The Jakarta Method

1. The United States Waged a Global Anticommunist Crusade

"Up to a million Indonesians, maybe more, were killed as part of Washington's global anticommunist crusade."

Global Intervention Strategy. The United States systematically targeted countries perceived as potentially communist, using a combination of covert operations, military intervention, and economic pressure. This was not simply a conflict between the US and Soviet Union, but a deliberate effort to reshape the global economic and political landscape.

Widespread Scope of Interventions:

• Overthrew governments in Iran, Guatemala, Brazil, Indonesia
• Supported military dictatorships across Latin America and Southeast Asia
• Utilized CIA operations to destabilize left-leaning governments
• Employed economic warfare and propaganda techniques

Ideological Motivation. The crusade was driven by a fundamental belief that any movement challenging American economic interests could be labeled communist and therefore eliminated. This approach went far beyond traditional geopolitical concerns, representing a comprehensive effort to prevent alternative developmental models.

2. Mass Murder Was a Deliberate Geopolitical Strategy

"The US government expended significant resources over years engineering the conditions for a violent clash, and then, when the violence broke out, assisted and guided its longtime partners to carry out the mass murder of civilians as a means of achieving US geopolitical goals."

Systematic Extermination. The anticommunist campaigns were not random violence but carefully orchestrated elimination of political opposition. The United States actively supported and often directly enabled mass killings in multiple countries.

Key Characteristics of Mass Murder Programs:

• Targeted unarmed civilians
• Used local military and paramilitary groups
• Provided intelligence, weapons, and diplomatic cover
• Eliminated entire political movements
• Created long-lasting societal trauma

Calculated Elimination. These operations were not simply about preventing communist expansion, but about destroying alternative political and economic imaginaries that could challenge US global economic dominance.

3. The Third World Movement Was Systematically Destroyed

"The Third World movement fell apart partly because of its own internal failures. But it was also crushed."

Crushing Revolutionary Potential. The anticommunist campaigns specifically targeted the most innovative and promising movements for independent development in the Global South. Leaders like Sukarno, Lumumba, and Allende represented alternative visions of national and global organization.

Destruction Mechanisms:

• Assassinating key leaders
• Supporting military coups
• Economic destabilization
• Propaganda campaigns
• Mass murder of political activists

Lost Possibilities. By eliminating these movements, the United States prevented potentially transformative approaches to economic development, social organization, and international cooperation that could have fundamentally reshaped global power structures.

4. Fanatical Anticommunism Shaped Modern Global Capitalism

"Almost all of us now live in the global economic system that Indonesia and Brazil entered in the mid-1960s, a worldwide capitalist order with the United States as its leading military power and center of cultural production."

Economic Restructuring. The anticommunist campaigns fundamentally reshaped global economic systems, creating a model of crony capitalism that persists today in many developing countries.

Characteristics of Imposed Economic Systems:

• Concentrated wealth in small elite groups
• Prioritized foreign investment
• Suppressed labor movements
• Limited democratic participation
• Maintained global economic hierarchies

Long-Term Consequences. The economic models installed through violent anticommunist interventions continue to define economic relationships between developed and developing nations.

5. Survivors Were Silenced and Traumatized

"Around 15 percent of the prisoners taken were women. They were subjected to especially cruel, gendered violence."

Systematic Suppression. Survivors of anticommunist violence were not only physically eliminated but also systematically silenced, with ongoing social and psychological trauma.

Ongoing Marginalization:

• Social stigmatization
• Economic exclusion
• Psychological trauma
• Denial of historical narrative
• Lack of reconciliation processes

Generational Impact. The violence created long-lasting societal wounds that continue to affect descendants of victims, preventing genuine healing and understanding.

6. Cold War Violence Continues to Haunt Developing Nations

"Fanatical anticommunism has never really left us, even in the First World."

Persistent Ideological Legacy. The anticommunist mentality continues to shape political discourse and action in many countries, particularly in the developing world.

Contemporary Manifestations:

• Ongoing political repression
• Persistent economic inequalities
• Continued stigmatization of left-wing movements
• Recurring political violence
• Unresolved historical traumas

Psychological Inheritance. The fear and paranoia generated during the Cold War continue to influence political behavior and institutional structures.

7. The Global Economic System Remains Fundamentally Unequal

"The gap between the First World and Third World is enormous. The US economy is not just a little bigger than Indonesia's. It is twenty times larger."

Persistent Global Hierarchy. Despite claims of progress, the fundamental economic inequalities established during the Cold War remain largely unchanged.

Inequality Indicators:

• Massive GDP disparities
• Continued economic dependency
• Limited social mobility
• Restricted developmental opportunities
• Maintained colonial-era economic structures

Systemic Limitations. The anticommunist interventions effectively locked many developing countries into subordinate economic positions.

8. Propaganda and Psychological Warfare Were Crucial Weapons

"The Western press repeated the narrative being peddled by the new Indonesian government, which Washington was enthusiastically welcoming onto the world stage."

Information Manipulation. Controlling narratives was as important as military intervention in maintaining global economic dominance.

Propaganda Techniques:

• Media manipulation
• Disinformation campaigns
• Cultural indoctrination
• Psychological terror
• Strategic narrative construction

Ideological Warfare. The battle was not just about physical control but about shaping understanding and perception of political possibilities.

9. Local Militaries Became Instruments of US Foreign Policy

"The Kennedy administration provided increasing levels of assistance to the Indonesian military, which was meant to serve as a counterweight to support that Sukarno was now receiving from the Soviets."

Military Transformation. Local military institutions were systematically reshaped to serve US geopolitical interests.

Militarization Strategies:

• Training programs
• Equipment provision
• Ideological indoctrination
• Creating "states within states"
• Developing counterinsurgency capabilities

Political Manipulation. Military institutions became primary instruments for maintaining US-aligned political systems.

10. The Victims Were Overwhelmingly Innocent Civilians

"Almost everyone killed and imprisoned was entirely innocent of any crime."

Indiscriminate Violence. The anticommunist campaigns targeted entire communities, killing people based on political association, ethnicity, or mere suspicion.

Victim Characteristics:

• Unarmed civilians
• Political activists
• Union members
• Ethnic minorities
• Intellectuals and artists

Humanitarian Catastrophe. The scale of violence went far beyond legitimate political conflict, representing a systematic effort to eliminate entire social and political movements.

Last updated: January 22, 2025