The session had been called by the army's Chief of Staff. He was angry. His men were being annihilated and he found this to be personally humiliating. He was looking for a scapegoat and expected to have one.
Seda was ready. The meeting commenced, not with all present sitting down and formally being addressed as one would expect of such powerful men called to discuss the nation's security, but more on an unhurried and familiar basis, and one with which they were more accustomed. As the generals waddled into the chamber and casually took their chairs while already discussing the sensitive problems with each other Seda noticed that the Airforce Chief of Staff had moved his position up next to the Lieutenant General. He was surprised.
“
Ready, gentlemen?
” the army Chief commenced, not really caring whether they were or not. He did not enjoy having to brief the other services and particularly disliked the intelligence heads being present. They always kept something back, in reserve for themselves, he believed.
“
The President has asked me to consider withdrawing our forces from Tim-Tim
,” he started, observing the startled faces of the most powerful men in the country outside the presidential household. “
Bapak has been emphatic in his request that as he did not wish to have the invasion bring the new Five Year Development Program's overseas funding into contention then, as international opinion seems to be shifting, he has directed me, us, to consider the ramifications of a withdrawal from the province.
”
Seda listened, transfixed on the tubby little General's mouth, not believing what he was hearing. A withdrawal!
Immediately there were cries of
tidak! tidak! no!
from the other generals, as that was what was expected of them. In reality most didn't care too much one way or another as none had been successful in enjoying any financial gain to date, from the buildup and then the invasion, causing considerable discussion and concern with their Chinese financiers.
All those present were aware that the President really wanted to have East Timor annexed and over with as quickly as possible while his team of civilian technocrats wooed the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in their ongoing attempts to source the much needed capital required to meet the development programs already in place.
It was an incredible juggling act and a new exercise in international diplomacy. They knew, of course, that the Americans would support them due to the fall of Saigon the year before, and the presence of Leftist guerrillas always generated sufficient congressional support when lobbying for additional military hardware. Only now they had failed to produce any real results, placing the President in a difficult and indecisive mood. He needed time to consider all his options. There were none present who would object, since the President enjoyed the popular support of the people and of rank and file members of the infant political parties.
The President wanted the military to go in quickly, fix the problem and then hold the annexed country until such time as the United States gave them the nod to hold yet another plebiscite, such as they had carried out in 1969 in West New Guinea.
But for some reason, this time it wasn't as easy as they had expected. The Indonesians could not understand why the Americans were really so interested given that they already held the majority of the oil and gas concessions and even they knew that Vietnam was no real threat to their northern islands. There just had to be something else. And then there was these Australians who always seemed to run hot and cold. Their own Prime Minister made the effort to visit informally with the Soeharto in Central Java, even spending quiet time together in the mystical cave while they discussed the Timor issue. The Australian Head of State had emphatically given his country's undertaking to support a united Timor, even suggesting that it should be under Indonesian control. Then, suddenly, while their troops were preparing to cross the border
en masse
, the man was replaced by his opponent! It was really very difficult to understand how these Western nations managed to survive with no frequent leadership changes, they all agreed.
The threat of an independent hostile state strategically positioned such as Timor remained a major issue throughout the region. The Indonesians sensed that they had international support but didn't know how to go about securing it publicly.
“
Pak General
,” Seda said, as all eyes concentrated on the Timorese. Apart from the Sumatran, all of the others were Javanese. “
Pak General, I believe that we can win this action quickly now that we have the new American Bronco aircraft arriving next month. These machines were designed specifically for counter insurgency attacks and I am convinced,” he said, emphasizing the point and looking directly at the Airforce Chief, “that once these aircraft and their support teams have been deployed then resistance will diminish dramatically!
”
“
That still won't finish the problem on the ground, General.
” The Admiral felt he had to offer an opinion as only too often the Navy was left out of these discussions. Hadn't his ships already proven themselves in the first instance by bombarding the target areas in preparation for the assaults?
He watched the others. The Navy had done poorly with recent budgetary considerations and knew that he must guard against the army and airforce gobbling up all of the funds. After all, without any supply or maintenance contracts, how would he live?
The Army Chief of Staff looked smugly towards the Admiral, thinking
What would he know?
The piggy-faced man had the education of a peasant farmer and only enjoyed his position because almost all of his superiors had either died of old age or had disappeared due to their involvement in the communist push to take over the country. The Army General ignored the statement.
The discussion continued for no more than fifteen minutes and, as it was approaching the mid-morning prayer period which the majority of them would often use as an excuse to leave whatever meeting they may be uncomfortably locked into, the Army Chief procrastinated no further.
“
I believe what the President is looking for is a firm commitment from us that we will finish the job quickly and without any further embarrassment.
” He looked around the table knowing that, whatever he said, they would agree. It was called consensus. He knew that.
“
I agree with you Pak,
” the OPSUS General said, quite loudly.
“
So do I,
” called another. Then another, until each and every member in the room had confirmed what he had known all along, that they would react like sheep.
The four-star General observed them all. Placing his arms on the table as he clenched his fists together, he played the role of the second most powerful man in the country.
“
This will not be like before. The Bapak has insisted that we use all of our numbers and weaponry. Should we disgrace the country it would be unlikely that the President would be at all forgiving. We must not fail!
” And, as he let the words hang threateningly in the air, the General rose leaving his file for others to collect and left before any further discussion could take place.
The Intelligence Chief stayed long enough to be seen to be a cohesive part of what had just occurred in the briefing, then left with the others, ensuring that none of the sensitive files had been left for the inquisitive and talkative clerks or aides to read.
Seda considered the commitment he'd made. The Bronco aircraft would be ready providing they could take delivery before too much more pressure was placed on the Armed Forces Standing Committee in Washington to cancel the dead. He now wanted the Indonesian Airforce to have the sophisticated aircraft as it would make the FRETILIN resistance that much more admirable in the eyes of the world, knowing that the simple people of such a small island fought bravely against such tremendous odds. Their resources were extremely limited against theAmerican-manufactured weaponry. Seda was excited when the army suppliers had offered the new ground-to-air missiles suitable for individual soldiers to carry. The problem was that the product was American and difficult to source but he knew he had to have these deadly weapons for his separist fighters.
Also, he knew, delivery and repositioning were entirely different considerations. He estimated that it would require at least six more months before the AURI pilots were able to demonstrate the incredible capacity of the aerial killing machines soon to be placed in their hands.
The Rockwell Broncos were a mass-produced aircraft which the Americans had tested for some years and used successfully in their marine forces. It was a superb lightly armed reconnaissance airplane designed specifically for counter-insurgency missions and suited the Indonesian Airforce's requirements perfectly in targeting the FRETILIN forces. With the additional modifications these sixteen aircraft would undergo, they could be utilized at night for forward air control and strike designation purposes.
Seda had also orchestrated to have the manufacturers add further modifications at tremendous expense to AURI. These would permit the aircraft's stabilized night periscopic sights, which were coupled with a laser rangefinder and target illuminator, to act in tandem with another Bronco permitting direct attack or illumination of a target. He also believed it would be too sophisticated for the pilots' missions in Timor. And even if they did finally master the aircraft successfully over Timor's rugged terrain they would always be given sufficient advance warning of flight missions. With a little luck the ground forces would be given the opportunity to destroy two aircraft with just one missile.
Seda knew that there would be a price to pay. He also knew that had not his
kongsi
with Stephen become directly involved in the aircraft sales then others would have, costing their company millions of dollars in lost commissions and influence over sourcing the country's armaments acquisition program. Seda was pragmatic enough to accept that Indonesia would purchase these aircraft from someone as being inevitable and, why not ensure that he personally benefited financially from the squadron acquisition? At least he could continue to monitor what was really taking place offshore whenever deals were being struck with the suppliers and manufacturers'agents. He would often arrange for senior officers in the other services to be invited overseas where they would receive substantial remuneration for their support in recommending the equipment Stephen's company represented.
Seda thought about the numerous trips made by some of those present at the morning's meeting. It had really been so simple as they had been so greedy. Agent's commissions on aircraft sales rarely ran over five per cent of the purchase price. The real money lay in the spare parts which were loaded by over thirty and up to forty percent of the contract value and would apply to all ongoing spare parts purchases made by the client which, in this case, was the government's military. Even he had not realized the incredible flow of funds these contracts would generate until the company had entered its third year of operation and he'd spent three days in Seoul with Stephen going over the records together.
He had to admit, his partner had done well. By securing the agencies for the armaments and other weaponry required by not just the armed forces but also the police, they had cornered the majority of the HANKAM supply contracts.
They had been careful to permit a number of the less lucrative deals go to influential parties. Seda had discussed ways and means of spreading the large number of contracts over a range of acceptable suppliers to avoid suspicion and so Stephen had cleverly organized a number of separate corporate entities registered in what he'd explained were tax havens, to overcome the frequency of their own company's name appearing as the successful bidder for the lucrative deals. At first he was unwilling to agree with the procedures initiated by his partner. The complicated arrangements were bewildering to him and he believed that he would lose control of his own funds, giving Stephen far too much information and power over his activities.
They had taken a week away from Jakarta and met in Hong Kong first where it was all explained to his satisfaction. Then it had been necessary for them to continue on to Luxembourg where they established individual numbered accounts and then London from where they had purchased several already established shelf companies registered in the Channel Islands. By the time they had visited Panama, Seda's head was swimming with detail, but at least he felt secure and confident with the complicated arrangements made with the respective agents and nominee directors who were to act for them in the future.
Since that time Seda had changed most of his offshore structures, having developed considerable knowledge of how the system worked, as he felt that the time would come when it would be better that even his partner not know where he held his accounts. His golden hoard.
The General pondered the Indonesian military buildup. He wasn't too sure about the French. They had become close to the Airforce Chief and he believed that they would offer to build, or at least assemble their Puma helicopters under license in Bandung. He could see no way of benefiting from that exercise. The choppers would be far more dangerous to the FRETILIN forces as these would no doubt be utilized by Indonesian forces for rapid troop movements across the mountainous terrain.