Terror analysed

Rohan Gunaratne on terrorism with reference to Sri Lanka and elsewhere

National Geographic delves into the mind of a terrorist agent in their new documentary

Sept 11, 2001 - or better known to all as 9/11 - was a day that shocked the world. But what really happened?

Apart from the obvious emotional trauma of the event that rocked the world, the questions as to who was to blame still ring in the air five years after the World Trade Center collapsed.

The National Geographic Channel reveals the extraordinary tale of one of Osama bin Laden’s intelligence agents, who managed to infiltrate the U.S. Army and the FBI. Inside 911: Bin Laden’s Spy in America, a new two-hour documentary, examines the masterful maneuverings of Ali A Mohamed, the man who played a key role in Al-Qaeda terror plots while triple crossing US officials on the road to 9/11.

It’s a real life epic that plays out like a thriller as it takes viewers through twists and turns from Brooklyn to Khartoum, Afghanistan to Fort Bragg. This is the untold story of an ex-Egyptian Special Forces Major who slipped through many crevices in the US intelligence community while working for Bin Laden.
His actions and influence over 20 years of terrorist events reverberate through today. Currently in US custody, the agent’s whereabouts and legal status are closely guarded secrets.

Inside 911: Bin Laden’s Spy in America premiered on National Geographic on Sept 10, 2006, and is repeated on Sept 15 at 9 p.m., Sept 16 at 1 a.m., Oct 6 at 10 p.m., and Oct 7 at 2a.m. and 12p.m.

Buzz had the opportunity to chat with one of the people involved in the production, Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, head of Terrorism Research at Singapore’s Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies and the author of Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror.

Gunaratna is the world’s foremost expert on Islamist terrorism. The Sri Lankan native has interviewed more than 200 Al Qaeda members and has written six books on armed conflict. From 2000 to 2001 he served as principal investigator for the United Nations’ Terrorism Prevention Branch.
Buzz raided the mind of the man who invades the minds of deadly terrorists around the world:

How has terrorism changed since 9/11?

Terrorist trends have changed very significantly after 9/11, and there are three major changes. Firstly, the centre of gravity of international terrorism was in Afghanistan before 9/11 including Al-Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Laden and this included the Malaysian terrorist group, Kumpulan Militan Malaysia. But because of the US-led collision intervention in Afghanistan, they dismantled the entire terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. Secondly, when these groups moved from Afghanistan to the other regions, they joined the local jihad groups. For example: in Thailand, they work with Jemaah Salafiah; in the Philippines, they worked with Abu Sayyaf; and in Indonesia, they worked with Laskar Jundullah, and these local groups started to behave like Al-Qaeda, with suicide bombings and coordinating simultaneous attacks like Al-Qaeda. Thirdly, after the US invaded Iraq, Iraq became the new land of jihad. Iraq is producing a new generation for terrorist and has become a new land for terrorism.

How would you categorise terrorism today?

The threat of terrorism is growing because of the US invasion into Iraq. Many Muslims are suffering and they resent the invasion. The extremists and terrorist groups are exploiting this anger, allowing the terrorist to recruit and get funding from the Muslim communities. Hence, terrorism is growing because terrorism is a by-product of extremism.

In your opinion, what is the best way to fight terrorism?

Terrorism can be fought on three levels. Firstly there’s Operational Counter Terrorism. This is the method currently used by the US and Europe. Operational Counter Terrorism means you kill the terrorist, and in doing so you will disrupt their operations.

There’s also Strategic Counter Terrorism, where they create an environment that is hostile to the terrorist. Al-Qaeda is misrepresenting Islam and is perverting the Quran. Then there’s Security Response, where they ensure there is proper infrastructure in place to counter the probability of a terrorist attack.
Do you think the US tackled the terrorist problem in an effective manner?

The US has a superficial understanding of the extremism amongst the Muslims and the rate at which the extremity is growing. Unfortunately, there are very few good Muslim leaders who are able to stand-up and condemn terrorism. In Malaysia, there are a number of good leaders who have done that.

Describe your job.

I’m a director of the International Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, and am currently at the Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies (IDSS) in Singapore.

We have recently set up a centre in Kabul, Afghanistan. We are also helping a number of Governments to create a centre in South-East Asia. We also train a number of intelligence for the South-East Asia, US, Europe and Malaysia. We publish books and articles to educate the Muslim and the non-Muslim pertaining to terrorism.

What do you usually look for when you’re suspicious of terrorist activity in a particular area?

One can identify terrorist activity by a show of support or operational activities. Support of terrorists includes things like propaganda, recruitment, fund raising, procurements, terrorist travels and transportation, terrorist training camps. Operational evidence includes initial observation of target, dry run or training for the target, final observation and terrorist attacks.

How do you obtain terrorist information?

We obtain information about the existence of terrorism through people in the open and also from those who are in custody. We can also obtain information from terrorist websites.

If someone suspects their neighbour is a terrorist, what should they do?

Inform the Malaysian police, and they will do the necessary.

Do you think there is a possibility that 9/11 will reoccur?

Yes, it can certainly happen again, because terrorism has grown significantly.

Is there any part of the world that’s more likely to be the next probable terrorist target?

It could happen anywhere, in any part of the world.

Is there a difference between Islamic and non-Islamic terrorist in terms of their modus operandi?

Islam is a religion of peace. There is no difference between a Muslim and a non-Muslim terrorist, and there is no difference between a Christian terrorist and a Muslim terrorist. For example, Sri Lanka is occupied by a terrorist group known as the Tamil Tigers - they comprise mainly of Christians and Hindus, and they have committed the largest number of suicide attacks.

How would you rate the terrorist in South-East Asia?

Terrorism is growing particularly in the Philippines.

Do Malaysians have cause for concern when it comes to terrorism?

Yes, certainly as the terrorist groups are creative. For example, there’s Abu Bakar Bashir, a terrorist leader in South-East Asia, who’s still free and at large preaching his violence after killing 250 people.

Do you think Malaysia is under threat of terrorism?

Yes, there is that concern, as long as the terrorists are free, bearing in mind the number of people attached to terrorist groups, who are still free in South-East Asia.

How should the fight against terrorism in South-East Asia be improved?

Government leaders should study and understand threat and should work together.

They should build a common database, exchange personnel, conduct joint training, joint operations, share information and intelligence, share equipment and expertise, share resources and most importantly, share experience.

Where’s the safest country to be?

There is no safe place. Terrorists can attack anywhere. Terrorist are like sharks, they will take every opportunity which is open to them.

Do you think the world will ever be cleansed of terrorism?

No. Terrorism will always exist and will become a part of our lives; just like crime, we will also suffer the same with terrorism.

(Courtesy Malysian Press)

In a separate interview with Rohan Gunaratne, the following transpired:

Today’s date has gone down in history as a symbol of terrorist violence. JEREMY MAHADEVAN speaks to Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, an expert on terrorism, about a new National Geographic documentary that tackles a particularly unique Al-Qaeda agent.

It would make an interesting premise for a James Bond film - Ali A. Mohamed, a radical ex-Egyptian Army officer, who infiltrated American security organisations for more than 14 years, all the while serving as a spy for Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Al-Qaeda.

Not only did he manage to get himself hired by the CIA and become an informant for the FBI, he even served in the US Army, married an American and gained citizenship. But all along he was involved in an elaborate “triple cross”, the kind of thing Ian Fleming would certainly have been very proud to have concocted.

While ostensibly spying on the terrorist groups on behalf of the Americans, Ali A. Mohamed was in fact spying for the terrorist groups. He spent those long years feeding critical details to terrorist organisations, training and establishing terrorist cells in the United States and abroad.

Today being a significant day in the history of terrorism, National Geographic is airing a documentary on this Al-Qaeda operative, who infiltrated some of the most secure organisations in the world. Titled Bin Laden’s Spy in America, it airs tonight at 9pm.

One of the people involved in the production of the documentary was Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, a Sri Lankan expert on terrorism, the head of terrorism research at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore and author of the widely acclaimed book, Inside Al-Qaeda. Dr. Gunaratna took some time out to speak to Life & Times recently on terrorism five years on from 9/11.

Why does one ever want to become an expert on terrorism? What motivated you?

I was originally from Sri Lanka, which has suffered a lot from terrorists. There are very few people working on it, and I thought it was important to learn about terrorism and study these groups.

Initially you studied the LTTE situation in Sri Lanka - why did you move to include Islamist terrorism in your areas of research?

In the beginning I specialised on Asian terrorist groups, until around 1994 when I began spending my time looking at the Middle East, Europe, North America and Africa. My interests expanded, also because I relocated in 1994 to the US, where they had very few experts on Asia.

How much do you think the pre-9/11 climate hinted at the possibility of large, symbolic attacks of the sort that struck the WTC in New York?

I wrote an article in Jane’s Defence Weekly in 2000 where I clearly said that suicide terrorism is spreading and a cover story for Jane’s a month before 9/11 titled ‘Cutting Al-Qaeda Down To Size’, where I maintained that Al-Qaeda was the most significant terrorist threat globally at the time. So it was not unexpected at all.

Has the world of terrorism and political violence changed very much as a result of those attacks?

It’s certainly changed - more terrorist groups have spawned, and there has been much greater anger and resentment engendered by things like America’s invasion of Iraq.

What’s your opinion on the American campaign in Iraq?

I think they made a fatal mistake going to Iraq, because we have no evidence of a link between Saddam and Al-Qaeda.

Saddam has done some terrible things, but we cannot find evidence of collaboration, in fact Al-Qaeda considered him an enemy. But now that they’re there, it would be a fatal mistake to depart, I think they need to ensure the place is stabilised before they leave.

How much espionage, of the kind practised by Ali A. Mohamed, is involved in terrorist activities?

Terrorists practise deception, and Ali Mohamed was a practitioner of deception in working for Al-Qaeda. I don’t think espionage of the sort is widespread, and it’s not highly publicised, but it’s there, normally among sympathisers and supporters of terrorist groups who will then seek employment with governments and security organisations. It’s not really getting more common, but this film is a reminder that governments must be vigilant.

Do you believe that terrorist groups have operatives in place, like Ali Mohamed, within South-East Asia?

There’s a very small number of such people in place within political organisations here. It’s very difficult to infiltrate security organisations, but not impossible. For example, on a visit to the Maluku Islands in Indonesia I saw that local policemen had joined terrorist groups - but that’s very low-level.
JI has already struck in Indonesia. How much at risk are Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore?

There is a very significant threat in South-East Asia, although the primary threat is in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Would more restrictions on civil liberties help with the apprehending of agents such as Ali Mohamed?

There must be a very good balance between human rights and counter-terrorism legislation. The main problem is that many countries do not have effective counter-terrorism legislation in place. For example in the Philippines, their legislation doesn’t cover counter-terrorism, so terrorists fall under regular criminal legislation. And over there, a good example of this failure would be the Valentine’s Day bombings. One of the bombers was actually detained while in possession of arms and explosives, was released on bail, left the country to train and returned to attack. Another example would be Abu Bakar Bashir, who is currently free because Indonesian legislation is weak.

Some argue that certain actions taken by the US and UK governments in the wake of 9/11 have amounted to acts of terrorism themselves. What’s your opinion on this assertion?

I wouldn’t say that these are acts of terrorism, but I would say that they’ve increased the risk of terrorism, because they have created anger. Terrorism is politically motivated violence, and deliberate attacks on civilians. American and UK attacks have resulted in some collateral damage, but they have never deliberately targeted civilians.

Will the ‘War on Terror’ eradicate global terrorism or is it here to stay? Is it a new form of warfare?

The War On Terror can only contain terrorism, but much more needs to be done. I think global leaders need to be educated before much progress can be made. There must be a greater understanding when it comes to appropriate responses.

When responding to a terrorist attack, your measures must be appropriate. The American response in Iraq, for example, was disproportionate.
What about education on the cultural front, to promote sensitivity? What did you make of the incident with the Danish cartoons?

Denmark made a mistake, and the Danish government made a mistake. Recently in Denmark they disrupted a terrorist cell which wanted to stage an attack in Denmark, and this was meant to be a response to the cartoons. Governments must understand that cartoons like that will spur Muslims to anger and perhaps to support terrorist causes.

How much support for groups involved in terrorism, such as Al-Qaeda and the LTTE, comes from the grassroots of a country like Malaysia, which is not politically involved in any of the conflicts surrounding these groups?

Malaysians largely do not support terrorism. The Malaysian government has rules and laws to curb support of terrorism. Malaysian counter-terrorism legislation is effective. The Malaysian Special Branch is one of the best security organisations in Asia, one for which I have a deep respect. It has been criticised, though, in its use of the Internal Security Act (ISA).

I have yet to see evidence of the Malaysian Special Branch using the counter-terrorist legislature - within the context of terrorism - on anyone who is not a terrorist. I cannot vouch for the use of the ISA outside the context of terrorism, but within that context it has been used appropriately to take on groups like Jemaah Islamiyah and the Kumpulan Militan Malaysia (KMM).