Yukking it up in the Orient, continued…

August 2002: Despite a $50 million U.S. aid package and a push by Washington to renew military ties, a new report suggests Indonesia's military created the network now said to be Southeast Asia's most serious terrorist threat.

October 2003: President George Bush has announced he is ready to resume military aid to Indonesia and renew ties with its armed forces, in a statement that has stunned members of the US Congress.

The US Congress had blocked the resumption of military ties until Indonesia fully co-operated on the investigation into the killing of two American teachers near the Freeport mine in West Papua last year.

Well, in all fairness, it doesn’t take much to stun members of the U.S. Congress. In fact, I think it is a requirement of membership that your brain be rendered permanently senseless.

Mr Bush, speaking about his forthcoming meeting with President Megawati, told Indonesia's SCTV: "We will discuss mil-to-mil [military to military] relations. For a while Congress put restrictions on it but now the Congress has changed their (sic) attitude and I think we can go forward with a package of mil-to-mil because of the co-operation of the [Indonesian] government on the killing of the two US citizens".

Beef man is talking mil-to-mil. (Cue Tim Allen’s signature grunting.) I guess Congress didn’t realize it had changed its attitude, or it wouldn’t be so stunned.


However, the widow of one of the victims, Patsy Spier, expressed outrage.

"I am shocked and disappointed. I just don't understand. Who told the President there was cooperation? It wasn't the FBI, it wasn't the State Department. It's not the Congress. No one is saying what the President is saying."

Well, Patsy, hon, you’re right. You just don’t understand. Or maybe you have forgotten something he already told you: "I am the commander, see?... I do not need to explain why I say things. — That's the interesting thing about being the President. — Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation." Got it now, Pats?

And, from that same article, we find a little bit more of how we get cooperation around here….

[A]t one time, the CIA offered a Taliban commander $50,000 to defect and he asked for time to think it over.

And then they dropped a bomb on him in his area. — And then they went back and said, the offer now which used to be $50,000 is now $40,000. — And he said "I accept."

If we need cooperation, we’ll get it.

So, Patsy, think about it is all I’m asking.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.