After a recent upsurge in armed incidents, Western military officers say they are inclined to believe what the Indonesian military has been telling them--that the 200 hard-core Timorese militiamen engaged in cross-border raids into United Nations-administered East Timor are proficient enough not to need any outside training or support.

While that doesn't absolve the Indonesian military of possible collusion (elements of the Indonesian special forces are operating in West Timor outside the direct authority of the Bali-based Udayana regional command) it underscores the fact that UN peacekeeping troops have more to contend with than the rag-tag thugs who rampaged through East Timor following last year's independence referendum.

Another disturbing development: two reported sightings of disgraced former special-forces commander Lt.-Gen. Prabowo Subianto in the West Timor capital of Kupang in the past two months.