Last Thursday, the Special Forces Command (Kopassus) marked its 50th anniversary. Reaching the half-century is usually a time for celebration. But for Kopassus, a fog of questions has clouded the festivities. The organization's role in propping up the New Order regime has left a legacy of shame.

But not all of the elite unit's history is bad. At the beginning of the New Order, most people were proud to have a military unit called the Paratroop