G
gilliam
Guest
The Belmont Club has been posting away on Al Qaeda in southeast Asia, as has Austin Bay. Today an editorial in Wall Street Journal’s Asia edition (subscription required) highlights the push by Islamists to gain a foothold in Thailand:
“What began as a separatist conflict, fueled by decades of perceived neglect of the three Muslim-dominated southern provinces, is increasingly taking on religious overtones. Jemaah Islamiyah, al Qaeda’s Asian affiliate is known to have repeatedly sent emissaries to try and enlist the southern Thai insurgents as another terror front. In the past, they were invariably rebuffed, since the separatists had little interest in JI’s goal of an Islamic state. But the use of increasingly sophisticated explosives, coupled with the large caches of foreign currency found in recent raids on militant hideouts, suggests this may be beginning to change.”
Note that the State Department has put out a travel advisory for Thailand, citing terrorism concern.
hat tip
“What began as a separatist conflict, fueled by decades of perceived neglect of the three Muslim-dominated southern provinces, is increasingly taking on religious overtones. Jemaah Islamiyah, al Qaeda’s Asian affiliate is known to have repeatedly sent emissaries to try and enlist the southern Thai insurgents as another terror front. In the past, they were invariably rebuffed, since the separatists had little interest in JI’s goal of an Islamic state. But the use of increasingly sophisticated explosives, coupled with the large caches of foreign currency found in recent raids on militant hideouts, suggests this may be beginning to change.”
Note that the State Department has put out a travel advisory for Thailand, citing terrorism concern.
hat tip