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Sceptics see US plot behind 9/11 embassy closures

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The closure of the US embassies in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur due to 'credible threats' of terrorist attack has only prompted more scepticism in some Muslim minds about the 'war on terror'.

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Just as the US alleges a terror plot against its facilities, Indonesians see a plot in the US talk of terror.

'This [embassy closure] is just the first step toward saying that if we won't give up Abu Bakar Bashir, then Indonesia is a haven for al-Qaeda,' said a member of Jakarta's political elite.

Mr Bashir is the radical Muslim cleric named by the US, Singapore and other neighbours as a terrorist, although research by the International Crisis Group notes there is no evidence for the allegation.

The US and its closest allies want Mr Bashir arrested because of his links to a radical Muslim network that extends to Malaysia and whose members have enjoyed militant training in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

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The Indonesian government, like most other governments, remains intent on resisting outside pressure. It also does not want to inflame Muslim sentiment at home and is resisting the imposition of draconian security legislation in place in the Suharto years.

People with no natural affinity for radical clerics find themselves defending Mr Bashir and strongly resenting any hint of US pressure on the issue, and the embassy closure constitutes pressure in their minds. 'We don't like any suggestion of the West trying to tell us what to do, why would we?,' an Asian diplomat said.

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