Soldiers of fortune<\/p>\n
Police investigators' claims that one of the suspects in the
\nChristmas Eve bombing had been trained in assembling bombs in
\nAfghanistan does not come entirely as a surprise. This is not the
\nfirst time that we have stumbled onto a report that Indonesian
\nmercenaries fought with the Mujahideens against the pro-communist
\nSoviet regime in Afghanistan in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n
The previous instance of when we came across these former
\nmercenaries was when the Laskar Jihad, or the force of Muslim
\nholy warriors, was established early in 2000. At that time, we
\nheard that young volunteers bound for Maluku, where Christians
\nand Muslims have been fighting each other, were given training in
\nbasic military skills and discipline by these former Indonesian
\nmercenaries.<\/p>\n
While we know of their existence, we have never really found
\nout who they are and how they got involved in someone else's war
\nin the first place. But even more disturbing is that we do not
\nknow what they have been up to since returning home, until we
\nlearn from time to time of their roles, first in training the
\nLaskar Jihad last year, and now, at least according to the
\npolice, in planting some of the bombs on Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n
It is interesting to note that the police in Manila have
\nreported that the simultaneous bomb attacks in the Philippine
\ncapital were carried out by people who had fought in Afghanistan.
\nIs it merely a coincidence or is there a link between the bomb
\nattacks in the two countries? That is for the police in the two
\ncountries to investigate. We hope that this time the Indonesian
\npolice will pursue this lead to learn more about these \"soldiers
\nof fortune\" and shed some light on their recent activities.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, little research has been carried out on the
\nparticipation of young Asian Muslims, including those from
\nIndonesia and the Philippines, in the Afghanistan war. The
\nsketchy reports, mostly by journalists covering the Afghan war,
\nindicated that they were recruited as \"volunteers\" and trained
\nand deployed from rebel bases along the Pakistan border.
\nUnconfirmed reports have even suggested that they were recruited
\nby the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which certainly
\nsounds plausible given the context of the Cold War conflict at
\nthe time.<\/p>\n
Mercenaries by definition are foreign soldiers hired to fight
\na war on behalf of their sponsors. This was the nature of the
\nparticipation of the Indonesian volunteers in the Afghan war.
\nIdeology may have played a part in their decision to join the
\nwar, but at the end of the day, they were still mercenaries,
\nfighting someone else's dirty war in return for money.<\/p>\n
Their motive in the bombing campaign in Indonesia, if indeed
\nthese former mercenaries were involved as the police claimed, is
\nless clear, at least until police investigators can give us some
\nmore information. If they are true mean-spirited mercenaries,
\nalthough they are no longer in a foreign land, they could have
\nbeen paid to carry out such jobs as the bomb attacks on Christmas
\nEve.<\/p>\n
It may have been a smokescreen or a diversion, but the
\nadmission by one of the bombing suspects that he had fought in
\nAfghanistan should still be pursued by police investigators to
\nfind out more about these former Indonesian soldiers of fortune,
\ntheir identity and their whereabouts. Since they have the
\npotential -- the skill, discipline and the experience -- to
\ncreate unrest, their activities should be closely monitored,
\nparticularly now that there are indications of their involvement
\nin a recent bombing campaign.<\/p>\n
Police investigating the Christmas Eve bombing however must
\nnot stop their pursuit there. As important as it is to learn more
\nabout the activities of these former mercenaries, it is even more
\nimportant for the police to find out about their sponsors, the
\npeople who paid the perpetrators of the bombings, and the real
\nmotive for such a repulsive terrorist act.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soldiers-of-fortune-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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