The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World

by Vincent Bevins

Washington, DC—The State Department received a cable from the US embassy in Jakarta on October 5, signed by Ambassador Marshall Green. Green outlined the situation in Indonesia: Following guidelines may supply part of the answer to what our posture should be: A. Avoid overt involvement as power struggle unfolds. B. Covertly, however, indicate clearly to key people in army such as Nasution and Suharto our desire to be of assistance where we can, while at same time conveying to them our assumption that we should avoid appearance of involvement or interference in any way. C. Maintain and if possible extend our contact with military. D. Avoid moves that might be interpreted as note of nonconfidence in army (such as precipately [sic] moving out our dependents or cutting staff). E. Spread the story of PKI’s guilt, treachery and brutality (this priority effort is perhaps most needed immediate assistance we can give army if we can find way to do it without identifying it as solely or largely US effort).