Indonesia denies U.S. pilots use of airspace; carrier leaves

Washington Times ^ | 1/13/05 | Denis D. Gray, AP

[kattracks]

ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN — The aircraft carrier leading the U.S. military's tsunami relief effort steamed out of Indonesian waters yesterday after the country declined to let the ship's fighter pilots use its airspace for training missions — part of a broad effort by Indonesia to reassert control over its territory.
    The USS Abraham Lincoln's diversion, which was not expected to affect aid flights, came as the White House asked the Indonesian government to explain why it appears to be demanding that the U.S. military and other foreign troops providing disaster relief leave the country by the end of March.

[snip]

The Indonesian government said foreign troops would be out of the country by March 31. "A three-month period is enough, even sooner the better," Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Tuesday.
    U.S. Marines have scaled back plans to send hundreds of troops ashore to build roads and clear rubble. The two sides reached a compromise in which the Americans agreed not to set up a base camp on Indonesia or carry weapons.
    Instead, the Marines — about 2,000 of whom were diverted to tsunami relief from duty in Iraq — will keep a "minimal footprint" in the country, with most returning to ships at night, said Col. Tom Greenwood, commander of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

[snip]

Under Navy rules, pilots of carrier-based warplanes cannot go longer than 14 days without flying, or their skills are considered to have degraded too far and they have to undergo extensive retraining.
    

[BayouCoyote]

Exactly!

[international american]

Crockett was on the money.

[McGavin999]

Money stops when our troops withdraw. Nobody is just going to pump money in there without having a way of monitoring how it is spent. So, your choice, our troops and our money will leave whenever you say.

[Milligan]

We can only offer help. It's their country not ours. We can't force them to except our help against their will. We are guest there.

When Mount Saint Helen started erupting back in the early eighties. The state wanted everyone to evacuate from the area. One individual refused to leave his little home out in the woods. He died when Saint Helen finally erupted. People will be like that.

[manic4organic]

Not getting a penny of mine. Maybe I'll donate to California Flood relief instead. Charity begins at home...

Actually, you'll give more than a penny, since $350+ million taxpayer dollars already are heading that way, although you didn't donate it -- it was wrenched from your paycheck. But, on a brighter note, I gave to our church's India mission to help that country's unfortunate out with tsunami relief.

[agrace]

Oh don't worry, you two, no doubt mudslide relief donations from around the world will be pouring in like crazy. </ sarcasm >

[BureaucratusMaximus]

*THEY* HAVE RETURNED EVIL FOR OUR GOOD. THEY *WILL* PAY THE PRICE FOR THAT personally and collectively.

God is not amused.

Agreed :)

[TexKat]

Aircraft queue to be launched from the flight deck of the United States Navy carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during exercises off the coast of Indonesia Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005. The carrier steamed into international waters for jet pilot training but her helicopters continued to haul relief supplies to survivors of the tsunami disaster. (AP Photo/Andy Eames)

FA-18 Hornets cram the flight deck of the United States Navy carrier USS Abraham Lincoln after a day of excercises off the coast of Aceh province, Indonesia Thursday Jan. 13, 2005. The carrier steamed into international waters for a second day of jet pilot training, but her helicopters continued to haul relief supplies to survivors of the tsunami disaster. (AP Photo/Andy Eames)

[Physicist]

When we bitch about "Indonesians", we should distinguish between the people and the government.

The people, I am sure, are extremely grateful for all the assistance. When disaster struck, it wasn't their government that showed up to help them. It was the United States of America, projecting its power halfway around the planet, when nobody else could do a thing. To the victims, the Abraham Lincoln must have seemed like the Hand of God, and the Marines, angels.

The victims will always remember and cherish our vital assistance...and that is why the Indonesian government had to put a stop to it as soon as possible.

Let's not blame the victims as they continue to be victimized.

[kinghorse]

We scare their government.

[MeekOneGOP]

Good grief! What a bunch of ingrates.

[PhiKapMom]

We have some do gooders on here that cannot see the forest for the trees. Glad you stuck with it because IMHO they don't live in reality sometimes.

[KMC1]

Wow - hold on guys...some cooling off...good grief - every Tsunami thread today is all about - "they suck let's go home"... Stress level is high. People are in need. AND really great ministries like World Vision, Salvation Army, Compassion, Samaritans Purse and others are over there and they say it is as bad or worse than whats being reported. Just dial it down a notch or two on the whole - "they hate us - so lets stick it to them anyway" kind of talk...

[TexKat]

When we bitch about "Indonesians", we should distinguish between the people and the government.

That is so true Physicist. I was watching MSNBC last night, they interviewed several average joes who in an around way (for fear of government chastisement) answered the interviewers question of whether they thought that aid workers should be allowed to stay or go with an overwelming yes stay. The average joes know and want help.

Indonesia sets deadline for relief troops to pull out

By JIM GOMEZ 
Associated Press
1/13/2005  

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - Indonesia announced that U.S. and other foreign troops providing tsunami disaster relief must leave the country by the end of March and ordered aid workers Wednesday to declare their travel plans or face expulsion from devastated Aceh province on Sumatra island. The government's moves highlight its sensitivities over a foreign military operation in this country - albeit a humanitarian one - and underscore its efforts to regain control of Aceh province, the scene of a decades-old conflict between separatist rebels and federal troops accused of human rights abuses.

The latest restrictions placed on the international presence came as the aircraft carrier leading the U.S. military's tsunami relief effort steamed out of Indonesian waters Wednesday after the government declined to let the ship's fighter pilots use its airspace for training missions. The USS Abraham Lincoln's diversion was not expected to affect aid flights, however.

U.S. Marines have also scaled back their plans to send hundreds of troops ashore to build roads and clear rubble. The two sides reached a compromise in which the Americans agreed not to set up a base camp on Indonesia or carry weapons.

Instead, the Marines - some 2,000 of whom were diverted to tsunami relief from duty in Iraq - will keep a "minimal footprint" in the country, with most returning to ships at night, said Col. Tom Greenwood, commander of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

In Washington, the White House asked the Indonesian government to explain why it was demanding that the U.S. military and other foreign troops providing disaster relief leave the country by March 31.

"We've seen the reports . . . We'll seek further clarification from Indonesia about what this means," said Scott McClellan, press secretary to President Bush. "We hope that the government of Indonesia and the military in Indonesia will continue the strong support they have provided to the international relief efforts so far."

In announcing the decision, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Tuesday that "a three-month period is enough, even sooner the better."

Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi explained that Indonesia hopes to take over the humanitarian work by March 26, which will be exactly three months after the massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake set off waves across southern Asia and Africa that killed more than 150,000 people, two-thirds of them on Sumatra.

Starting Jan. 26, Indonesia will "gradually take over the role of foreign military and nonmilitary assistance," Silalahi said. By Feb. 26, he said, Indonesia's role should be larger than that of the foreigners.

Indonesia - where the tsunami killed more than 106,000 people - is not the only affected country that is ambivalent about U.S. military aid.

After the earthquake and tsunami, the U.S. military dispatched the Abraham Lincoln battle group to Sumatra and three ships carrying Marines toward Sri Lanka, where more than 30,000 people were killed. But two ships carrying Marines were diverted to Sumatra after Sri Lanka downgraded its request for help. India, where more than 10,000 were killed, rebuffed U.S. aid offers.

Some 13,000 U.S. military personnel, most of them aboard ships in the Abraham Lincoln's battle group, are taking part in the relief effort.

In Indonesia, hundreds of troops from other nations are also helping out, along with U.N. agencies and scores of non-governmental aid groups.

The Indonesian government has traditionally barred foreigners from visiting Aceh, relenting after the tsunami struck. Australian National University defense expert Clive Williams said the Indonesians want to keep tabs on foreigners to hide corruption.

"The big problem with dealing with (the military) in Aceh is that they're involved in a lot of corruption there, and the reason I think they don't want people to go to some areas is because they're involved in human rights abuses," Williams said.

[RetiredArmy]

NO WEAPONS! Then kiss my @$$, I ain't going ashore to be a target for Islomomurderers.

[TexKat]

Troops get a deadline to quit

By Richard Spencer

(Filed: 13/01/2005)

The Indonesian government yesterday gave foreign troops providing aid in the disaster zone of Sumatra until the end of March to complete their operations.

"Three months are enough," said the vice-president Jusuf Kalla. "The sooner [they leave] the better."

Military support from a dozen countries has arrived in or off Sumatra, where more than 100,000 people died.

United Nations agencies are also present but only armed forces have been able to offer the necessary logistics along the Sumatran coast, where the single road has been largely destroyed.

The Indonesian government is wary of radical Muslim opinion. It has been sensitive to concerns about possible repercussions from the large American presence, even though it has been welcomed.

Cease-fire offer welcomed in Indonesia

Indonesian authorities have warned aid workers that many parts of Aceh are not safe because rebels could launch raids on aid convoys. The rebels, who have been fighting for an independent homeland in the province for three decades, accuse the government of lying and say they would never attack anyone involved in the relief effort.

Of the 14,000 U.S. military personnel involved in the relief effort, there are fewer than 300 people are on the ground in Aceh, partly due to security concerns, said U.S. Ambassador B. Lynn Pascoe. Most are on ships anchored offshore.

"We have been very conscious that we wanted to keep the numbers of people in Banda Aceh to a minimum," Pascoe said at a news conference in Jakarta. "That's not the most secure place."

With thousands of foreigners pouring into Aceh, the government has imposed restrictions on the movement of aid workers and journalists. Aid workers have been told to inform the government of their travel plans and take army escorts to most areas outside of Banda Aceh.

Pascoe said the restrictions did not appear to have slowed aid.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[philomath]

if no one has done it already, welcome to FR

[bmwcyle]

So much for using F-18 camera pods.

[crushelits]

THEY SHOULD GET OUT NOW
AND LET THEM ROT.
AND BRING BACK ALL THE DONATIONS
ON YOUR WAY OUT!