U.S. trains Asians in counter-terrorism

U.S. trains Asians in counter-terrorism

MALAYSIA: United States experts on Monday began training
officials from five Southeast Asian nations to fight terrorist
financing in one of a series of programs at the Southeast Asia
Regional Center for Counter Terrorism.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told some 100
officials from the United States, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines and Thailand that the terrorist threat was growing
stronger every day and no nation could stand against it alone.

U.S. experts from the justice department, Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), customs and border patrol agencies will
brief their Asian counterparts during the four-day workshop on
their operating procedures and establish working relationships to
share intelligence.

Syed Hamid said terrorists were dependent on finance to fuel
their activities while the global community lacked a blueprint to
fight money laundering and suspicious transactions.

"Countries must be equipped with the right skills to cripple
any terrorist activity at its nascent stage," he said.

"International terrorism will remain a common threat
confronting us unless we adopt a comprehensive approach to
confront the scourge. No one country can fight this evil alone.
We have to collaborate closely." --AFP