U.S. Scales Back Some Tsunami Aid Efforts

[Rose Siding]

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) -- U.S. Marines have scaled back their planned tsunami aid efforts after reaching a compromise with the government and agreeing not to carry weapons or set up a base camp on Indonesian soil, an American spokesman said Wednesday.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is leading the U.S. military's relief effort, steamed out of Indonesian waters Wednesday because the country declined to let the ship's fighter pilots use its airspace for training missions. Helicopters will still deliver aid to Sumatra's devastated coast, however.

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said foreign troops would be out of the country by the end of March.

"A three-month period is enough, even the sooner the better," Kalla said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TSUNAMI?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME

[oneighty]

1. Beware aircraft carriers bearing gifts

Smart fellow.

180

[ixion]

2. the country declined to let the ship's fighter pilots use its airspace for

training missions.

Gee, and I'm sure that if Russia brought an aircraft carrier over to Florida after the next hurricane under the guise of aid and wanted practice training missions, I'm sure we wouldn't be very happy about that, either. :eyes:

[bin.dare]

3. but keep your eye on the aussies ...

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Breaking-News/Australia-in-for-the-long-haul-PM/2005/01/09/1105205975121.html?oneclick=true

Australia in for the long haul: PM
January 9, 2005

Australian troops and aid workers would remain in Indonesia and other tsunami-hit areas as long as they were needed, Prime Minister John Howard said on Sunday, amid signs of growing insecurity in devastated Aceh.

In a televised address to the nation, Mr Howard said the south-east Asian tragedy demanded a long-term response.

"A tragedy of this magnitude ... requires a long-term commitment of resources if shattered communities are to be rebuilt and survivors provided with some hope for the future," he said.

" ... We will stay as long as we are needed."

But as Mr Howard promised Australia's enduring support, there were signs that Australians on the ground in Indonesia's shattered Aceh province could face escalating danger.

An Indonesian soldier was shot in the legs in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh overnight, and shots were also fired at the home of a top police official near the United Nations' relief headquarters in the city.

Australian medics were called in to operate on the Indonesian soldier.

One Indonesian official said the soldier's shooting could have been the work of Free Aceh separatists, who are battling Indonesian troops for an independent homeland. But another said a second Indonesian soldier unhinged by the tsunami disaster may have been responsible.

Either way, the incident again raises concerns about the safety of Australian troops and aid workers in Aceh.

Indonesia's military has in recent days stepped up patrols for separatists after isolated skirmishes signalled the end of an unofficial truce following the tsunami disaster.

Australian and US officials say they have assessed potential threats and are satisfied that Indonesian forces are providing adequate security for those involved in the relief effort.

"Let me say that we are aware that (security problems) are possible, but equally there are places back in Australia I wouldn't go to at night," senior military surgeon Dr John Flynn said outside the Australian field hospital in Banda Aceh.

...