SBY-Bush discussion a 'quid pro quo' deal for aid, observers say

Abdul Khalik and Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The advice on Iraq that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono offered to U.S. President George W. Bush in their Monday talks was in return for financial help for Indonesia, experts say.
"I think it was a quid pro quo conversation. As we are receiving much financial aid from the U.S., there should be something attached because there is no such thing as a free lunch," director of the American Studies Center at the University of Indonesia Suzie Sudarman said.
She said Bush's message to Yudhoyono was likely that: "if you support me in disentangling the U.S. from Iraq in a safe way then we can proceed".
"As we need the money, we are forced to adjust to what the U.S. wants. I think it's fine if we're involved in a peaceful solution to Iraq ... if the proposals from President Yudhoyono are accepted," Suzie said.
After the bilateral meeting Yudhoyono said a "triple-track solution" would be needed before the U.S. could decide on a withdrawal of its troops from Iraq.
The three conditions necessary for a pullout were the national reconciliation in Iraq, involving other parties in securing the country and international cooperation in rehabilitating the country, he said.
Bush, meanwhile, offered Indonesia financial help to fight bird flu, assistance in establishing a tsunami early warning system, and technology for alternative energy. He said the U.S. had committed US$55 million to support Indonesia's fight against graft and to develop economic strategies for more jobs, and $157 million for assistance in education and health.
Dewi Fortuna Anwar of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences said Bush had probably benefited more from the visit than Yudhoyono because it would have helped restore the U.S.' image among Muslims here. What is important now is for America to realize its promises to Indonesia, she said.
"While support at home is declining and millions of Muslims are full of rage against him, he was welcomed here with extremely meticulous preparation by the nation with the biggest Muslim population," she said.
The visit, Dewi said, also proved the U.S. was trying to restore its influence in East Asia after being mired in wars and conflicts in the Middle East for the past two years.
"When Yudhoyono said he wanted the international community to join forces in ending conflicts in the Middle East, I'm sure he meant that Indonesia should not be excluded given our closeness to the Islamic world," Dewi said.
Edi Prasetyono of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), meanwhile, urged Yudhoyono to explain in detail what he meant by proposing Indonesia get involved in Iraq because it was a sensitive domestic issue.
Limited involvement would be fine if Indonesian troops or officials became part of an international force but could be damaging if Indonesia shared America's responsibility for peacekeeping there, he said.
Azyumardi Azra, the former rector of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, said he was pessimistic Indonesia would get much out of the visit.
He noted much of the $157 million in aid promised for education and health had yet to be disbursed.
Bush pledged the money when he met with former president Megawati Soekarnoputri in Bali in 2003.