CONTINUATION OF Partners in crime
Since BIN handed over the wanted al-Qaeda operative Omar al-Faruq to the CIA in June, American officials have seemed prepared to overlook the controversial career of BIN chief Hendropriyono.
This week's presidential decree making BIN the co-ordinator of counter-terror operations - involving personnel from each armed service, police and the allegedly less-tainted Unit 81 of Kopassus - may open the way for foreign forces to bypass the politically untouchable Kopassus.
But experts such as Mietzner call this a "quick fix" which will achieve very little. He argues the only way to lift the quality of Indonesia's security forces is to address the problem of military finances, by insisting on full transparency and accountability and possibly considering international aid for the transition.
That may be a multi-billion-dollar program. But as long as the TNI is selffunded, it is outside the Indonesian Government's control and inherently corruptible, and there will continue to be a huge gap in the region's security.
"If you just pump money and resources into the existing system you just perpetuate what is already there," says Mietzner.
This week's presidential decree making BIN the co-ordinator of counter-terror operations - involving personnel from each armed service, police and the allegedly less-tainted Unit 81 of Kopassus - may open the way for foreign forces to bypass the politically untouchable Kopassus.
But experts such as Mietzner call this a "quick fix" which will achieve very little. He argues the only way to lift the quality of Indonesia's security forces is to address the problem of military finances, by insisting on full transparency and accountability and possibly considering international aid for the transition.
That may be a multi-billion-dollar program. But as long as the TNI is selffunded, it is outside the Indonesian Government's control and inherently corruptible, and there will continue to be a huge gap in the region's security.
"If you just pump money and resources into the existing system you just perpetuate what is already there," says Mietzner.
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