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Us warned before Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
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U.S. Warned Indonesia of Threat Before Bali Blast
Wed Oct 16,12:54 PM ET
By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ahead of last week's devastating bombing in Bali, the United States warned the Indonesian government that tourist areas may be targeted by terrorists, administration officials said on Wednesday.
But the repeated warnings from U.S. officials did not include specific details or intelligence about when or where attacks might occur. Saturday's devastating blasts, which ripped through nightclubs in Bali, one of the world's most popular tourism resorts, killed more than 180 people, mostly foreign travelers.
"We've made the concerns well known to the public and shared our concerns with interested governments in the region. These long-standing concerns extended to Indonesia and to its vulnerability to terrorist infiltration, and we shared those concerns with the government of Indonesia," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) told reporters.
He would not confirm a report in the New York Times that U.S. Ambassador Ralph Boyce delivered the latest warning to Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri just a day before the bombing in Bali and gave her a deadline of Oct. 24 to act or face public U.S. pressure.
In response, a top aide to Megawati said she would enact emergency anti-terror measures, her most decisive move yet to crack down on militant Islamic groups. A presidential decree would bypass parliament, which has blocked anti-terrorism legislation.
Neighbors Singapore and Malaysia have used tough internal security laws to round up dozens of members of Jemaah Islamiah, which is suspected of having links with the al Qaeda network blamed for last year's attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (news - web sites).
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has been criticized as a weak link in the U.S.-led war on terror, reluctant to go after its nationals alleged to have terrorist links, apparently out of fear of sparking a backlash.
The Bush administration has long been worried about the possibility of terrorist attacks in Indonesia and repeatedly pressed the country's leadership to crack down.
A month ago, the United States briefly closed its embassy in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and the consulate in Surabaya based on "credible and specific" information the facilities were at risk of terrorist attack.
At the time, Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz complained the closures gave his government a bad image, leaving the impression it could not guarantee the security of U.S. embassy personnel.
After that comment, President Bush (news - web sites) spoke by telephone on Sept. 16 to Megawati. The White House said the main topic was the war on terrorism.
At about the same time, the director for Asian affairs for the National Security Council, Karen Brooks, quietly paid a visit to Megawati to express U.S. concerns. Brooks has a personal relationship with Megawati and speaks fluent Indonesian.
In its warnings to the Indonesian government, the United States said an attack could target areas frequented by American and other tourists.
"We had a concern about a range of facilities, including tourist areas," a U.S. official said. "But we saw nothing that caused us to issue a specific warning to avoid the (Bali) area. None of it went to the specificity of a target or a time."
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