Militancy - Why do They Persist?

When United States military had managed to kill Osama bin Laden in 2011, the world had thought that the war against militancy would soon be over.  So did Sri Lankan government when they killed off Vellupillay Prabhakaran in 2009.  And so too those who had fought against Nazi Germany, when Adolf Hitler killed himself with his wife, Eva Braun in an underground bunker just before the fall of Berlin to Soviet Russian onslaught.  Thus, when United States announced that they had managed to kill Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of ISIS / IS / Daish, they had not actually accomplish any objective but merely pushing the organisation further underground.

SosMA - Keselamatan Negara bukan untuk Dipolitikkan

Baru-baru ini, 12 individu telah ditahan kerana dipercayai mempunyai kaitan dengan kumpulan pengganas yang dikatakan telah ditumpaskan, iaitu Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) di bawah Akta Kesalahan Keselamatan (Langkah-Langkah Khas) [Security Offences (Special Measure) Act)] yang lebih dikenali sebagai SosMA telah menimbulkan semula tuduhan bahawa akta tersebut adalah tidak berpelembagaan dan tidak berperikemanusiaan.  Daripada dua belas individu yang ditahan itu, dua orang adalah merupakan ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri di bawah Parti Tindakan Demokratik (Democratic Action Party - DAP), parti tersebut dengan cepat menaikkan isu bahawa penahanan tersebut adalah tidak berperikemanusiaan dan tidak logik kerana mereka mendakwa pergerakan tersebut telah lama tumpas, dan mereka beriya-iya membawa usul untuk membubarkan akta tersebut. 

SOSMA - National Security is not Politics

The recent arrest of 12 individuals linked to the believed to be long defunct terror organisation Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) under the Security Offences (Special Measure) Act, better known as SosMA, had reignited arguments that the law is unconstitutional and inhumane.  With 2 of their assemblymen being part of the 12 arrested, Democratic Action Party (DAP) were quick to highlight the arrests as inhumane and illogical, as they claimed that the movement is long defunct, and they were quick to trying to push to abolish the act.

Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi - End of Daish?

Yesterday, apparently US Special Forces had launched an attack on a Daish-controlled facility deep inside Syria and had managed to eliminate the reclusive Daish leader.  The unnamed US Special Forces unit was said to have successfully eliminated the enigmatic leader of Daish after years of hunting the man.  Born Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri al-Samarrai, he came to prominence after Daish successfully wrestled Mosul from Iraqi Government back in July 2014.

Mugshot of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi when he was only known as Ibrahim Awad, taken when he was arrested by US Army and incarcerated at Abu Ghraib prison.

Kematian Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi - Penghujung kepada Daish?

Semalam telah dilaporkan bahawa satu unit Pasukan Khas AS telah melancarkan serangan ke atas satu fasiliti yang dikuasai oleh Daish di dalam Syria dan telah berjaya membunuh pemimpin Daish itu.  Pasukan khas AS yang belum dikenalpasti itu dikatakan telah berjaya membunuh pemimpin Daish yang penuh enigma itu setelah bertahun-tahun memburunya.  Dilahirkan sebagai Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri al-Samarrai, dia mula mendapat perhatian dunia selepas Daish berjaya merampas bandar Mosul daripada kerajaan Iraq pada Julai 2014.

Gambar Abu Bakr ketika dikenali sebagai Ibrahim Awad.  Gambar diambil ketika dia ditahan di Penjara Abu Ghraib.  Gambar kredit kepada US Army

We Never Learn from Our Past

Malaysia never learns from painful experience.  That is what I felt when I read the news that Special Branch had arrested 7 FTF (foreign terrorist fighters) working as security guards in Kuala Lumpur for the last 2 years.

All 7 FTF were believed to be affiliated to Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), and to a further extent, Daish.

All 7 are believed to have came to Peninsular Malaysia using forged MyKads.

Note that these 7 are different from the 9 arrested between 1 July to 30 August, for plans to distrupt the National Day celebration and SEA Games.

Timur Tengah yang Bergolak - Bara Api Kebencian - Bahagian 1

Sudah agak lama saya tidak mengulas mengenai konflik Timur Tengah, tetapi dengan perkembangan baru-baru ini yang hampir sekali membawa implikasi global, rasa nya sudah tiba masanya untuk mengkaji kerumitan yang berlaku di Timur Tengah ini.

Middle-East - Burning Ember of Hatred - Part 1

It has been quite some times since I have commented on the Middle-East conflict, but with recent events which may have global implications, I feel that it would be interesting to look into the complicated nature of the Middle-East quagmire.

Before I go any further, please note that there is no guarantee right or wrong answer when discussing about the conflict, with too many interested parties in play in the region. Let's have no illusion that we really know what is happening in the region.

Let's start by looking back at the root of the Syrian civil war.

Arab Spring

Civil war is only civil in name only. The war which began 6 years ago was part of the bloody Arab Spring which began in Tunisia. 

The self-immolation of Mohd Bouazizi in Tunisia after his his fruit stall was confiscated by government enforcement officers alleged to be corrupted led from one thing to another.

Soon the whole region was on fire, with Tunisian, Egyptian, Yaman, and Libyan dictators fell. Syrian Bashir al-Asshad on the other hand fought hard to prevent his presidency from collapsing.

While Arab Spring began with legitimate questions on human rights (the dictators that were brought down were involved in suppression of democracy and human rights, with known willingness of torturing dissidents to suppress the dissidents), it soon attracted groups with malicious intention.

The 3 most badly affected countries are Syria, Libya and Yemen, not in any specific order. The already existing schism in the society, especially between the Sunni and Shiite (alternatively spelt as Shiah) were fully exploited and led to the rise of religious extremism.

Daish 

One of the parties which had benefited much from the radicalisation of the region is Daish.

Daish, or ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah fī 'l-ʿIrāq wa-sh-Shām, had its root in the violent Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (JTJ) founded by Jordanian Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh, better known as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

His group was instrumental in escalating the insurgency in Iraq and was responsible in introducing executing their prisoners by beheading. The executions were recorded as propaganda material, both to motivate their ranks and to create fear in their enemies.

Lt Gen Paul Bremer

His militant group was very effective in

fighting against the US Occupying Force, largely in part due to the mistake by Administrator of Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Head, Lt Gen Paul Bremer in 2003. In order to remove the last vestige of Saddam Hussein's influence in the Iraqi government, he issued out Order No. 2 which resulted in all Iraqi soldiers being terminated. These disgruntled soldiers were later then find themselves in service of Abu Musab's JTJ.

Osama bin Laden

During the period, Abu Musab had sought out Osama bin Laden for legitimacy and this transformed JTJ into Al Qaida in Iraq (AQI). According to US intelligence report, this would be one of the decisions that Osama would regretted.

Abu Musab's action especially against non-combatants was reputed to have brought dishonour to the Al Qaida franchise (the word 'franchise' here being that other militant groups which want to align with AQ had only need to declare baiyah to Osama). It was also said that he was worried that Abu Musab was planning to usurp his authority.

MQ-1 Reaper UAV

That ended with Abu Musab's death in a Predator drone attack in 2006.

AQI went into a slow decline due to continuous actions from US government, Iraqi government and local tribal leaders, both Sunni and Shiah.

A few years after Abu Musab's death, it was believed that both JTJ and AQ had clashes. 

US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with all their intelligence decided to back JTJ against AQ, with assumption that with Abu Musab dead, they would be able to use JTJ to destroy AQ.

CIA may have not realised it, or assumed they could have controlled JTJ.

With the Arab Spring later igniting the conflict in Syria, both JTJ and AQ were back on friendly terms and surprisingly managed to repackage themselves as the real deal in Syrian conflict that CIA had supplied both groups with weapons and supplies to go against Syrian government.

Both groups later broke off again in Syria, with JTJ becoming Daish and AQ having a hand in Jahbat al-Nusra.

After Daish gained control of some parts of Iraq, it was then revealed that unlike most militant groups, Daish fighters were fighting tactically. This was later attributed to the many former Iraqi soldiers and former Baathist in Daish's rank and file.

Currently, Daish is playing to the tune that they are God's Army as predicted in the Quran, to have come out of the land of Syam to reclaim Jerusalem.

They are currently believed to be financed by some quarters in Saudi and other parts of Muslim world. Other than Saudi, they are believed to be supported by Turkey.

Free Syria Army
The Free Syrian Army are basically conglomeration of different militant groups which claimed to be secular in nature.

At one point of time, the group also consisted both Jahbat Al-Nusra and Daish. This relationship was broken off when both groups went rogue.

FSA also consist of many former Syrian Army troops who had defected from Assad's forces.

Like Daish and AQ, they were supported militarily by the West. Injured FSA members are also being sent for treatment in Israel.

FSA received support similar to how Free Libyan Army had received in bringing down the Libyan dictator Muammar Gadaffi. The similarity of the support received by FSA would later result in Russian involvement in Syria.

To be continued...

SOSMA Stays, Attempt to Demonise Failed

Last week, Malaysiakini ran an article about Aishah Atam, a young Malay girl from Dungun, Terengganu. She had recently been arrested and placed into custody under Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 for alleged involvement in terrorism activities. 

PDRM 9 - Daish 1

So it has begun.  Daish has launched its first successful attack in Malaysia, specifically in Puchong.  And my analysis on the Puchong attack was wrong.

But many Malaysians have expressed scepticism.

Post Analysis of Fall of Fallujah

Looks like the analysis on fall of Fallujah is similar to what Matthew Henman of IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre and Brian Michael Jenkins of RAND think tank have shared to international media. Do have a read here and compare against my article here. I will share article once I find a more suitable medium.

Daish - A Step Closer to Defeat

Yesterday (17 June 2016), Daish had did an unexpected turn-about. They had retreated from Fallujah. Fallujah, the ground where Daish predecessor, Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, under the leadership of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had manipulated and fomented hatred between the Sunni and Shiah to explode. Fallujah where many US soldiers fell (an American friend's brother was amongst those killed there).

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

National Security Council Bill

Social media in Malaysia was suddenly abuzz with the phrase words "National Security Council Bill". Out of nowhere, it was mentioned that National Security Council Bill would be tabled, and it was passed without much fight from the Opposition party.

The Opposition were crying murder, claiming the bill had been pushed through without them having much chance to go through reading it.

Frankly, I'm not sure how true is their claim. Too much politicking had been seen these lately, and I don't want to fall into another political gimmick (I had fallen to their tricks a few times too, accepting their version of the story till I got to understand them better).

So instead of relying on the words from any both sides, I decided to look into the Bill itself.  For the purpose of comparison, I will also compare the bill against Emergency Ordinance 1969 which had since been repealed and also against the Federal Constitution.

Threat from Daish - Religion or Ideological War?

The rise of a previously obscure militant group that sought to overthrow Syrian President Bashir al Assad were first noted somewhere around September or October 2013.  The then militant group that called itself as ad-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah fī al-‘Irāq wash-Shām (loosely translated to ISIL or Islamic State of Iraq and Levant) was headed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a man believed to be a former inmate of the infamous Abu Ghraib Prison (he was imprisoned in Camp Bucca, where former interns of Abu Ghraib were placed after the Abu Ghraib scandal was broken to the world.

Back then, the civil war in Syria had worsened and US government had begun to supply weapons to militant groups in Syria that were opposed to Bashar's government.  Apparently, some of the weapons that were supplied by the US were later found to have made their way back to Iraq and were used in several attacks within Iraq itself.  It was only then that the US government realized that the ISIL that they had been supplying weapons to fight the Syrian government were actually the same Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI or Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn).  This was despite the fact that Iraqi military intelligence had warned the Americans of the links between the two groups.

DS Hishammuddin in answering the Q&A session during 3rd National Aspiration and Leadership Symposium