INDOPACOM Cultural Awareness Knowledge Centers

This book fills a vacuum for readers who wish to learn about the countries of South-East Asia. Recent years have seen a number of important developments all of which are covered here. With the global climate becoming more uncertain and the threat of terrorism spilling over, this book will aid readers' knowledge of this region by addressing its historical past and political future.

Indonesia and the southern Philippines have been particularly vulnerable to penetration by anti-American Islamic terrorist groups. One such network, Jemaah Islamiyah, is known to have assisted two of Al Qaeda's Sep 11, 2001 hijackers and is suspected of plotting attacks against Western targets, including the Oct 12, 2002 bombing in Bali, Indonesia. Some analysts fear that the Bali attack may represent a shift in tactics, from targeting Western military and government installations to focusing on "softer" targets such as tourist resorts, Western business, and schools serving Westerners.

This is a book about a terrible spate of mass violence. It is also about a rare success in bringing such violence to an end. "If You Leave Us Here, We Will Die" tells the story of East Timor, a half-island that suffered genocide after Indonesia invaded in 1975, and which was again laid to waste after the population voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999. Before international forces intervened, more than half the population had been displaced and 1,500 people killed. Geoffrey Robinson, an expert in Southeast Asian history, was in East Timor with the United Nations in 1999 and provides a gripping first-person account of the violence, as well as a rigorous assessment of the politics and history behind it.

This book is with a contemporary focus, author, Dr. Max Gross's purpose is to use history to explain today's Islamic insurgencies in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines and to offer perspectives for the future. Muslim Archipalego's unique contribution is that it brings together in one reference a mass of information on the insurgencies in Southeast Asia.The country accounts are detailed and thorough as to events, organizations, dates, and participants.The chronological context provides Dr. Gross the opportunity to give insights about historical casualty. His accounting highlights the interaction of the insurgencies within Southeast Asia and their international connection outside the region.