Intelligence shortcomings

Intelligence shortcomings

For some of us, the series of failed bombing attempts in
Jakarta, including the one on Monday with the explosion of a
grenade in the hands of one attacker, reminds us of the coyote
character in the classic cartoon series The Roadrunner. The
coyote consistently fails in his attempts to demolish the
ostrich-like bird, not only because the target is way too fast
for him, but also because he is plain stupid.

It is tempting to dismiss Monday's attackers as a bunch of
stupid amateurs like the coyote. But admittedly, there have been
several other failed attacks in the past, including occasions
when the bombs exploded in their houses or in their vehicles on
their way to carry out their misdeeds.

Any similarity between the amateurish bombers and the coyote
in Roadrunner ends here however. The cartoon series is fun to
watch, but there is nothing humorous about the failed attacks.

In real life, an attack that plans to use any type of
explosives is disturbing, irrespective of whether it has
successfully been executed or not. Some of the attacks that
reached fruition were devastating or even fatal, like the one at
the Jakarta Stock Exchange building or the one that maimed the
Philippine ambassador to Indonesia.

What is disconcerting about these attacks is shortcomings in
the intelligence capability of the security apparatus of this
country. Not only have they consistently failed to anticipate
these attacks, they have, in most cases, failed to solve the
mysteries even after the attacks took place. At times, we're left
wondering who is the real coyote here.

The public has yet to be given any credible explanation by the
authorities about the perpetrators of these attacks, and about
their motives. We are not sure whether they were conducted by the
same people, or by different groups for different motives.

The few cases that have already reached the courts have
signally failed to provide satisfactory answers to these most
basic questions.

Monday's incident, coming at a time when this nation, with the
rest of the world, is fighting against the threat of terrorism,
will be seen as a test of our intelligence capability.

While we can count our blessings that there were no casualties
apart from one of the attackers, the police must come up quickly
with credible answers about the planned attack on Monday: Who are
they, who was the target, and, most importantly, why?

Most of the attacks that have taken place -- both failed and
successful, in Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia -- have left
few clues for the public to be able to detect any discernible
pattern. The targets, timing and type of explosives used all seem
to have been randomly selected. The motives too were unclear:
Whether they were intended to kill, destroy property, or simply
scare people off.

There is no doubt, however, about the impact that these
bombings or attempted attacks, random though they may be, has had
on the lives of the public: They are terrorizing us.

As long as the police and their intelligence cannot come up
with credible explanations for these attacks and arrest the real
perpetrators, the public will be left to fend for itself.

We are left guessing about when and where the next attack will
take place. But for most of us, life must go on, even with the
threat of terror attacks haunting us. The only thing we can do is
hope we won't be anywhere near when the next attack occurs. That,
or hope that our intelligence services will crack the mysteries
fast enough to foil them.