Cold War Shadow – United States policy towards Indonesian 1953-1963.(book review)

Title :-Cold War Shadow – United States policy towards Indonesian 1953-1963.
By :- Baskara T. Wardaya, SJ
Published :- Pusdep (2007) Paperback (440 pages)
Outline;- Sukarno’s government had to start from scratch in a country emerging from a terrible war, with lack of a developed economy, lack of strong legal system and lack of trained politicians. Separatists movements based on clan ( Sulawesi, Sumatra, Celebes) and based on Muslim religion (Aceh, parts of Java) and the two main ideologies of the capitalist west and communist (Russia & China) were all forces tearing apart the Nation. America was involved in a serious cold war with the communists, and Indonesia was seen as part of their world wide ideological and trade competition. The CIA became involved in various plots to oppose Sukarno who was seen to be too central. Once Sukarno took power Indonesia moved closer to America, enabling their development aid to flow in and invigorate the economy. There are many examples of the CIA early professional failures being repeated through history, from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Well researched and inclusion of references.
Some interesting extracts;
• The President (Eisenhower) and Secretary of State ( Dulles) policies towards Indonesia relied heavily upon “the credence they gave to the CIA’s frequently tendentious and often badly flawed reporting” (1957)
• “Officials in Washington did not fully appreciate of two major factors when launching the covet action against the Sukarno government . One was that the anticommunist and anti central government sentiments of the Sumatra and Sulawesi rebels were not widely shared by the countries general population. The other was the central governments determination to suppress the regional dissention….The anti-central government campaigns launched by the regional rebels posed even greater opportunities by enabling the communists to present themselves as loyal defenders of the government and champions of national unity. Public knowledge of foreign assistance to the rebels only ensured that the regional rebels would be seen as national traitors and the communists as the true defenders of the Republic. Instead of curbing PKI’s popularity, Washington’s aid to the rebels enhanced the communists’ prominence in Indonesian national politics”. (1957)
• President Carlos Garcia of the Philippines assigned Benigo Aquino to work with the CIA to provide logistic support to the Permesta rebels. ….CIA officials were … determined to support the Permesta rebels in Celebes with aircraft and pilots.”(1958).