In Southeast Asia, a Counterterrorism Strategy That's Working

By Jonathan Winer

According to today's New York Times , a number of counterterrorism experts and governments have concluded that JI and other major terrorist networks in Southeast Asia have suffered significant setbacks in the past three years.

The Times article found that the major elements in combatting the terrorist groups were effective law enforcement, heightened intelligence, ongoing military operations and "an erosion of public support." The implication is that an actual strategy, implemented over an extended period in a sustained fashion, has had actual success.

From my perspective, the most important evidence of the change is the dramatically different approach undertaken in recent months by the government of Indonesia to sentence major figures in JI to extended prison terms, a change from the relative leniency shown such persons by Indonesia in the past. Meanwhile, Ibrahim also criticized the US-led war on terror, saying instead of addressing the root cause of terrorism, it has led to problems and caused more prejudice especially against Muslims.

Meanwhile, in Malaysia, while Prime Minister Badawi was addressing a conference promoting religious tolerance and the need for greater understanding between Islam and the west, former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was criticizing the US-led war on terror, saying instead of addressing the root cause of terrorism, it has led to problems and caused more prejudice especially against Muslims. Ibrahim's statements included the following:

"The so-called war on terror is vague. They called the campaign in Southeast Asia including the Philippines as the second front against terrorism but where is the first front is not clearly defined," Ibrahim said, adding that the war against terrorism is flawed for its failure to address the root cause of the issue and has become a "zero-sum game." "We cannot fight fire with fire. We can only defeat terrorism through winning the battle for the hearts and minds of the people," he added.

The findings of the terrorist experts discussed by the New York Times would appear to confirm precisely the opposite of Ibrahim's thesis -- namely, that counter terrorism is NOT a zero-sum game, and that an aggressive strategy involving policing, intelligence, military activity, and political activities is actually working effectively in Southeast Asia.

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