Embassy fears fan threat by elusive Indonesian terror suspect<\/p>\n
Jane Macartney, Reuters, Singapore<\/p>\n
Round-faced with spectacles and a wispy beard, Riduan Isamuddin
\ncould blend into any crowd in Southeast Asia. And he does.<\/p>\n
That ability to fade into the background is a trump card in
\nwhat Western intelligence experts say is the task set by Osama
\nbin Laden for the 36-year-old Islamic preacher to sow fear and
\nwreak devastation around the region.<\/p>\n
Australia and Canada said on Thursday they had closed their
\nembassies in Manila after receiving information of a planned
\nattack in the next few days. Both governments urged their
\ncitizens to defer all non-essential travel to the Philippines, an
\narchipelago of sugar-white beaches and dive havens.<\/p>\n
That means Ridouan Isamuddin, better known by the alias
\nHambali, is meeting the mandate laid down for him by his equally
\nelusive boss bin Laden, alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001,
\nstrikes on New York and Washington.<\/p>\n
Western intelligence experts say Hambali is nothing less than
\nbin Laden's man in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
\"Hambali was brought into al-Qaeda in the late 1980s,\" wrote
\nU.S. academic Zachary Abuza in a new report, Tentacles of Terror:
\nAl Qaeda's Southeast Asian Network.<\/p>\n
\"He is remarkable in that he is one of the only non-Arabs to
\nbecome a high-ranking member of al-Qaeda, and was a member of the
\nshura, its highest decision-making body,\" Abuza wrote.<\/p>\n
Charged with overseeing military operations in the region,
\nHambali is the operational mastermind of Indonesia's shadowy
\nJamaah Islamiah (JI) network and the man allegedly behind the
\nOct. 12 Bali bombing that killed more than 190, about half of
\nthem Australians, intelligence experts say.<\/p>\n
Even if he is not linked to the threat against the Manila
\nembassies, any such attack would fall within his remit.<\/p>\n
\"Hambali is in charge of operations in the region,\" said
\ncounterterrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna, author of Inside Al
\nQaeda: Global Network of Terror.<\/p>\n
Details of his activities since he went underground in May
\n2001 have emerged from U.S. interrogation of a young Canadian-
\nKuwaiti, Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, who was arrested for his
\nalleged role in plans last December to bomb Western embassies in
\nSingapore, Abuza wrote.<\/p>\n
According to Abuza, Hambali held a meeting in southern
\nThailand in January 2002 -- attended by Mansour -- at which he
\nswitched targets from symbolic hits such as embassies to soft
\ntargets such as bars.<\/p>\n
Details of the meeting were given by FBI investigators to the
\nThai authorities in August and that country with its relatively
\nrelaxed immigration procedures may remain his favored
\nheadquarters, Gunaratna said.<\/p>\n
\"There is no record of Hambali leaving Thailand in his name or
\nunder any known alias,\" he said, dismissing rumors Hambali had
\nsought refuge in Pakistan or even at home in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Thailand has raged against reports that such a meeting took
\nplace on its soil, apparently in the more Muslim south. \"There
\nare no such things... Sometimes those rumors could damage us,\"
\nThai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
\"Perhaps, these people might have visited or traveled through
\nThailand because we are geographically central, an attractive
\ncountry to visit. We are the most visited country in the region.
\nThey (terror suspects) would not come to Thailand for terrorism
\npurposes,\" he said.<\/p>\n
U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Darryl Johnson said on Wednesday
\nthe Thai government had done enough to ensure American interests
\nwere safe, despite a general U.S. travel warning for Southeast
\nAsia in the wake of the Bali bombings.<\/p>\n
Thailand, worried its economy will be hit by tourist and
\nforeign investor nerves, has tightened security at major resorts
\nand launched a publicity campaign to persuade potential visitors
\nthat the country is safe.<\/p>\n
Western embassies in Manila, diplomatic missions in Singapore
\nand U.S. interests everywhere offered easy pickings for radicals
\n-- at least until Sept. 11.<\/p>\n
\"Southeast Asian states were what I term 'countries of
\nconvenience' for terrorists,\" said Abuza, describing \"tourist-
\nfriendly and minimal visa requirements, lax financial oversights,
\nwell-established remittance systems for overseas workers, porous
\nborders, often weak government control, endemic government
\ncorruption, and a vast supply of illicit arms\".<\/p>",
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