05/13/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09880

ANTI-TERRORISM PACT IN ASIA

In the aftermath of the September 11^th attacks on the United States, much of the world has rallied to support the war against terrorism. Many nations, including many Islamic countries, understand that Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network -- the group responsible for the September 11^th attacks -- are cold-blooded murderers who are unfaithful to Islam.

In the latest step, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines have signed a pact to counter terrorism. The goal is to crush the Jemaah Islamiah [jem-ah-ah is-lah-mee-ah] terrorist network. The pact will allow joint military exercises, combined operations to hunt suspected terrorists, communications links, and the sharing of airline passenger lists. As Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda (weer-ah-YEW-da) said, the pact "is an important step we have taken together as part of our commitment to combat terrorism."

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir (mah-ha-TEER) Mohamad said there should be no let-up in the fight against terror. Malaysia has locked up over sixty suspected terrorists in a crackdown that began even before the September 11^th attacks.

Prime Minister Mahathir will meet with President George W. Bush in Washington this week. The Prime Minister has labeled all attacks on civilians, including suicide bombings, as terrorism. Citing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said suicide bombers achieve nothing by killing Israeli civilians except to bolster the view that Palestinians are terrorists.

The anti-terror solidarity of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines will do serious damage to Jemaah Islamiah, the al-Qaida terrorist network, and other terrorist groups. As President George W. Bush said, the free world cannot live with terrorist networks. The only way to defend against them is to go after them -- "to find them, root them out, and stop them from killing people."