From Creeping Sharia:
U.S. fears terrorism on upswing in Indonesia
Posted on November 16, 2010 by creeping
While Obama was lecturing Indian students about the many meanings of jihad, his administration was circulating concerns about jihad in Obama’s childhood home of Indonesia. FYI, $60M in U.S. military aid has flowed to Indonesia in recent years.
WASHINGTON – The discovery of an extremist training camp in Indonesia, along with persistent attacks there, has increased U.S. concerns that extremists are regrouping and eyeing Western targets in a country long viewed as a counterterrorism success story.
With President Obama set to begin a visit Tuesday to the world’s most populous Muslim country, there is renewed attention on extremists in Indonesia who in the last year appeared to be banding together into a new al-Qaeda-influenced insurgency.
Recent Pentagon moves to renew a training program with Indonesia’s special forces and bolster military assistance show that the Obama administration believes the country needs more help tracking and rooting out insurgents, particularly those who rejoin the fight once they are released from jail.
The United States has praised Indonesia’s efforts to crack down on extremists. Government police and military authorities have captured or killed more than 100 extremists in the last year.
U.S. defense officials worry about the overall threat. They are watching for any signs of movement or increased communications between Indonesian extremists and al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
To help better monitor extremists’ movement and trafficking in the region, the United States has provided money for helicopters, radars, and small boats, to help build an interdiction force. Since 2006, the Pentagon has sent about $60 million in military aid to Indonesia.
via U.S. fears terrorism on upswing in Indonesia
Philadelphia Inquirer
11/09/2010
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