Asia: Back on Alert

As

police hustled Imam Samudra from a prosecutor's office in Bali to a waiting armored vehicle last Wednesday, after evidence was presented relating to his alleged role in the Oct. 12 bombings that left 202 people dead, he showed no remorse. Instead, he raised his manacled hands in defiance and shouted, "Allahu Akbar (God is great)." Then came a chilling warning: "After Riyadh," he vowed, "there will be more." It may have been the angry bravado of a man who knows he may soon face the death penalty, but Samudra—accused of being the operational commander of the Bali bombings—is not the only one predicting further violence. A chorus of intelligence agents, diplomats, terrorism experts and police investigators are warning that the next big al-Qaeda-linked strike against foreigners, after last week's suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco, could indeed occur in Southeast Asia.

Australia and New Zealand both issued fresh travel advisories last week for Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The U.S. has not added any new warnings to its preexisting Southeast Asian advisories, but privately, U.S. officials say the intensity of "chatter," or communications among suspected terrorists in the region, has reached an alarming level. Indonesian police who have been tracing phone calls between suspected members of Jemaah Islamiah (JI)—the militant organization blamed for the Bali blasts—now believe planning for another attack is well under way. "There's a bunch of different streams that seem to be coming together," one U.S. official said. A senior source close to the Bali investigation believes that U.S. business interests could be the most viable targets now that American diplomatic missions have beefed up security and fewer foreigners are visiting once popular vacation spots such as Bali.

Indonesian authorities currently hold 33 suspected JI members in custody. Other high-profile actions in the country include the start of the trial of JI's alleged spiritual leader Abubakar Ba'asyir, and the capture of Abu Rusdan, the man police believe to be his successor. But police and intelligence sources warn sternly against complacency. "Many thought the arrest of the Bali bombers was the end of terrorism here, but I see the opposite," says Anysaad Mbai, who heads Indonesia's Coordinating Board on Counterterrorism. "Many key figures are still out there, and they are the most dangerous."

Part of the problem is the sheer number of potential terrorists the country may unknowingly be harboring. Hundreds of Indonesians underwent training in Afghanistan between 1985 and 2001. Though living ostensibly normal lives back in Indonesia, many may still be committed to the principles of jihad. Combined with fundamentalists spread throughout the region, "There are just so many who have the ability to create terror," frets the source close to the Bali investigation. "The threat is very real." And, he adds grimly, the publicity surrounding Indonesia's spate of arrests and trials may well incite a vicious backlash: "These guys want revenge."