02-09-2004, 02:53 AM
<b>Terrorist groups stepping in behind Al-Qaida</b>, officials say
AUTHORITIES SAY ANTI-WESTERN MILITANCY NOW HAS A LIFE OF ITS OWN
By Raymond Bonner and Don Van Natta Jr.
New York Times
JAKARTA, Indonesia - The landscape of the terrorist threat has shifted, many intelligence officials around the world say, with more than a dozen regional militant Islamist groups showing signs of growing strength and broader ambitions, even as the operational power of Al-Qaida appears diminished.
Some of the militant groups, with roots from Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus to North Africa and Europe, are believed to be loosely affiliated with Al-Qaida, the officials say. But others follow their own agenda, merely drawing inspiration from Osama bin Laden's periodic taped messages calling for attacks against the United States and its allies, the officials say.
The smaller groups have shown resilience in resisting the efforts against terrorism led by the United States, officials said, by establishing terrorist training camps in Kashmir, the Philippines and West Africa, filling the void left by the destruction of Al-Qaida's camps in Afghanistan. But what is also worrisome to counterterrorism officials is evidence that, like Al-Qaida, some of them are setting their sights beyond the regional causes that inspired them.
The organization Ansar al-Islam, for example, has largely fled its base in northern Iraq and elements of the group have moved to several European countries where they are believed to be actively recruiting suicide bombers for attacks in Iraq and Europe, officials said.
The mutation of the cells was illustrated in October when the authorities in Australia arrested a Caribbean-born French citizen who they believe was sent by a little-known Pakistani group to scout possible targets. The group, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, was previously thought to be focused only on the struggle of Muslims in Kashmir.
The activity of such organizations is one reason intelligence officials believe that the threat of terrorism against the United States and its allies remains high. But the mobility and murky associations of the groups, most of which were operating before the Sept. 11 attacks, makes it difficult for agents to monitor their communications or follow their money.
``They are like little time bombs that have been sent out into the world,'' said Gwen McClure, an FBI agent and the director of counterterrorism at Interpol, the international police organization. ``You never know where it might go off.''
The deepening concern about the strength of the regional groups comes as Al-Qaida is described by officials as having been hobbled by the capture or killing of its top lieutenants and less capable of mounting an attack like the one on Sept. 11. But evidence of Al-Qaida's activity continues to set off alarms, like the cancellation of several recent trans-Atlantic flights from Britain and France to the United States because of security concerns.
Beyond the recent concerns about Al-Qaida, counterterrorism officials in a dozen counties say they are trying to understand the workings of obscure groups that appear capable of carrying out attacks without the financial or logistical support of bin Laden.
``Al-Qaida's biggest threat is its ability to inspire other groups to launch attacks, usually in their own countries,'' said a senior intelligence official based in Europe. ``I'm most worried about the groups that we don't know anything about.''
That view was reflected at a meeting of police officials from the Asian-Pacific region and Europe organized by Interpol in late January in Bali. In conversations there and in interviews throughout Europe, officials voiced concern about the threat of regional terrorist networks, which they said would not be reduced even if bin Laden was captured or killed.
Many officials said they doubted that bin Laden was directing operations, although several officials said they believed that he was using couriers to deliver handwritten messages to associates in Pakistan.
The officials said their view of Al-Qaida had changed. The terror network today is different from the Al-Qaida that existed before Sept. 11; a ``credible argument can be made that it's finished,'' said a senior Australian official.
``However,'' he added, ``to talk about it being finished is to ignore what it is.'' He said it was more accurately described as a movement of individuals who view the United States and the West as the enemy. ``Every day around the world, we are discovering Al-Qaida members and cells previously unknown,'' he said
AUTHORITIES SAY ANTI-WESTERN MILITANCY NOW HAS A LIFE OF ITS OWN
By Raymond Bonner and Don Van Natta Jr.
New York Times
JAKARTA, Indonesia - The landscape of the terrorist threat has shifted, many intelligence officials around the world say, with more than a dozen regional militant Islamist groups showing signs of growing strength and broader ambitions, even as the operational power of Al-Qaida appears diminished.
Some of the militant groups, with roots from Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus to North Africa and Europe, are believed to be loosely affiliated with Al-Qaida, the officials say. But others follow their own agenda, merely drawing inspiration from Osama bin Laden's periodic taped messages calling for attacks against the United States and its allies, the officials say.
The smaller groups have shown resilience in resisting the efforts against terrorism led by the United States, officials said, by establishing terrorist training camps in Kashmir, the Philippines and West Africa, filling the void left by the destruction of Al-Qaida's camps in Afghanistan. But what is also worrisome to counterterrorism officials is evidence that, like Al-Qaida, some of them are setting their sights beyond the regional causes that inspired them.
The organization Ansar al-Islam, for example, has largely fled its base in northern Iraq and elements of the group have moved to several European countries where they are believed to be actively recruiting suicide bombers for attacks in Iraq and Europe, officials said.
The mutation of the cells was illustrated in October when the authorities in Australia arrested a Caribbean-born French citizen who they believe was sent by a little-known Pakistani group to scout possible targets. The group, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, was previously thought to be focused only on the struggle of Muslims in Kashmir.
The activity of such organizations is one reason intelligence officials believe that the threat of terrorism against the United States and its allies remains high. But the mobility and murky associations of the groups, most of which were operating before the Sept. 11 attacks, makes it difficult for agents to monitor their communications or follow their money.
``They are like little time bombs that have been sent out into the world,'' said Gwen McClure, an FBI agent and the director of counterterrorism at Interpol, the international police organization. ``You never know where it might go off.''
The deepening concern about the strength of the regional groups comes as Al-Qaida is described by officials as having been hobbled by the capture or killing of its top lieutenants and less capable of mounting an attack like the one on Sept. 11. But evidence of Al-Qaida's activity continues to set off alarms, like the cancellation of several recent trans-Atlantic flights from Britain and France to the United States because of security concerns.
Beyond the recent concerns about Al-Qaida, counterterrorism officials in a dozen counties say they are trying to understand the workings of obscure groups that appear capable of carrying out attacks without the financial or logistical support of bin Laden.
``Al-Qaida's biggest threat is its ability to inspire other groups to launch attacks, usually in their own countries,'' said a senior intelligence official based in Europe. ``I'm most worried about the groups that we don't know anything about.''
That view was reflected at a meeting of police officials from the Asian-Pacific region and Europe organized by Interpol in late January in Bali. In conversations there and in interviews throughout Europe, officials voiced concern about the threat of regional terrorist networks, which they said would not be reduced even if bin Laden was captured or killed.
Many officials said they doubted that bin Laden was directing operations, although several officials said they believed that he was using couriers to deliver handwritten messages to associates in Pakistan.
The officials said their view of Al-Qaida had changed. The terror network today is different from the Al-Qaida that existed before Sept. 11; a ``credible argument can be made that it's finished,'' said a senior Australian official.
``However,'' he added, ``to talk about it being finished is to ignore what it is.'' He said it was more accurately described as a movement of individuals who view the United States and the West as the enemy. ``Every day around the world, we are discovering Al-Qaida members and cells previously unknown,'' he said