The War on What?

With the end of the Cold War, the United States shifted its policy of supporting any regime that would repel communism to supporting the expansion of democracy. This policy change helped overthrow the Indonesian military dictator, Suharto, and strengthen a budding democratic system. New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, writes that Indonesians now are worried that the newest US policy shift will once again have significant effects in Indonesia, almost certainly negative. The US “war on terrorism” makes Indonesia look soft because as an open society, it is harder for it to fight terrorists than in more closed societies such as Malaysia and Pakistan. As a result, Indonesia is less favored by the United States at a time when this weak democracy is in desperate need of increased financial and moral support. US goals of rooting out terrorists should not come at the expense of the more important and long-term goal of ensuring democracy in the world’s largest Muslim country, Friedman concludes. – YaleGlobal