Abu Sayaff Profile of a Terrorist Essay Sample free essay sample

Introduction Terrorism has become a planetary by-word. After the 9/11 onslaught. of which so much has already been written and reported. terrorist act has come to take a new dimension. Now. every clip a bomb has exploded. people think about terrorists. Whenever one rides a plane. he can non but pray that his flight won’t be hijacked by a terrorist group. Blame lay partially on media which has blown the issue of terrorist act out of proportion. Or had it? Possibly. it is high clip that people take a expression at what terrorist act is and how it affects our day-to-day life. How can one distinguish ideological battle from field terrorist act? The great divide between the two is so brumous it is rather hard to analyze unless everything is taken apart and studied intensively. So what so is terrorist act? For the ballad adult male. terrorist act is merely an act of force against guiltless civilians by a individual or a group of people to either addition attending to or to prosecute their instance. To be more precise. terrorist act may either be ideologically motivated or it could merely be an act of to pull attending. Recently. terrorist act has been carried out in the name of faith ( Juergensmeyer 2000 ) . In this instance. force is perceived to be a symbolic act instead than a strategic act. Most of the clip. nevertheless. terrorist act does non neglect to seed panic. Fear can non be eradicated when we talk about terrorist act. After all. terrorist act does affect the loss of substructure and lives. Largely. terrorist act is conducted in countries where the chief marks of the title are found ; guiltless bystanders merely acquire caught in the political game. In past occasions. it is non surprising to see terrorists giving their life to contend for the cause that they do believe in. But in other instances. like Osama Bin Laden of the Al Qaeda Group. terrorist merely vanish from the face of the Earth merely to raise in ulterior old ages after be aftering another complicated and earthshaking terrorist onslaught. If we think right down to it. the activities that terrorists carry out may non needfully differ from the activities being conducted by the armed forces in their operations – infiltration. blackwash. bombardment Bridgess. hand-to-hand combat. In other words. we can safely state that the mode by which terrorists and military carry out their missions are about the same. Merely. they differ in their motive. Acerate leaf to state. after the 9/11 onslaughts. even those organisations that are non related to Al Qaeda have been touted as an belowground cell of this arguably most ill-famed terrorist group. One such group is the Abu Sayaff Group ( ASG ) which has besides made itself ill-famed by the series of snatchs and decapitations it executed the past few old ages. The ASG has been known to nobbling American tourers and for maintaining them in concealing for months until a ransom is paid. As one of the most ill-famed terrorist groups in Southeast Asia. the ASG has gained notoriety all over the universe. In fact. it is said to be one of Osama Bin Laden’s most powerful cohorts in the universe. History of the Abu Sayaff Group Literally intending â€Å"Bearer of the Sword. † the Abu Sayaff is based in Southern Philippines. but its influence and power spans that of the whole Southeast Asia. specifically in the adjacent Malaysia and Indonesia. Officially. the group’s official ground for stria is to set up an Muslim province in Western Mindanao or in the Southernmost portion of the Philippine archipelago. However. alternatively of negociating with the authorities for this end – the manner the Moro National Liberation Front ( MILF ) or the Moro Islamic Liberation forepart ( MILF ) have – the ASG pursued a different way. Today. they are more known to be brigands who do nil by terrorize guiltless people. extort money from aliens. and to kill people on their caprice in an attempt to derive domestic. every bit good as international. support. So. did Osama Bin Laden truly form the ASG as has late been rumored? Again. officially. the laminitis of the ASG is Abdurajak Janjalani. an Muslim bookman and mujahidin in the Afghan-Soviet war. Janjalani dreamed of organizing an Muslim State in Muslim-dominated Mindanao after he returned from his surveies in Saudi Arabia and Libya. The ASG’s first functionary mission which was recorded by the media was the bombardment of a ship in Zamboanga City on August 1991. This was done at the same time with the grenade onslaught launched on the public public presentation of Christian Missionaries in the same country. It must be understood that the Philippines is fundamentally a Catholic state and merely Mindanao is peopled by Muslims. Even so. many of these hard-core Muslims detest the fact that Christians are easy gaining their niche in Mindanao political relations. Consequently. the ASG launched onslaughts on Catholic folds ; abduction of spiritual instructors shortly followed. The terrorist activities of the ASG were chiefly confined in little countries in Mindanao and they barely captured media involvement. Probably miffed by this looking rebuff. it launched a monolithic snatch of both local and foreign tourers in Sipadan Island near Malaysia on April 23. 2000. Among those who were seized were several aliens. As the dialogue for the release of the sureties dragged on for yearss. the ASG eventually managed to capture media attending. Consequently. the universe stopped to watch the breath-taking incident even as Filipino authorities functionaries scrambled to denote that everything was still â€Å"under control. † Suddenly. the Abu Sayaff Group – one time nameless and vague – took centre phase. At that point the ASG already knew their tactics and so they besides held hostage several international journalists who were caught covering the event. In return for their freedom. a ransom was demanded to be paid. Since so. the ASG has emerged from its parochial end of set uping an Islamic State in Southern Philippines to concentrate on international personal businesss such as the initiation of a committee that was to better the predicament of cultural Filipinos life or working in Malaysia. The ASG besides used its planetary range to beat up international support for the release of alleged 9/11 bomber Ramsey Yousef from captivity. Furthermore. it was under the leading of Janjalani that the ASG was plugged into the international belowground web of Islamic activists being financially supported by the fleeting Osama bin Laden. It was later surmised that the ASG’s ties with the Al Qaeda Group were strong and. in fact. many of its members have claimed that they trained strictly in Afghanistan. Janjalani’s brother. interim. purportedly perfected his military accomplishments in Libya. ASG and the Al Qaeda: A friendly relationship forged Since so. the nexus between the ASG and the Al Qaeda was seemed to hold been forged. It was even reported that Zamboanga City in Mindanao was already being frequented by Al Qaeda members. However. the best yardstick of Al Qaeda’s turning nexus with the ASG was the friendship developing between Janjalani and Osama Bin Laden’s brother in jurisprudence. Saudi Arabian man of affairs Mohammed Jamal Khalifa. It was said that the Saudi businessman’s Islamic charities and the university he founded in Zamboanga were really used to finance the activities of Islamic extremist in the Philippines and its adjacent Moslem states. Khalifa’s organisation — the International Islamic Relief Organization — has an office in Zamboanga. It was through this foundation that the ASG was said to hold received money and preparation from the Al Qaeda. Yet. the biggest and most of import terrorist onslaughts that were being planned by the ASG were about to be foiled. Through the fiscal backup of the AL Qaeda. the ASG began plotting two immense enterprises: to assassinate the Pope during a visit to the Catholic Philippines. and to blow up 12 U. S. civilian airliners. all in one fatal twenty-four hours. Unfortunately. destiny intervened and the programs did non force through because Ramsey Yousef’s flat so caught fire. In malice of the defeated efforts that could even be seen as the errors merely newcomers could perpetrate. the US authorities began to see the ASG non merely as a major security menace to the Philippines. but to the whole universe every bit good. The US and the Filipino authorities declared the ASG as terrorists. Terrorism on the upswing In 1998. Janajalani died and the ASG split into three sliver groups that were less focussed. Each turned to barbarous slayings and snatchs to prolong its operations. After allegedly obtaining about $ 25 million from Libyan leader Muhammar Qadhafi to liberate their sureties in March 2000. the ASG became wholly consumed by the fiscal wagess of their terrorist Acts of the Apostless and became wholly corrupt ( Dillon 2007 ) . The $ 25 million that was supposed to assist them return back into the crease of jurisprudence was alternatively usage to secure more powerful weaponries and to enroll more immature ground forcess. Of class. the rumour that some corrupt authorities functionaries were besides involved in the wining minutess no longer surprises many. More and more. the activities by the ASG are being motivated by money. Kidnappings proved to be profitable. so why non make it more frequently? The nationality of the victim no longer affairs. every bit long as somebody’s traveling to pay the ransom. Besides. as slaying and Gore were going the group’s basic. their schemes were being dictated by bizarre leaders whose subject was found wanting. Some leaders were even into narcotics maltreatment. Still. more and more snatchs and slayings were staged. In return. more and more ransom was paid. Around 300 Filipino soldiers have already died in the battle to acquire rid of the ASG. but to no help. ASG Membership The ASG was estimated to hold several 100s of members ; this. despite the claim of the Filipino authorities that a important figure of them has already surrendered and returned into the crease of jurisprudence. The attractive force of ASG was chiefly channeled through fiscal wagess. This is the ground why the authorities had slightly intensified its support plans and undertakings in Mindanao. In fact. many of the agribusiness and piscaries livelihood undertakings in Mindanao are being tailored to accommodate the demands of these rebel returnees. An American war excessively? The Philippine battle to get the better of the Abu Sayaff Group has lured the involvement of its most fervent political spouse – the United States of America. In fact. the US authorities may hold played a immense portion in the history of the ASG. It must be noted that while most of the ASG victims were Filipinos. Americans were besides premier marks. In 1993. ASG held surety an American Bible transcriber while in 2000. it besides kidnapped an American Muslim sing Jolo Island. The latter was done in exchange of the United States government’s release of Ramzi Yousef and Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman ( Dillon 2007 ) . The ASG besides kidnapped local business communities but they reckoned it was more profitable for them to nobble foreign subjects. particularly Americans. Although the US authorities has extended its aid through weaponries contribution and preparations. the ASG is still alive and good deep in Basilan’s Mohajid Mountain – a jungle so heavy that it is virtually impenetrable. As in the Vietnam terrain. many American soldiers are non familiar with the Mindanao topography and therefore. prosecuting the ASG has become rather impossibleness. However. this fact has non deterred even former Alliess – the MNLF and MILF – to make out to the ASG brigands and promote them to give up. Criticism on Abu Sayyaf Because of its ceaseless ill fame. the ASG received eternal unfavorable judgments even from other Islamic communities. In fact. the more influential Organization of the Islamic Conference ( OIC ) denounced the Sipadan snatch and offered to assist obtain the freedom of the sureties. On the other manus. the authorities of Libya accused the ASG of already go againsting the instructions of Islam. One of the more terrible critics of the ASG was Islamic bookman Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi who denounced violent deaths and kidnap-for-ransom flings that the ASG would perpetrate ( Dillon 2007 ) . He pointed out that these activities were neither political nor ideological enterprises. He besides said that such Acts of the Apostless merely did the Muslim community ill service as people start looking at Muslims in a more negative position. At this point. all Muslims were already by and large perceived as terrorists and he said that these activities did non assist elate such misconception. Qaradawi was known to back up the rights of Muslim Filipinos. Law enforcement and the ASG The Filipino authorities – with the assistance of the US – has tried its best to capture the leaders of the ASG so as to halt its illegal operations in Southern Philippines. Unfortunately. many of these brigands or terrorists manage to evade the governments. This has badly affected Mindanao as even guiltless civilians are killed during military operations. Possibly. it is non conclusive to state that jurisprudence enforcement is weak in this instance as there are other factors involved in scene. One such factor is the alleged engagement of some Filipino authorities functionaries in the snatchs. It was rumored clip and once more that some of these functionaries even promote the snatchs because they get a portion in the ransom money being paid by the family/relatives of the sureties. Another factor to see is the belowground aid that is being supplied by international terrorists to back up the illegal activities of the ASG. As has been pointed out clip and once more. the Al Qaeda may be financially back uping the ASG if merely to beef up itself in the over all web of terrorist act. Intelligence studies that some of the high ranking functionaries of the Al Qaeda and their relations had been spotted in Mindanao. and therefore hold fueled the guesss. Indeed. the counter-terrorism programs of the Filipino authorities have non weakened the Abu Sayaff Group even if recently it has been believed that its top leaders were already dead. So far. the ballyhoo on the snatchs and the terrorist activities has rather slowed down but this is non an confidence that the local jurisprudence hatchet mans were already winning their war against terrorist act. In fact. recent bombardments in widespread Metro Manila have. one time once more. sparked rumours that these terrorists are merely taking it decelerate so they can reorganize and garner their strength in readying for more bloody operations. The jurisprudence hatchet mans in the Capital are agitated as they seem to be frequently caught off guard by the onslaughts of this worldly ill-famed terrorist group. Law enforcement and terrorist act Over-all. terrorist act has become widespread. However. there is this misconception that one time bombardments and snatchs are held. it would ever be done by Muslim extremists. In most instances. they are but it is rather unjust to fault all Muslims for the wickednesss of a few of them. As a consequence of the negative promotion. torment of Muslims has been known to go on around the universe. In fact. jurisprudence hatchet mans frequently zero in on Muslims at airdromes and other public topographic points. Moslems are the first to be suspects when terrorist act occurs. This is non a just intervention but who can fault jurisprudence hatchet mans when history has already established some sort of form on this? Today. jurisprudence hatchet mans have learned that counter-terrorism steps are the lone manner to keep peace and order in their several communities. If there is anything that has been learned during the 9/11 onslaughts. it was that jurisprudence hatchet mans should non go forth a individual rock unturned in their attempts to battle terrorist act ( Bailey 1996 ) . If at some point they were under gauging the terrorists. the 9/11 onslaught proved to them that these hardcore terrorists would non save their lives in an attempt to progress what they believe in. Law hatchet mans learned the difficult manner that extremists – like the Al Qaeda – and terrorists – like the ASG – will halt at nil to be able to foster their ends. It is hence up to these jurisprudence hatchet mans to develop steps that would guarantee that these illegal and detrimental activities be stopped. On the other manus. the quandary of jurisprudence hatchet mans does non halt at that place. Many human rights groups have denounced the manner authoritiess have been hassling people suspected to be terrorists and this does non assist the counter-terrorist steps being put in topographic point by jurisprudence hatchet mans ( Rand 2007 ) . Still. these human rights group argued that there is a differentiation between intelligence and jurisprudence enforcement and that lines have to carefully drawn between them. And yet. intelligence is portion of counter-terrorism steps excessively. How so can this job be solved to protect national security? In the terminal. terrorist act should be considered as both a jurisprudence enforcement and intelligence affair. Adequate support should be given to jurisprudence hatchet mans so they could transport out counter-terrorism programs without a enlistment. It is besides imperative to acquire the cooperation of the community every bit far as intelligence in concerned. After all. without their proper cognition. it is the ordinary people who may be in regular contact with these terrorists in their thick. In hindsight. jurisprudence hatchet mans committed many errors prior to the 9/11 onslaughts but its bloody wake should hold taught them a lesson non to sabotage the capableness of these blood-thirsty brigands. In malice of the go oning war against terrorist act. it remains a powerful menace to national – if non planetary – security. The duty to weaken. if non wholly eradicate – these terrorist groups lies on the shoulders of our jurisprudence hatchet mans ; hence. the a uthorities should concentrate honest attempts in oppressing them to salvage 1000s of lives. # # # Beginnings: Bailey. Kathleen. 1996. Policy options for battling chemical-biological terrorist act. Politicss and the Life Sciences 15 ( 2 ) : 185-187. Dillon. Dana. â€Å"The War on Terrorism in Southeast Asia: Developing Law Enforcement† The Heritage Foundation. 22 January 2004. 27 October 2007 hypertext transfer protocol: //www. heritage. org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/BG1720. cfm Juergensmeyer. Mark. 2000. Understanding the new terrorist act. Current History 99 ( 636 ) : 158-163. Rand Corporation. How Prepared Are State and Local Law Enforcement for Terrorism? 28 October 2007 lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. rand. org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9093/index1. hypertext markup language gt ;