Inside Asia's Terror Network

Decades before al-Qaeda was a worldwide household word, religious radicals were laying the groundwork for a struggle to create a pan-Asia Islamic empire. Thus was born Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a secretive terror organization that spans half a dozen countries.

One of the world's leading authorities on Asian terrorism is Ken Conboy. His latest book, The Second Front: Inside Asia's Most Dangerous Terrorist Network, could not have appeared at a more auspicious time, published (by Equinox, Jakarta) only weeks after the second Bali bombing.

Conboy is obviously well-connected. His previous best-selling books include, Intel: Inside Indonesia’s Intelligence Service and Kopassus, Inside Indonesia’s Special Forces. He currently is country manager for Risk Management Advisory, a private security consultancy in Jakarta.

Asia Cable October was a hard month for Indonesia, beginning with the second Bali bombing on Oct. 1 and ending with atrocity in Poso, where three Christian school girls were murdered. What are the latest developments?.

Ken Conboy The Bali investigation is not producing quick results, and the authorities are clearly frustrated over this. One should remember, however, that many of the previous terror attacks – the Christmas 2000 bombings, for example – went unresolved for many months before the perpetrators were identified. Perhaps most surprising is the fact that the three bombers have not yet been identified. Again, there is a precedent: one of the bombers in the first Bali bombing has yet to be properly identified beyond a nickname.

The Poso beheadings are apparently the work of parties who want to see that district again devolve into major sectarian violence. For the past three years, in fact, there have been sporadic – and largely unsolved – attacks by extremists whose sole aim is to rekindle inter-religious tension. What makes the most recent attack notable was the brutality of the act, which was extreme even by extremist standards.

AC How many arrests and convictions have there been in the major JI operations, namely Bali, the Marriott Hotel and the Australian Embassy?

KC I’ve never seen a definitive tabulation. A couple hundred persons were detained after the first Bali bombing; of these, convictions resulted in every level from death penalties to prison time. Complicating matters is the fact that some terrorists have been involved in more than one attack, some tangentially involved with the Bali bombings were also linked to the Marriott strike, for example. For the latest bombing, about a dozen persons have been detained, though it now appears that none to date were actually involved in terrorism.

AC Many who monitor terrorism in Southeast Asia thought JI was almost finished as an effective force due to arrests and internal dissention. Then came the second Bali bombings. Did they get things wrong?

KC There is a large body of sympathizers from which JI members such as Noordin Top and Azhari Husin can recruit personnel for such operations as the Marriott Hotel and Kuningan strikes. They often see themselves as Darul Islam adherents, not necessarily JI [Darul Islam is a fundamentalist movement seeking to turn Indonesia into an Islamic state that dates back to Independence in 1945 and before]. Thus, while there is no denying that JI has been heavily impacted by arrests, Indonesia still harbors a sizable and threatening number of extremists.

AC Australia and some other Western governments have been pressuring Jakarta to outlaw JI and close its schools. Do you agree?

KC Jakarta views JI as an underground movement. It has not been banned because it has never been officially recognized. I believe JI should be banned because it would show that the government has no tolerance for such extremism and because it would allow the government to move against assets held by JI members. JI does not have any schools per se, although there are a handful of religious schools that have produced top JI members. The government is now exploring ways of regulating the curriculum at these schools, which I think is a good move.

AC It has been said that Jakarta won’t ban JI because the name means “Community of Islam” and thus would be seen in the country as an attack on all Muslims. Is this a real concern or an excuse?

KC Both the previous governments and the current administration are leery of banning JI because they fear losing support from the harder-line Muslim political parties. The government has found it expedient to use the excuse that JI cannot be banned because it is an underground movement and thus not officially recognized.

AC I notice that Abu Bakir Bashir does not loom large in your book, even though people in Australia and elsewhere in the West complain that his light, 30-month sentence for conspiracy and subsequent remissions post Bali 1 are evidence that Jakarta is weak on terrorism. What is your take?

KC Abu Bakir Bashir is the spiritual head of JI and held a leadership role during the group’s shift toward Western targets. My book focuses on the planning and execution of JI’s attacks, and in that sense Abu Bakir Bashir was not generally involved at the tactical level. However, I feel that he should have been given a longer sentence. Most foreign observers saw his trial as a litmus test to determine whether Indonesia was serious about cracking down on extremism. His relatively short sentence dismayed many. I can understand why Australians see a disconnect between his sentence and the overly harsh punishments meted out to some of their nationals for drug offenses in Bali.

AC Some observers worry that the increasingly violent insurgency in southern Thailand is morphing from a local insurrection, ala Aceh, into a new al-Qaeda front. What is your opinion?

KC There is some evidence that Indonesian volunteers may be headed for southern Thailand in search of a worthy jihad. If true, it could be an indicator that the Pattani rebellion is shifting from a localized ethnic insurgency into a wider sectarian struggle, attracting the attention of a wider extremist audience.

AC I see that one of JI’s senior people, Umar Faruq, escaped from American custody in Afghanistan. Is this cause for concern?

KC Faruq has proven himself to be dangerous and determined to strike at the West. I think it unlikely that he would risk traveling back to Southeast Asia. Given his ethnic background [he is an Arab from Kuwait] he might be inclined to head to Iraq.