01/11/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09638

EAST ASIA THREATENED BY TERRORISM

Authorities in Singapore are detaining more than a dozen members of an extremist group called Jemaah Islamiah [jah-mah is-lahm-ee-ah]. The suspects are accused of planning terrorist attacks on the United States embassy and American businesses in Singapore.

Singapore officials say that a search of the suspects’ homes and offices yielded bomb-making information, photographs and videotapes of targeted buildings, altered passports, forged immigration stamps, and documents linking them to the al-Qaida terrorist network. Some of those detained were reportedly trained in al-Qaida terrorist camps in Afghanistan.

Other reported graduates of al-Qaida camps are being held in Malaysia. The Malaysian government is detaining thirteen people affiliated with Kumpulan [koom-pooh-lahn] Militant Malaysia, or K-M-M, for suspected terrorist activity. The K-M-M evidently seeks to establish by terrorism an extremist Muslim state comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Police say that in September and October of 2000, members of the Malaysian terrorist group were in contact with Zacarias Moussaoui. Moussaoui is now in U.S. custody and awaiting trial for his part in the conspiracy behind the September 11^th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that all countries are at risk of being used as bases for terrorist groups.

Another country threatened by terrorists is Indonesia. As U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz pointed out, the government of Indonesia has difficulty keeping peace everywhere in its far-flung territory. In Sulawesi [soo-lah-wess-ee], there have recently been conflicts between Muslim extremists and Christians. Mr. Wolfowitz said "the concern is there isn't enough military to protect the local population or to create the kinds of stable conditions that keep terrorism down." He said that "you see the potential for Muslim extremists and Muslim terrorists to link up with those Muslim groups in Indonesia and find a little corner for themselves in a country that's otherwise quite unfriendly to terrorism."

The war against terrorism is now a global one. The U.S. will support efforts to combat terrorism in East Asia, just as it is doing around the world.