The president has held two meetings with top level officials and this appears to spurred the police and intelligence organizations to go after those responsible for the Bali bombing. The government also agreed to accept help from foreign intelligence (for information on al Qaeda members and methods) and police (for DNA and evidence evaluation) agencies.

Indonesia's tourism business, a major source of foreign exchange, is taking a hit. Cancellations are flooding in and the US government has advised Americans not to visit Indonesia and, if already there, to leave. This will cause a lot of political problems in Indonesians, as the higher unemployment, caused by corruption scandals over the last few years, will now get worse. The government now has an incentive to take on Islamic radical organizations, but there is still risk that the Islamic radicals will simply get more public support as a result.

Indonesia's largest Islamic radical organization (Jemaah Islamiyah) was suspected. But the leader of that organization accused the CIA of planting the bomb, in order to make Moslems look bad. Jemaah Islamiyah has long operated openly in Indonesia, but has not openly preached violence against the government. Instead, the organization has pushed for an Islamic republic form of government. This has little support among Indonesians.