THE REBEL COMMANDER "They Know Where to Find Me"

Strolling the ramparts of the mountaintop pousada (inn) in his Army-issue shorts and thongs, rebel commander Alfredo Reinado is directing an effort to besiege Dili. Mobile phone glued to his ear, he mutters orders to subordinates 45 km away, who are fighting to recover the body of a fallen companion. "I want to see the battle," he says, "but my men will not let me. They are worried for my safety."

The former head of East Timor's military police, Reinado, 39, is to some his country's tormentor and to others its best hope. It's now nearly...