war crimes follow. The definition of such a crime is planning, preparing, initiating, or waging a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements, or assurances. Also, participating in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any such act constitutes such a crime.

SOUNDS LIKE THE BUSH ADMIN DOESN'T IT?

[jw218389]

The protests are "Anti-American". The protests are ANTI-BUSH!!!

Amen to the last post. Where was the so-called "free press" when Bush was creating the lies that led to the invasion of Iraq??

[mh4cbs1]

CBS covers Bush protests in Indonesia ??

Where was CBS in 2002 and early 2003? When there were hundreds of thousands of protesters in the streets of NYC and Wash. DC protesting the imminent Invasion of Iraq?? Too busy cheerleading for Bush.

Had CBS allowed a few anti-war voices to be heard, had they covered the US protests, maybe we wouldn't have had to endure this horrific War OF Terror based on lies.

[feelfree1]

Many thanks to our Indonesian brothers and sisters!

These global criminals must know that their hiding places are rapidly vanishing!