Soft Targets

MARGARET WARNER:

The attack in Kenya is another sign that terror groups are increasingly seeking out so-called soft targets worldwide. The nightclub bombed in Bali, Indonesia, last month, in which more than 190 mostly western tourists were killed, was one such unprotected target. The attack was attributed to a local Islamic group linked to al-Qaida. Indonesia was once a comfortable place for Americans and other western expatriates to visit or live. But no longer, as Ian Williams, of Independent Television News, reports.

IAN WILLIAMS:

They're being turned into high security compounds, after what western diplomats call "credible terrorist threats." But these aren't embassies or even western companies, but international schools. Jakarta's largest have been closed for nearly two weeks while their defenses are beefed up, leaving parents and teachers shaken by this, the latest and most callous of threats.

WAYNE KALER, Teacher, Jakarta International School:

It's the first time I can ever remember schools being mentioned as soft targets, I think is the term they used. To my knowledge, there's never been an international school that's been attacked while in session, where children might be hurt.

IAN WILLIAMS:

Wayne has been a teacher in Jakarta for 18 years. His son, Kurt, has been here since a child. They have deep roots in Indonesia, and have never before felt threatened. But that was before the latest warnings of possible violence against foreigners, especially Americans.

WAYNE KALER:

I am a little bit more cautious, a little bit more wary. I try to be a little bit more observant about things around me. Instead of just burying my nose in a magazine when stuck in traffic, I look around a little bit more. I guess I'm a little bit more… paranoid, maybe.

IAN WILLIAMS:

The man who's had to deliver many of those warnings, the U.S. Ambassador, has had to make a few changes of his own.

RALPH BOYCE, U.S. Ambassador, Indonesia:

Well, we have sent home a lot of people. I mean, we have reduced the footprint of the official embassy family, if you will. Our dependents have gone home. Half of our employees are gone. I mean, this is a very difficult and challenging time. But hunkering down inside the embassy is not going to work. You have to get out, and you know, interact, tell the story, listen to people's views.

IAN WILLIAMS:

With that in mind, Mr. Boyce traveled to nearby Bandung this week as part of an effort to reach out and explain America's position to moderate Muslim leaders.

RALPH BOYCE:

Hi. Good to see you again.

SPOKESMAN:

Thanks.

RALPH BOYCE:

Last time I saw you at my house. And you know there's a picture of you in my kitchen now.

SPOKESMAN:

Thank you very much.

IAN WILLIAMS:

His host was Abdullah Gymnastiar, Indonesia's most popular Islamic preacher. Aa Gym, as he's better known, has TV shows watched by millions. His sermons are full of jokes and gossip. He owns a Koranic cellular phone service for Muslims on the move. And he travels around his neighborhood by motorcycle. His is a tolerant, open Islam; just the sort the Americans want to engage. But even he wanted to know why the Americans are so enthusiastically backing Israel.

RALPH BOYCE:

So, yeah, I understand that there's a feeling in a place like Indonesia that we should be doing more to recognize the Palestinian side, but I just want to say we are doing something.

SPOKESMAN:

Yes.

RALPH BOYCE:

And nobody seems to ever see that. We've made it very clear from the beginning that the war we are fighting is not against Islam.

SPOKESMAN:

Yes, I know that, but… I know that, but many people, Muslims, it looks like this war's with Islam.

RALPH BOYCE:

Right.

IAN WILLIAMS:

The challenge the ambassador faces is that suspicion of America isn't confined to hard line groups here; even the most outlandish conspiracy theories, but see the detention of terror suspects for even the Bali bomb as some giant plot by America to discredit Islam and Indonesia, are given widespread credence here, much to the irritation of the ambassador.

RALPH BOYCE:

And I tell people that, you know, a healthy suspicion of what foreign countries are up to in Indonesia or in their region is fine, perfectly understandable. Conspiracy theories — them I can see a little over the edge.

SPOKESMAN:

I believe American people in general respect the Islamic faith. Muslims care…

IAN WILLIAMS:

The U.S. Government has sponsored a series of information films on Indonesian television, profiling Muslims living in America, and aimed at ending antagonism towards Washington. Though Indonesia's leading televangelist may need more convincing.

IAN WILLIAMS:

A lot of people see America as being unfair.

ABDULLAH, GYMNASTIAR:

, Muslim Cleric: Unfair. For us, why, every Muslim country– Iraq or Libya. Many, many, many, many places in this world. Why?

IAN WILLIAMS:

Do you ever feel that kind of by the foreign policy, they're making you more vulnerable?

KURT KALER, Indonesian Resident:

Oh, sure. Sure. Sure, I mean, that's… I mean, it's all about that at some level. It's the actions and the reactions, and then those of us that are on this side of the fence and that we're… we're in the Islamic world. We're in a developing nation.

IAN WILLIAMS:

It's Ramadan and prayers mark the end of the fasting day. Aa gym invites Mr. Boyce to breakfast on the outskirts of Bandung. No security fears here, since this is a police college. As always, smiles come easily in the world's most populous Muslim country. But that may no longer be enough to convince Americans of their continuing safety here.

MARGARET WARNER:

As we reported earlier, three international schools in Jakarta reopened today.