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Terror draws a bead on
business
By Richard S Ehrlich
JAKARTA - Indonesia is a monstrous security
challenge, an archipelago of about 3,000 islands spread
across a distance slightly longer than the United States
coast to coast. Its combined land mass is almost three
times the size of Texas, but Indonesia is populated by
about 230 million people - nearly the same number as in
the US.
On a worldwide basis, while US official
and military targets remain at greatest risk, there is a
growing hazard to commercial and economic targets as
well. Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, which has declared
holy war on the US and its allies, has publicly called
for attacks on business interests, especially such
targets as oil tankers and others. Indonesia and the
southern Philippines are considered to be particularly
vulnerable areas.
Jemaah Islamiya (JI), the
home-grown Southeast Asian ally of al-Qaeda, has also
trained its sights on "soft" targets. Nightclubs, bars
and hotels have been selected for revenge attacks, as
was the case with the August 5 bombing of the JW
Marriott hotel in Jakarta, days prior to the handing
down of the death sentence on a JI perpetrator involved
in the Bali bombings. The arrest last week of Riduan
Isamuddin, alias Hambali, widely projected as the
operational brains behind JI, could be the trigger for
additional revenge attacks.
It is thus easy to
understand Washington's concern in the wake of the
Marriott bombing that anti-American Islamic terrorists
enjoy a target-rich environment where neon signs,
websites and TV advertisements highlight US corporations
such as ExxonMobil, McDonald's, Nike, Monsanto and
others.
"We speak American Express," beams a
big, cheerful sign greeting incoming passengers in the
arrival hall of Jakarta's international airport.
Easy access to US establishments, goods and
services has always been a way to ensure efficiency,
quality and service in Indonesia. For example, even
after the suicide car bomber ripped apart the Marriott,
the hotel's website continued to advertise the hotel as
an ideal location near several well-known companies and
also lists the distances to them, including Procter and
Gamble half a kilometer away and General Electric at 1.5
kilometers. ExxonMobil, Motorola and Schlumberger are a
convenient two kilometers from the Marriott, the hotel's
website adds.
In the aftermath of the car bomb
at the hotel, which killed at least 10 people and
injured about 150 others, the US State Department issued
a travel warning echoing Indonesian police, who later
confirmed that the suicide bomber in the attack was from
the JI.
"The Jemaah Islamiya organization,
designated as a foreign terrorist organization, is an
extremist group known to have cells operating in
Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, and is known to
have connections with al-Qaeda," the State Department
warned in the wake of the bombing.
"The US
government believes extremist elements may be planning
additional attacks targeting US interests in Indonesia,
particularly US government officials and facilities. As
security is increased at official US facilities,
terrorists will seek softer targets," it said.
"These may include facilities where Americans
and Westerners are known to live, congregate, shop or
visit, especially hotels, clubs, restaurants, shopping
centers, housing compounds, transportation systems,
places of worship, schools or outdoor recreation
events," the State Department notice said.
In
other words, virtually nowhere in Indonesia is safe
anymore for US citizens or facilities that cater to
them. US companies have joint ventures, representative
offices, distributors or other arrangements while
relying on Indonesian counterparts.
Toughening
the defenses of soft US targets against the secretive,
diffuse, extremist group was expected to be expensive
and difficult. US companies with offices in Jakarta are
involved in a host of fields, including financial,
petroleum, wholesale and retail products, agriculture,
automobiles, food, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and
tourism.
Amway, Avon, Bristol Meyers-Squibb and
Disney sell popular household items. Arco, Caltex,
ExxonMobil and other corporations are keen on extracting
or processing Indonesia's bountiful oil and natural gas.
Bechtel helps with construction, while Dow Chemical and
Du Pont trade their products. Bank of America, Citibank
and Chase Manhattan are ready for financial
transactions. DaimlerChrysler and General Motors keep
things rolling, while Coca-Cola and Gatorade make sure
people here are refreshed.
The US meanwhile
disclosed that it is inspecting the safety of airports
in various major cities throughout the world to protect
them against possible attacks by terrorists armed with
portable missiles. "The man in charge of American
military transport, General John Handy, has described
the threat of such attacks as perhaps the greatest of
all in the modern-day fight against global terrorism,"
according to the British Broadcasting Corp following the
blast.
"Overseas inspections by aviation safety
investigators began several weeks ago, and are being
carried out in Athens, Istanbul, Manila and several
other foreign cities which feature on scheduled American
airline routes," the BBC added. It was unclear whether
Jakarta's international airport was on the US
investigators' list to be inspected.
A US
congressional report estimates that up to 700,000
portable surface-to-air missiles could be on the
international black market for purchase by terrorists
and criminal syndicates, starting at a price of $5,000
each, the BBC said.
(Copyright 2003 Asia Times
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