Threat of terrorism remains despite regional successes: Australian FM Downer

This article can be found at: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/262157/1/.html

By: Channel NewsAsia's Indonesia Bureau Chief Sujadi Siswo
Posted: 05 March 2007 2139hrs

This article states that though terrorism has been more successfully countered in our region, it is still an ever-growing threat globally, as terrorist groups continue to spread their ideology around the world. Local terrorist groups like the Jemaah Islamiyah and the Abu Sayyaf have been warring with the governments of various countries for many years, and have yet to be put down permanently. Extremist ideology is continually being spread, and new strategies and tactics constantly being developed by extremists.

This everchanging landscape means that all of us will have to adapt to their tactics, and counter them with other solutions that will eliminate them. Terrorists can be hunted down and prosecuted, by the terrorist ideology is hard to defeat. It is not tangible, and continues to spread unseen and unguarded through books, internet and other media. Therefore, we should deal with the root of the problem, which is the ideas behind it.

Asides from this region, the rest of the world is also suffering from waves upon waves of terrorist attacks. Organizations like the Al-Qaeda are well-spread and are hard to counter. The U.S.' approach of coming down hard on them in the open, is probably not working well. Terrorism is politically-motivated violence, and the extremists will probably become more enraged when faced with the U.S' open declaration of war upon them, using more subtle and brutal methods to carry out their acts.

I feel that the world community should congregate, and hold a world 'forum' on terrorism, cooperating cohesively to counter the terrorist threat around the world as a whole and not singly. Right now, efforts to counter terrorists are to uncoordinated. Efforts to counter terrorists in one region would just force terrorists to move their attacks to other regions, and efforts by other regions would achieve the same effect.

Rather than fighting terrorists using martial law, other measures can be taken. Espionage and infiltration into known terrorist networks can help greatly in the fight against terrorism to get rid of key leaders in the terrorist community and to gather information on the network. This should be coordinated worldwide, such that help can be given to countries that need it and information exchanged. Instead of fighting terrorists physically, some thought should be given into fighting its ideology. Getting rid of media which promotes extremism could be a first step taken.

As a small country in a region of increasing terrorism, Singapore should be more vigilant in our defense, and cooperate with neighbouring countries in the fight. A single loophole, and all can be gone. The discovery of plans to attack an MRT station in one of the past years, showed how vulnerable we are, here in Singapore. If extremists were to choose to attack us in a series of well-planned attacks, Singapore would cease to exist. The terrorist community is very extensive world-wide, and in a way, they are more united than we are in the pursuit of their goals. In order to dispel the U.S., the various branches of the Al-Qaeda cooperated. Why can all the countries not cooperate in the same way to decimate the terrorist ranks?

I feel also, that we should be everchanging and dynamic, and expect anything to happen at anytime, as that is the unpleasant truth of the situation. Constant vigilance and development is necessary, and one must not become stale in one's perception of the terrorist threat. Everybody can play a part in defending their country. Terrorism is not open, and relies on subterfuge. Hence, if everybody were to keep an eye out for suspicious articles or persons, and report them to the police, terrorism can be twarted on the surface level easily.