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by Joseph H. Daves (Author)
From the Indonesian Republic's onset, there has been some form of military participation in political life - the more significant and interesting aspect of the Indonesian Army's distinctive history. Volume 1 in this three-volume set covers the Army's revolutionary roots, its fighting doctrine, and provides accounts of major operations - the independence struggle, consolidation of the Republic, military campaigns against CIA-backed regional separatists in Sumatra and Sulawesi during the late-1950s, the "liberation' of West Irian and the "Confrontation" with Malaysia. The story starts during the late-colonial period and spans the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, the struggle for independence, the chaotic parliamentary democracy period during the 1950s, Sukarno's autocratic Guided Democracy and the Army's increasingly bitter contest for power with the Indonesian Communist Party - setting the stage for the final bloody confrontation and General Soeharto's New Order - the subject of Volume 2. Written in a journalistic style, these three volumes provide readers insights into Indonesian culture and help them understand why soldiers of the Indonesian Army have behaved the way they do - often in ways, from a western perspective, that must be considered less-than-honorable.
Author Biography
Colonel Joseph H. Daves was U.S. Defense and Army Attaché to Indonesia from November 1998 to June 2003. He arrived in Jakarta six months after President Soeharto's resignation and served as the senior U.S. military representative in Indonesia during the turbulent Reformasi Era, including the August 1999 East Timor consultation, the ensuing "scorched earth" campaign by Indonesian security forces, the nearly four-year sectarian civil war in Maluku, August 2002 ambush deaths of American citizens in Papua, the October 12, 2002 terrorist bombings in Bali, and the bloody separatist insurgency in Aceh. As principal advisor to the American Ambassador and Country Team, Colonel Daves was actively engaged with Indonesia's top military and civilian leaders and travelled extensively throughout the archipelago.
