TA-ATTACKS: Blast Rocks Australian Embassy in Jakarta

The US and Australian elections have been mentioned, but Indonesia also goes to the polls on Sept. 20. I don't doubt that it was targeted at Australia, but the upcoming election doesn't necessarily have anything to do with it. If it was intended to influence it, then it was a serious miscalculation, and a gross act of stupidity among other things.


"Are the relations between Indonesians and Australians good?
Do they want Howard out of office?"

The Howard government has always had strained relations with Indonesia. Howard and his ministers have generally been disdainful and tactless, and the Indonesians have tended to back off. The East Timor intervention didn't go down well, at least with the likes of Jemaah Islamiyah. The entire Asian region probably wants Howard out (except China, maybe).


[edit on 11/9/04 by Grimnebulin]

BBC: Indonesia blast caught on camera

"Police in Indonesia have released dramatic pictures of the bomb attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta.
The CCTV footage shows the white mini van believed to have been carrying the explosives approach the embassy.

The images - taken from cameras at the scene and released by the Indonesian police - then catch the moment of the blast itself.

***

About 20 seconds later, the smoke clears to reveal figures running in panic as debris falls from the sky.

The chilling pictures have been broadcast repeatedly on Indonesian television."

My Mates and I were discussing the possibility of this attack about 6 months ago, the previous 2 Australian federal elections have been preempted by 11/9/2001 bombings, the "Children Overboard" immigration saga and now the embassy bombing.

It's impossible in this day and age that organisations like Jamia Islamia are ignorant of Australian domestic politics, they know that an attack on the Australian embassy will shore up support for the Howard government, and without the continued threat of terrorism this government is dead in the water at the next election.

Jamai Islamia has put a lot of time and effort into villifying Australia as one of the "nations of the willing", time surely wasted if John Howard is replaced with Mark Latham on a "no war" ticket with the ALP.

The Howard government also stands for unrestricted foreign investment and a continuing drive to push up Australian corporate profitability at the expense of the Australian public (see Free Trade Agreement). This may also be a factor in terrorist thinking as terrorism firstly and most importantly always represents it's own commercial interests.

But it's always been the case that big business makes strange bedfellows...

An Islamic religious teacher is the first person convicted and jailed over the Australian Embassy blast in Jakarta. He was given three and a half years in jail...


Crazy that he got just 3½ years in jail. Corby got 20 years for smuggling marihuana.