Local efforts needed to fight global terror

B. Raman, Former Head Counter-Terrorism Division Research and Analysis Wing, The Straits Times, Asia News Network, Singapore

From Bali to Moscow, in South and West Asia, bushfires of jihadi terrorism have flared up across the world after Sept. 11.

One year after the start of U.S. Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S. and the rest of the world are only dimly aware of the nature of Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front and the gravity of the threat posed to millions of innocent people by the irrational dregs of the second Afghan war.

The international community has yet to find an effective response to the source of religious-inspired terrorism.

India, China, Russia, Central and Southeast Asia, which face problems of extremism and terrorism in their territories, have with some exceptions, uncritically accepted the U.S. perceptions of the threat and supported the U.S. war against terrorism.

However, they would be well advised to take a closer look at the nature of the threat and devise their own response to the problem as it affects them.

When the U.S. and Britain launched their war in Afghanistan in October last year to destroy al-Qaeda forces and drive out the Taliban regime, I had cautioned that it was unlikely to see the end of international terrorism fed by religious fanaticism.

It would probably be the beginning of a new and more virulent form of "punishment terrorism" of the kind seen on Sept. 11.

No country having a sizable Muslim population, and no economy, would be safe from its debilitating impact.

Many al-Qaeda forces were killed or dispersed from Afghanistan and the Taliban regime toppled by the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance at the end of January this year. Terrorists from different countries also fled Afghanistan.

The Afghan war of the 1980s against the Soviet Union's forces spawned a crop of Afghan returnees, mainly Arabs and Pakistanis, but also Chechens and others from Central and Southeast Asia, who spread to countries in the Islamic and non-Islamic world and created havoc through acts of terrorism, which culminated in the Sept. 11 air attacks in the U.S.

Now the U.S.-led war against terrorists in Afghanistan has given birth to a new crop of Afghan returnees. And a new wave of international terrorism would come largely from them, as seen in the various attacks in India and Pakistan.

The international coalition against terrorism must monitor closely and neutralize the activities of the new crop.

The survivors of the U.S. air strikes in Afghanistan have managed to return to their countries or find new theaters for their jihad. They have been hitting soft targets to show they are still alive and kicking, and their motivation remains as strong as ever.

In Bali, as in India, Pakistan, Tunisia, Yemen and Kuwait, it was the desire to punish which has been the motivating factor.

It was punishment of terrorism without any strategic objective.

However, the latest strike in Moscow was an attempt by the terrorist organization concerned to step up the struggle for an independent Chechnya.

It is therefore important to recognize that the new threat confronting the international community is not from al-Qaeda alone, but more from the constituent members of the International Islamic Front, which came into being in 1998 under the leadership of Osama, and consists of the Taliban, al-Qaeda and organizations from Pakistan, Egypt, Central Asian Republics, China (Xinjiang) and the Southern Philippines.

Members of this front helped the Taliban in its fight against the Northern Alliance before Sept. 11 and fought against U.S. and British troops and the alliance after that date.

A large number of terrorists from other countries, such as Southeast Asia and Chechnya, joined the International Islamic Front's jihad.

While the Filipinos fought under the banner of the Abu Sayyaf, those from the other countries of Central and Southeast Asia fought under the banner of different Pakistani organizations in Afghanistan.

Likewise, a number of Afro-Americans and others from U.S. and Europe fought under the banner of the Pakistani organizations or the Taliban.

The first wave of Afghan veterans started domestic jihad in the name of Islam in Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Chechnya in the 1980s.

These bushfires of Afghan-inspired jihad were put out in Egypt and Tunisia, but are still burning in Algeria and Chechnya.

While anger against the U.S. and Israel is a common thread uniting all these organizations, there are also other influences arising from domestic factors.

A new aggravating factor is their anger at their governments for cooperating with the U.S. in its war against terrorism.

Religious-inspired terrorists tend to be irrational. Governments have to be careful not to add to their irrationality in the way counter-terrorism operations are conducted and projected to the public.

Both the campaign and multinational cooperation have to be more covert than overt, avoiding high-profile spectacular operations and ill-advised rhetoric.

U.S. reliance on tough talking and large-scale military operations have been akin to waving the red rag at the terrorist bulls, feeding their irrationality.

In fighting these bushfires, each affected country has to take into account the local circumstances and sensitivities and avoid adopting a counter-terrorism response which may suit the U.S.' interests, but not its own.

All countries facing the scourge of jihadi terrorism have to fight the menace according to their own genius, albeit with the help of intelligence and legal assistance from other members of the international community, including the U.S.

But the U.S. cannot win the war for them. They have to win it by their own wits and action.

Research and Analysis Wing is India's external intelligence agency. The writer now heads the Institute of Topical Studies, Chennai, India.