Word: timorous
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Where in the World is East Timor? East Timor is a nation of some 800,000 inhabitants located on a small island on the southeastern tip of the Indonesian archipelago, 400 miles north of Australia. The western half of the island had been a Dutch colony, and was therefore part of what became independent Indonesia after World War II. But the eastern half, which had been ruled for three centuries by Portugal, was given its independence with the collapse of the Portuguese empire in 1975. Indonesia invaded the country in December of that year and annexed East Timor...
...that they weren?t going to tolerate his viewpoint.? Conversely, adds Thompson, debates surrounding recent military conflicts clearly demonstrate the disparity of opinions on military involvement within both the Republican and conservative camps. So while the military will probably never present a united front on potential solutions in East Timor, they won?t hesitate to flex their political muscle when it comes to the social issues playing out in their own barracks ? or their own backyards...
Sentimentally, of course, Western leaders would like nothing more than to act decisively to end the pogrom in East Timor ? but sentiment seldom trumps geopolitics in the affairs of state, and geopolitics is a cynical business. Back in December 1975, the U.S. gave Indonesia a nod and a wink to proceed with its invasion of the tiny country, whose Portuguese colonial administration had collapsed. In fact, President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had been in Jakarta the day before Indonesian troops went in. With South Vietnam having collapsed only eight months earlier, Washington wasn't about...
...Newsfile: East Timor...
After years of stubborn determination, Indonesia now wants to wash its hands of the mess it?s created in East Timor. As the anti-independence militiamen nurtured by elements of the Indonesian army continued their bloody rampage Thursday, Jakarta announced that it would accept having U.N. troops take over peacekeeping duties, a reversal of its strenuous opposition to the presence of any foreign troops. "Indonesia may think handing over the territory to U.N. peacekeepers will get Jakarta off the hook, but the international community has made clear that Indonesia will be held responsible for what happens in East Timor," says...