ABSTRACT
Megawati Sukarnoputri was the first Muslim head of state to visit President George W. Bush after September 11. Bush saw symbolic value in the meeting. He wanted the world to behold Indonesia’s President Megawati, leader of the most populous Muslim country, expressing solidarity with the United States during its hour of grief. Megawati had her own agenda. While condemning global terrorism, she asked Bush to include the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on the U.S. list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). Bush promised military and financial aid as well as trade preferences, but Megawati did not get what she wanted. Bush refused to label GAM a terrorist organization. Instead he pressed Megawati to join in his global war on terror by cracking down on Muslim hard-line groups operating from Indonesia’s territory.
