Why let him off the hook so easy?
Sure, E Timor is between a rock and a hard place, and all sorts of compromises are necessary -- although it's not clear that all the compromises that have been made thus far have in fact helped the people.
Compromises are one thing. Going out of your way to write an Op-Ed for the NYT along the lines that Horta did is another. He could have waffled more generally about foreign intervention not being something that should, in principle, be ruled out, etc. Instead, he went on that anti-Americanism bs, and distorted his own movement's and country's history and, above all, bit the support that kept him, his movement and his country's dreams alive through 25 years.
No -- he deserves every single brick that's thrown!
kj khoo