The Foreign Service Journal, June 2006

12 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 0 6 Indonesian military is still committing human rights abuses in Papua. In the report, King advocates “quiet but firm diplomacy” toward Indonesia, along with technical and infrastructure aid to Papua and gov- ernmental reforms aimed at curtailing corruption and creating greater trans- parency. King’s recommendations would capitalize on the momentum generated by the thus-far-successful Aceh peace agreement, itself spurred by both the tsunami and the election in 2004 of Susilo Yudhoyono to the Indonesian presidency. Of great concern to many obser- vers is the alleged connection bet- ween Indonesian security forces and Laskar Jihad, a militant Muslim group with ties to al-Qaida. In the past, this group has been accused of inciting inter-religious conflict in other parts of Indonesia. After the 2002 Bali night- club bombing, the group claimed to have disbanded, but many analysts doubt that. Now there are reports that Laskar Jihad has established itself in Papua. Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim country, and any unrest or destabilization could provide extrem- ists with an opportunity to exploit. The peaceful resolution of the Papua issue is important for both regional and global security, as Laskar Jihad’s alleged influence in Papua empha- sizes. Compounding the issue is the fact that Papua has a Christian major- ity, further increasing the likelihood of a conflict for religious extremists to take advantage of if the situation were to deteriorate. For additional background on the Papua issue, Yale University has pub- lished a detailed study on the legal and historical specifics of the Indon- esian military’s actions in Papua ( http: // www.law.yale.edu/outside/ html/Public_Affairs/426/westpa puahrights.pdf ). — Shawn Guan, Editorial Intern State’s Travel Budget Under Scrutiny In a March report the Government Accountability Office summarized its recent audit of the State Depart- ment’s travel budget, citing “break- downs in internal controls, a weak control environment, and ineffective oversight” as responsible for squan- dering tens of millions of dollars in taxpayers funds ( http://www.gao. gov/new.items/d06298.pdf ). G AO found that the majority of the wasted tax money stemmed from improper premium ticket purchases and tickets that went unused altogether. Between April 2003 and Septem- ber 2004, State purchased 32,000 pre- mium-class tickets. These tickets rep- resented only 19 percent of the total tickets bought by State, but the cost accounted for 49 percent of total trav- el expenditures. Significantly, the GAO found that 67 percent of this C Y B E R N O T E S 50 Years Ago... But discipline can surely be achieved without destroying, or even weakening, the initiative and sense of responsibility which a nation’s foreign representative should possess. — Gordon A. Craig, from “Bismarck and His Ambassadors: The Problem of Discipline,” FSJ , June 1956.