[An Asia Pacific Millennium] 'Freelance Terrorism' in Asia? Philip Dorsey Iglauer Korea Times Columnist
Noordin Mohammed Top: Asia Pacifics Public Enemy No.1 Two weeks ago, he narrowly escaped capture for at least the second time when Indonesias paramilitary counter-terrorism squad, Detachment 88, raided a small apartment in Wonosobo, Central Java, killing two members of his inner circle and arresting two others. The international press paints a picture of a bespectacled 35-year-old Malaysian on the run: A man who will soon be captured or killed. If that happens, Indonesia would have eliminated the person most determined to drive Western interests out of the country. But Asia will still have to contend with Noordins legacy _ a new system of terrorism in which militants work `freelance and not for a specific faction, party or ideological group. Since 9-11, Noordin has tapped into several terrorist networks to build a following of diehard loyalists, and those same networks will be available to others in the future. Noordin is nicknamed the ``Moneyman by the media in his native Malaysia for his ability to recruit militants into becoming suicide bombers and his skill at raising the funds that finance terrorist missions. He is said to have cut his teeth in insurgency tactics through years of Jihadi struggle in the southern Philippines and the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Though Noordin is now a freelancer, he hails from Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the regions largest militant Islamic organization. JI continues to provide his followings elite core, as specific missions and individuals have been linked to the group. The two killed in the police attack in Wonosobo, in addition to being close Noordin associates, were also longstanding JI members. Since 2004, however, Noordin began reaching out to young men from other organizations and some with no previous organizational affiliation. Tops partner, Azahari bin Husin, was killed last November during a dramatic police raid on his hideout in East Java, in which suicide bombs were detonated. Many JI members reportedly see the group he has cobbled together in what Noordin calls ``al-Qaeda for the Malay Archipelago as a splinter group. Those JI members believe Noordin has done great harm to the organization they joined in the mid-1990s. Noordin, however, reportedly sees himself as leading JIs military wing, even though he answers to no one. In putting his group together, Nordin has relied neither on ideology, religious authority nor political affiliation, but personal contacts, although he employs any and all of these means to effect what amounts to subcontracting terror. According to the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG), he relied on three networks for the Australian embassy bombing in September 2004: A blend of JI members, alumni of militant Islamic schools and Darul Islam and an Indonesian Islamic militant group that sent members to Sulawesi and Maluku provinces in 1999 to conduct terrorist operations. While individuals from his Ring Banten faction had worked with JI before, he is the first insurgent leader to have outsourced military operations. Noordins freewheeling ``terror outsourcing does share at least one characteristic with terrorism in general since 9-11 _ innovation. After the Australian embassy bombing in Jakarta, Noordin was short of funds, weapons and experienced fighters. He turned to two men who had access to all these, neither of whom were JI. Noordin turned to a leader from Darul Islam, an established group with connections to movements across Asia. The other had been head of the Ambon office of the Islamic charity KOMPAK and capable of mobilizing religious soldiers. Although these two men did not join Noordin, their subordinates did, according to reports in the Jakarta Post. Intense negotiations followed, with couriers used to relay messages between the bosses. It turned out that neither the Darul Islam nor the KOMPAK leader was interested in joining forces but both were arrested in mid-2005 and began to lose control over their followers, some of whom went over to Noordin. For the second Bali bombing last October, Noordin relied on his inner circle, including the two who were killed on April 29, to find and train new members. He is said to have been a key figure behind every major terrorist attack in Indonesia: The 2002 Bali bombing, the 2003 JW Marriott Hotel and the 2004 Australian Embassy bombing in Jakarta, and the second Bali bombing last year. For the August 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta, he used a small circle of Sumatra-based JI members who had either been associated with a JI school in Malaysia, or an Islamic boarding school in Ngruki near Solo, Central Java. Though crediting him with so many high-profile attacks could be an exaggeration, Noordin has shown remarkable determination and capacity to plan operations even as he loses his closest colleagues to special counter-insurgency forces. After the second Bali attack, speculation in the Malaysia Star and Jakarta Post suggests police are closing-in on the terrorist chief. The April 29 raid eliminated men close to Noordin. >From that raid, police succeeded in later capturing several other Noordin aides, according to reports in the Malaysia Star and other Southeast Asian media. If Indonesian forces can arrest Noordin, religious extremism will surely be dealt a significant blow. Even if Noordin is killed, the ``4-minute mile barrier in recruiting has been broken. Insurgents, regardless of factionalism or ideological affiliation, are open to the idea of freelancing and working with ambitious leaders. [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200605/kt2006050817531654270.htm 05-08-2006 17:53 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Everything you need is one click away. Make Yahoo! your home page now. http://us.click.yahoo.com/AHchtC/4FxNAA/yQLSAA/uTGrlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
