The United States must not blame others, including Malaysia, for not arresting suspected al-Qaeda terrorists prior to the Sept 11 attacks since US authorities too had failed to realise the gravity of their activities.

Terrorism expert Dr Rohan Gunaratna said aside from the hijackers involved in the attacks, which destroyed New York's World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon in Washington, there were other al-Qaeda members operating in the US for a long period..

"For years, al-Qaeda had been raising money in the US. Osama bin Laden purchased his satellite telephone in New York. He also purchased his plane from the US," he said during an interview with malaysiakini last Friday.

Meanwhile, Rohan said Malaysian authorities took action when they learned of the international terror network.

"Malaysia has a zero-tolerance policy. The only thing is that these groups were active in this country below the intelligence radar screen," added the author of the book Inside al-Qaeda: Global Network of Terror

His book courted controversy when information contained in it was used by United Nations Security Council to link Barisan Nasional and PAS to the al-Qaeda via their support for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a separatist movement in the Philippines.

Primary launchpad

Malaysia was branded as one of the primary launchpads for the Sept 11 attacks when it was revealed that two of the hijackers and one would-be hijacker had met in Kuala Lumpur.

Even before Sept 11, authorities here began detaining members of the Malaysian Mujahidin Group (KMM) who had allegedly plotted to overthrow the government through militancy.

KMM was later linked to a regional terror network, Jemaah Islamiah (JI). The latter, which has been blamed for the recent bombings in the Indonesian island Bali, is said to be part of al-Qaeda.

Questioned about JI's role in the Oct 12 bombings which killed nearly 300 people, mostly foreigners, Rohan said the organisation's complicity is beyond dispute.

"I think we should not entertain even the slightest idea that it was not JI that did the Bali bombings. It would be a fatal mistake to make," he said.

In addition, Rohan expressed dissatisfaction over the Indonesian government's efforts to detain terrorist suspects in the country.

"Still the Indonesian government is hesitant to target JI as an organisation. They are only targeting JI members who are directly linked with the Bali attack," he said.

He also dismissed the Indonesian government's reasons for not apprehending terror suspect Abu Bakar Bashir earlier for fears of sparking off internal unrest as a "wrong idea".

"In fact, it would make Indonesia a more stable place for Indonesians and foreigners.

"They have the wrong idea that it would spark off unrest.... Look at how nice they were to these groups (JI) but look what happened in (Bali)," he said.

Osama's whereabouts

The terrorism expert stressed that in order to cripple al-Qaeda, it is important for countries fighting the war against terrorism to continue hunting for its leaders.

"Al-Qaeda can survive (without Osama bin Laden) but it will not have the same momentum. That is why it is so important to target Osama and other leaders," he explained.

Asked if he had any information on the whereabouts of the elusive chief terror suspect, Rohan said intelligence officials have placed him at the Afghan-Pakistan border.

"They have a rough idea that he is at the Afghan-Pakistan border but that is a very long border it is 1,520 miles (3,952km) long," he said.

Two weeks ago, an audio recording verified by US intelligence experts to be by Osama ended months of speculation that the terrorist leader might have died during US air raids in the Afghan mountain regions.

The recording was full of praise for recent incidents the Bali bombings, the bombing of a French oil tanker off the coast of Yemen, and the siege of a Moscow theatre by Chechen rebels.

It also contained threats against America's allies.


Rohan Gunaratna's Q&A: Rohan: Pre-emptive action needed to counter terror, says expert