HONOLULU -- Turmoil in Indonesia was underscored Tuesday when a terrorist bomb exploded in a hotel in Jakarta killing at least 14 people and wounding about 150 more. It has added to the already surging concern of American officials in Washington and at the U.S. Pacific Command's headquarters in Hawaii, where an officer with access to intelligence reports lamented what he called "a chaotic situation."
Particularly troubling have been continued threats from terrorist organizations, notably the Jemaah Islamiah, despite the arrest of 130 suspects since a bombing in Bali in October 2002 that killed 200 people.
Those threats, plus other ills, have prevented Indonesia, with the world's largest Muslim population, from emerging as a leader of a moderate Islam that many Muslims -- and the United States -- would like to see.