East Timor
Another Somalia in the Making?
Dateline 09/30/99
During his stop in Darwin on September 29th, 1999, United States Secretary of Defense,
William Cohen announced that the Pentagon plans to dispatch the helicopter carrier USS Belleau Wood to the waters
off East Timor. The U.S. also plans
to increase its satellite communications support for the peace keepers there. Although Cohen reiterated that no
American combat troops would be sent, combat may just find some of our Marines. The U.S. support of E. Timor is
now known as "Operation Warden."
At a news conference with Australian Defense Minister John Moore, Cohen said four
heavy-lift Marine Corps helicopters will operate from the deck of the Belleau Wood and will be operating all around
the area of E. Timor to ferry equipment.
| The USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3), shown in this June 1987 file photo, is currently preparing to deploy from Okinawa to E. Timor. Official DoD photo. |  |
Bacon said the Belleau Woods' CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters will be needed as the rainy season hits East Timor. The rainy season often makes roads impassible in this region. The United States already is providing Air Force transport planes to move heavy equipment to Darwin, but these planes do not overfly E. Timor.
Defense Secretary William Cohen said Wednesday he will strongly warn Indonesian military and government officials that there must be no army involvement - or even tacit support - for violence against the peacekeepers. Pro-Indonesia militias may be planning guerrilla raids on the Australian-led international peacekeepers. in devastated East Timor, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
Speaking Wednesday at the Royal Australian Air Force headquarters in Darwin, where he met with officials from Australia and New Zealand and greeted several dozen troops, Cohen said there was reason for concern about cross-border militia attacks.
"That's one of the apprehensions we have," Cohen said.
Cohen sat down early Thursday with Gen. Wiranto, Indonesia's military chief, for the first of his meetings with Indonesian officials and political leaders.
A senior U.S. defense official traveling with Cohen told reporters there are indications that pro-Indonesia militias - numbering between 2,000 and 4,000 - may be preparing to launch guerrilla raids on the Australian-led peacekeeping troops in East Timor. The official, who spoke on condition he not be identified, offered no other details.
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Three CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters prepare for takeoff. Four CH-53s are being deployed, along with the USS Belleau Wood to provide logistical support to the peacekeepers. deployed to E. Timor. |
No mention has been made about accompanying air support for the Marine transport helicopters. It's conceivable to believe that the rebels may possess portable surface-to-air missiles systems and heavy caliber weapons. If so, we may be sending our Marines into a situation they may not be prepared for, as happened in Somalia just a few years ago. On September 25, 1993 an American Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in Mogadishu. A military spokesmen called it a "lucky shot." The helicopter was flying low and an SNA gunner was able to shoot an RPG through the open door. Three crewmen were killed, and the pilot escaped. Then, on October 3, 1993, two American Army helicopters were shot down. As a result, 18 American servicemembers were killed. A Somali cameraman who was working for Reuters got some footage of one of the 18 dead Americans being dragged through the street. It was on the air before the Pentagon could even figure out what happened.
Then there was the picture of the captured helicopter pilot, Michael Durant.
The Clinton administration and its opponents in Congress reacted as if something had changed in humanitarian situation of Mogadishu. This change required a new policy and within days Clinton announced the March 31 pullout date.
All of this happened because our peacekeepers. were not in total control of the ground situation -- they were not given the personnel and tools necessary to accomplish the mission. Now we plan to fly all around E. Timor with four Marine transport helicopters. I wonder if we've forgotten the lesson of Somalia?
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