Indonesia: authorities have failed to address fundamentalist ideology

The authorities have failed to aggressively check the radical clerics, Islamic schools or publishing houses that allow extremists to recruit and raise money for their operations, these experts said. Even moderate, politically powerful religious leaders, who are against violence, oppose any perceived government interference in their affairs. And as democracy has become entrenched since the fall of Suharto a decade ago, the authorities have appeared hesitant to use tactics that may recall the era of military rule.

“The bombings should be a catalyst for Indonesia to develop a more comprehensive approach,” said Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “They’ve been too focused on catching operators when they need to be tougher in actually preventing terrorism. They should take the boxing gloves off.”

via Indonesia’s Antiterror Campaign Is Debated – NYTimes.com.

Fighting fundamentalist ideology is the clue. If Governments don’t adress that as soon as possible, the fight against Jihadism is already lost.

The reconstructed faces of the two suspected bombers of two of Jakarta’s most important hotels last week, have been released by police.

Iraq: Bomb Kills Son of Anti-al-Qaida Leader in Iraq

A roadside bomb has killed three people in central Iraq, including the son of a tribal leader.

Naeim al-Halbosi, a leader of a Sunni tribal group opposed to al-Qaida, was injured in Saturday’s blast near Fallujah. His son and two bodyguards were killed.

via Bomb Kills Son of Anti-al-Qaida Leader in Iraq.

I guess they are not going to be famous in the blogosphere (don’t mention the news…) after they opposed the (terrorists) “fighters of international injustice” Al-Qaeda, so I think the three of them at least merit one post….

China-Russia: joined military exercises will focus on anti-terrorism

Chinese and Russian armed forces have conducted joint military exercises to defend against terrorism.

The operation on Saturday was designed to strengthen military cooperation and the Sino-Russian strategic partnership.

During the exercise, the two air forces deployed more than thirty fighter jets, and land forces rolled out over one hundred tanks and armored vehicles.

The air and land units coordinated their actions in a simulated fight against terrorists.

The biennial Peace Mission showcases the ability and resolution of both sides to cooperate against security threats and crack down on terrorists, separatists, and extremists.

They have pointed out, as main reason to focus on anti-terrorism, the Xinjiang revolts.

More information on NTA.

Philippines: Military clueless on JI whereabouts

An update on this story:

The military on Monday admitted that it is clueless on the whereabouts of foreign operatives of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group who had managed to slip into the country.

“We have monitored the entry of JI members in the country. They are training local terrorists to make bombs and other tactics. We learned of it through intelligence reports”, Armed Forces public information chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. said in an interview on dzXL radio.

Brawner’s admission came a week after several people were killed in the bombing of two hotels in Jakarta, and a week before President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo delivers her last State of the Nation Address.

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales had also linked the JI to a series of bombings in several key areas in Mindanao earlier this month. At least seven were killed in those bombings.

via GMANews.TV – Military clueless on JI whereabouts in RP – Nation – Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs – Latest Philippine News.

Afghanistan: jailed Taleban detainees to be separated from criminals

The Obama Administration is planning a significant overhaul of the US-run prison at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, and reforms of the entire Afghan jail network, as concern grows that they have become breeding grounds for Islamic militants.

The 600 detainees at Bagram have few privileges and almost no access to lawyers or human rights groups, and for the past fortnight have refused to leave their cells because of the indefinite detention.

In its early days, interrogation methods were abusive, and in 2002 two Afghans died after being beaten by US soldiers. The jail has in many respects become, for Afghans, a symbol of US abuse and excess similar to the reputation of Guantánamo or the former jail at Abu Ghraib in Iraq.

According to The New York Times, Marine Major Douglas M. Stone, who helped to improve detention facilities in Iraq, has conducted a review of Afghan jails and recommended separating Taleban militants from the general prison population. He believes that many small-time criminals are being converted into extremists and join the Taleban on their release.

via Taleban detainees to be separated from criminals in Afghan jail overhaul – Times Online.

The phenomenon of Muslim jailed criminals’ radicalization not only happens in Afghanistan because the “prison system” has a bad record on Human Rights. It also happens in Europe, in the US (1, 2) or in Australia.

Islamic cinema: thepremière of Hamas’ film and the cancelation of Jeddah festival

From JP:

Akel, 23 at the time, was known as “the ghost” for his many disguises, including dressing up as a Jewish settler with a skullcap. In the early 1990s, he topped Israel’s wanted list for his suspected role in killing 11 Israeli soldiers, an Israeli civilian and four Palestinian informers in a series of attacks.

In the two-hour movie, titled “Emad Akel,” there’s plenty of action. The hero frequently leaps out of cars to open fire on Israeli soldiers, prompting bursts of applause from the audience each time. There’s no romance, however, and the female actors all wear long robes and headscarves

(…) The movie was shot over 10 months on a production lot that Hamas hopes will one day grow into a $200 million media city. As part of its media empire, Hamas already operates a Gaza-based satellite television station, a radio station and a dozen news Web sites. Two daily newspapers are linked to Hamas, and the group produces a Hamas newsletter and an occasional glossy for its militant wing.

At the same time in Saudi Arabia:

Saudi Arabia’s only film festival has been cancelled, dealing a blow to reformist hopes of an easing of clerical control over culture that had been raised by the low-key return of cinemas in December.  In a country where movie theatres had been banned for almost three decades, the annual Jeddah Film Festival — started in 2006 — presents aspiring Saudi film makers and actors with a rare opportunity to mingle with more experienced peers from other countries.

Tip to Cara y cruz para el cine islámico: Hamas estrena película y se cancela festival en Arabia Saudí.

India: Mumbai attacks suspect admits guilt, speaks about indoctrination

The lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai attacks pleaded guilty Monday and gave a detailed account of the plot and his role in the rampage that left 166 people dead and paralyzed the city for three days.

The confession was a big boost to India’s claims that terrorist groups in Pakistan were behind the attack, and that Islamabad was not doing enough to clamp down on them. Pakistan has acknowledged the Mumbai attacks were partly plotted on its soil, severely straining relations between the nuclear-armed archrivals.

In a verbal statement, Ajmal Kasab described his group’s journey from Karachi, Pakistan on a boat, their subsequent landing in Mumbai on Nov. 26, and his assault on a railway station and a hospital with a comrade he identified as Abu Ismail.

via Mumbai attacks suspect admits guilt – South and Central Asia- msnbc.com.

His comments about his indoctrination has not been made public though, but they must be very interesting:

As part of his confession, he said he was recruited by a Pakistani militant group while he was looking for training to become a professional robber. He also described how he sprayed automatic gunfire at commuters at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station while a comrade hurled grenades during one of India’s worst terrorist acts.

Continuing his testimony Tuesday, Kasab told the court his mandate was “to open fire at CST and hold people hostage on the upper floor.”

“We were also directed to fire at the person who came to free hostages,” he said.

Kasab described the political and religious indoctrination he said he received from his handlers in Pakistan, but Judge M.L. Tahiliyani issued an order forbidding journalists from reporting his comments, saying it was not in the interest of communal harmony.