The Capture of Asia's Most Wanted Terrorists

So glad today to hear about the death of terror mastermind Noordin Top and this has shown that the Indonesian police has managed to continue to perform well after all the raids and captures of many other terrorists for the past 5 years. I salute Police excellent performance for this achievement. This time it is striking at the heart of the terrorist network behind a deadly campaign of suicide attacks in Indonesia. If i remember all the bombings that have happenned over the past few years, actually these terrorists have killed about nearly one thousands people.

These masterminds are actually Malaysian nationals and they were member of JI and regiional leaders for Al-Qaeda and linked to Osama Bin Laden. First one was Dr. Azahari who was shot dead on a raid in 2005 but the more cunning and and charismatic figure, Noordin had eluded capture for more than seven years. Indonesia has mounted Indonesia had mounted one of the biggest manhunts in its history to try to capture Noordin, widely distributing his photo and offering a $100,000 reward for information that led to his arrest. Yet he repeatedly managed to evade authorities, most recently in August when, after an all-night raid on a safe house, the police discovered they had killed the wrong man.

Noordin had an extensive support network, from Islamic schools to sympathetic radical groups, that helped him slip across Indonesia's vast island chain undetected, resettling and taking new wives as he recruited followers and plotted attacks. One of his wives was among those rounded up in the aftermath of the July hotel bombings, though she told authorities she was unaware of her husband's true identity.

With the death of the imporant person and most wanted terrorists, it will reduce substantially the leadership in this group and will reduce the terrorists threat. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hailed Thursday's operation, saying it had removed a feared figure who "disturbed the life of this country, ruined our image in the international community and paralyzed the national economy." Still, he cautioned that Noordin's death should not be used as a reason for complacency.

With the Indonesian economy has shown resilience in the facing of the crisis and many analysts has put Indonesia at par with the rest of BRIC economic growth, its ability to continue to show strong growth will be further enhanced with the news of the death of Noordin M. Top. Tourism will hopefully increase considerably as Indonesia has improved its image of being able and has shown consistent results in combating terrorism.

Business confidence will also improve and there will be more investment coming into Indonesia as the threat of terrorism has reduced. Country risk will decline and sovereign ratings will be better. The will result in higher return and better investment case for Indonesia which have already given a strong and positive view by business comunities.

fights for ideology - eradicate poverty and backwardness

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hailed Thursday's operation, saying it had removed a feared figure who "disturbed the life of this country, ruined our image in the international community and paralyzed the national economy." Still, he cautioned that Noordin's death should not be used as a reason for complacency.
A skilled bombmaker, Noordin has been implicated in every major recent attack in Indonesia, including 2002 and 2005 suicide bombings on the resort island of Bali that together killed 222 people, mostly foreigners.
Jemaah Islamiyah, and later Noordin's more militant splinter group, are also blamed for attacks in Jakarta, including the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton suicide bombings in July, an earlier attack on the Marriott in 2003 and a bombing at the Australian Embassy in 2004.
With Thursday's raid, police have now killed seven militant suspects since the July 17 hotel bombs and are still hunting three fugitives. Terrorism experts said Noordin's removal from the radical scene will improve the country's security outlook.
"You can't say that the terrorism threat is over, but you can say that a major figure has been taken out of the picture," said Sidney Jones, a leading terrorism adviser to the International Crisis Group think tank. "The threat had probably been diminished with his death and the inspiration he gave to follow al-Qaida line is finished."
The Obama administration welcomed the operation as "a significant step forward for Indonesia in its battle with political extremists," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. Asked about any U.S. involvement, he said the U.S. did not take part or provide intelligence that led to the raid.
Noordin, 41, formed his radical ideas in the early 1990s at a Malaysian boarding school headed by an Indonesian Muslim cleric, Abdullah Sungkar, who founded the regional Jemaah Islamiyah network. Noordin joined in 1998 after training in the southern Philippines.
He fled to Indonesia in 2002 amid a crackdown on Muslim extremists in Malaysia following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, leaving behind a wife and three young children. He rose to prominence following the Bali bombings, coordinated by his close associate Dr. Azahari bin Husin, who was killed in a raid in late 2005.
A disagreement over targeting civilians caused a split in Jemaah Islamiyah and Noordin formed a more violent faction, Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad, aimed at creating a common Muslim state in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.
Authorities in the Philippines, who are fighting an Islamist insurgency in the south, said Noordin's death was a welcome sign that terrorists cannot hide forever.
"It's a major accomplishment, it's a big blow to their leadership, to their capability to train new bombers," said Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, who leads assaults against al-Qaida-linked militants. "There are gains being made in the anti-terrrorism campaign in the region."
Noordin's death follows the killings of several key al-Qaida and Taliban figures, including Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Meshud, who died in a CIA missile strike in August, and al-Qaida operative Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who was killed Monday in a U.S. commando raid in Somalia.