Pleas for America to intervene in Timor should be ignored.
Americans, stay home!
If foreigners aren't shouting that right now, citizens of the United States should be doing so about prospects of U.S. forces and resources being used to try to straighten out the murder-ridden Indonesian territory of East Timor.
No sooner had the violence begun making headlines the world over than some were calling for Uncle Sam to rush in and make everything right with God and the world.
Shouldn't happen, although we can be sure there will be some plaintive wails to the contrary.
To be sure, the United Nations needs to take note and act within certain boundaries. But for the United States to get deeply involved would be a horrendous mistake.
Trudy Rubin of the Knight Ridder Newspapers asked the question: Why can't the United Nations send international peacekeepers to stop the killing in East Timor? Her reply:
" . . . Since Indonesia invaded and annexed this former Portuguese colony in 1975-76, as many as one quarter of the East Timorese have died under Indonesian repression. In the name of stability, Western nations did not complain while dictator Suharto rules. But now that he's gone, the West is preaching democracy as a cure for Indonesia's desperate economy. So Suharto's successor. B.J. Habibe, let the United Nations hold a referendum on East Timor independence."
The referendum had strings attached and Indonesia refused U.N. supervision. The Indonesian military had well-trained thugs to put down the dreams of independence and are continuing Suharto-type rampages. They are sending a brutal message to any other regions that might have dreams of autonomy.
It is unlikely the United Nations, even with United States help, can resolve this horrible situation. For America to believe it can do better would create a debacle.
So, Americans stay home!
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.