The nature of these ties over many decades is no secret. Important light on the current stage is provided by Alan Nairn, who survived the Dili massacre in 1991 and barely escaped with his life in Dili again a few days ago. In another stunning investigative achievement, Nairn has just revealed that immediately after the vicious massacre of dozens of refugees seeking shelter in a church in Liquica, U.S. Pacific Commander Admiral Dennis Blair assured Indonesian Army chief General Wiranto of US support and assistance, proposing a new U.S. training mission. On September 8, the Pacific Command announced that Admiral Blair is once again being sent to Indonesia to convey U.S. concerns. The fact that Cohen could say this without shame leaves one numb with amazement.
Every slight move comes with an implicit retraction.
The decision was delivered to General Wiranto by Admiral Blair. It takes no unusual cynicism to watch the current secret interactions with a skeptical eye. The earlier record is far worse from the first days of the U.S.-authorized invasion. While the U.S. publicly condemned the aggression, Washington secretly supported it with a new flow of arms, which was increased by the Carter Administration as the slaughter reached near-genocidal levels in 1978. It was then that highly credible Church and other sources in East Timor attempted to make public the estimates of 200,000 deaths that came to be accepted years later, after constantly denial.