THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama must pull American troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq if he wants to fulfil his dream of reconciling the Muslim world and the West, according to his Indonesian cousin.
Haryo Soetendro, 55, grew up with Mr Obama – whom he knew as "Barry" – when the future American president lived in Indonesia for four years from the late 1960s.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Soetendro said that his illustrious cousin must start delivering on his promise to build bridges with the Islamic world as the President prepares to leave for a visit to his childhood home next weekend.
"The Iraq and Afghanistan problems should be solved peacefully and that is what Barry is trying to do. Indonesian Muslims are generally tolerant. But there is a common opinion that one country should not occupy another. No one would want their house occupied by someone else.
"You cannot force other countries to accept your idea of what is right just because you are stronger. I think the mothers in America would agree with this when they see their soldier sons being killed in Afghanistan."
Mr Obama is due to fly to Indonesia next week but postponed his trip to help hammer out a health care reform bill that he hoped will be passed before his departure.
After criticism that he was taking a "vacation" to the country that had been timed to coincide with his daughters' school holidays, the White House announced that Mr Obama's wife Michelle and their children would not be accompanying him. >>> Barney Henderson in Jakarta | Monday, March 15, 2010
