The latest terrorist bomb attacks have shaken Istanbul, but not Turkey's resolve to resist the demands of those behind them. Nor should they deflect the United States from its purpose in Iraq: to rebuild and strengthen it with democratic institutions and restore its independence.

The latest terrorist bomb attacks have shaken Istanbul, but not Turkey's resolve to resist the demands of those behind them. Nor should they deflect the United States from its purpose in Iraq: to rebuild and strengthen it with democratic institutions and restore its independence.

Yet, like all terrorist attacks, these have the power to shock and confuse. There is no denying their symbolic impact. For the first time since September 11, 2001, specifically British targets have been hit by terrorists apparently directed or influenced by al-Qaeda.

The attacks, a few minutes apart, struck at British Government and commercial interests, the consulate general and the offices of the British banking giant HSBC. Naturally that has caused an immediate review of security at British diplomatic missions and at the offices of the extensive British commercial interests around the world. While there has never been an al-Qaeda attack in Britain, the bombings in Istanbul create an immediate sense of vulnerability.

They are bound to have a similar effect on Australians' sense of security, not least because of the threats made in the wake of the similar car bomb attacks on two synagogues in Istanbul last Saturday. In a message from a group linked to al-Qaeda, the perpetrators of those outrages addressed "the criminal Bush and his Arab and Western hangers-on - in particular Britain, Italy, Australia and Japan" and threatened further attacks by the "cars of death".

It is possible that Thursday's attacks were precipitated by the heat Turkish police have applied in their search for the perpetrators of the synagogue attacks. More likely, Thursday's attacks were timed to coincide with the state visit of the US President, George Bush, to London.

At a joint press conference with Mr Bush, the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said: "What this latest outrage shows us is that this is war. Its main battleground is in Iraq." That is true, especially in the sense that it is vital - if the United States and its allies are to defeat the terrorists by example - to show that a modern, democratic and free Iraq is possible.

Unfortunately, these attacks also show that in the so-called war on terrorism there are other battlegrounds. They are many, and are chosen by an enemy with an endless supplies of recruits, who emerge at the moment when they are ready to murder and die in the process.

Australia has tasted the horror of this kind of warfare, in Bali. Now, as then, the response is the same. The methods of terrorism are foul and the killing of innocents always inexcusable. The demands made by terrorists must never be acceded to. The threat of terrorism must be met by the utmost vigilance against all possible attacks.

At the same time, the surest answer to terrorism is the removal of the causes of the grievances and the hatreds on which it feeds. In that sense the war in Iraq - to establish a free, strong and independent country - is indeed the main battleground. Unfortunately, there are many more, and this war will be very long.

The country is Muslim and also a secular democracy, so al-Qaeda hates it.

A local radical Islamic group has claimed responsibility for the latest terrorist outrage in Istanbul, in which suicide bombings of the British consulate and a London-based bank killed at least 27 people and wounded more than 400. The attacks, like last weekend's suicide bombings of two syn_agogues in the city, which killed 23 people, bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda and its local affiliates. This was not only because of the bombers' belief that they would find martyrdom in dying while shedding the blood of others, nor even because the choice of targets reflected alignments in the Bush Administration's war against terr_or, and in the I_sraeli-Palestinian conflict - Britain and Turkey are US allies, and Turkey is Israel's sole ally in the Islamic world. It was also because the Istanbul bombings, like the al-Qaeda attacks earlier this month in the Saud_i capital, Riyadh, are not just part of a war being waged against the West.

Al-Qaeda's founder, Osama bin Laden, has presented himself as the leader of a movement aimed at restoring st_ict Islamic practice, and, as part of that goal, overthrowing regimes deemed to have deviated from it or, worst of all, to have c_ompromised with the secular West. That makes the corrupt House of Saud an obvious t_rget; but for al-Qaeda, Turkey is a far greater one.

Bin Laden has made several speeches tracing what he believes to be the pernicious inroads of Western thought to the foundation of the modern Turkish republic in the aftermath of the First World War. Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the state, pursued a program of aggressive secularisation, and despite continuing tensions between_ mo_dernisers and Islamists, Turkey has remained faithful to his ideals. In the past 80 years it has had recurrent periods of military dictatorship, but after each period the army has always restored civilian rule and the republican institutions Ataturk devised. That history makes Turkey stand out in the Middle East, where only Israel has a record of continuous democracy.

For those who wonder w_h_ether predominantly Muslim societies can accommodate a liberal democratic ethos, Turkey is the available example. The sort of state the U_S _Administration hopes to build in Iraq already exists in Turkey, and has put down strong roots.

All of this means that Turkey, and any Islamic state that follows its example, is likely to be crucial in determining the course of the war against terror. Al-Qa_eda and similar movements will not restrict their list of targets to such countries, but if they are ultimately to be overcome it will be because other Muslims are not lured by the message they _pr_each.

There i_s l_ittle Western nations can do directly to help Turkey, other than through the police co-operation and intelligence exchanges that already take place. But the Turkish Government should be reassured that it will not be abandoned if there are further terrorist atrocities: to isolate Turkey would be to do al-Qaeda's work.

US intelligence agencies are convinced that the terrorist group suspected of planning the Bali bombing, Jemaah Islamiah, remains capable of carrying out devastating attacks and is actively planning to target Westerners in South-East Asia.
A senior US Government official has told The Age that JI still has a significant operational arm and up to 500 operatives in the region.
The mounting concerns about JI last night prompted upgraded travel warnings across most of the region. The new alert, issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and covering Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, East Timor, Singapore and Brunei, advises Australians to defer plans for non-essential travel. Existing warnings for Indonesia were reissued on Wednesday.
Local intelligence sources confirmed there were "justified fears based on credible information" of new terror attacks.
The US official spoke to The Age soon before the Riyadh bombings and expressed concern that JI had become a highly mobile network moving its people through South-East Asia.

"We think there are still large numbers of Jemaah Islamiah that are known to us who are planning activities that are connected to al-Qaeda," said the official, who could not be named. "There are transfers of money and there is clearly an intention, and to a certain extent, a capacity to target foreign interests in the region".
The fresh intelligence on JI came as it was revealed that one of the suspects in Monday's suspected al-Qaeda bombing in Saudi Arabia is the older brother of a former key JI operative in South-East Asia.
The Saudi Government has named one of the 19 suspects in the Riyadh attacks as Canadian-Kuwaiti Abdulrahman Mansour Jabarah, whose younger brother distributed funds for terrorist bombings by JI cells.
Jabarah's brother, Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, was arrested in March last year and is now in US custody. An FBI report on his interrogation, given to The Age, revealed that the young Jabarah had attended a meeting of senior JI figures in Thailand just before his arrest where the group decided to attack so-called "soft targets" such as bars and clubs frequented by Westerners in South-East Asia.
JI's operational chief, Hambali, was still on the run but, "still has the capacity to rally troops", said the official who briefed The Age. Hambali was present at the Thailand meeting with the younger Jabarah who was a bag man for JI in South East Asia and allegedly helped finance terrorist plans for attacks in Singapore and the Philippines.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he remained, "very concerned about Jemaah Islamiah" in the region. Yesterday the US State Department updated its travel warning for Americans travelling to Malaysia because of the "continuing concern about the possibility of terrorist attacks".
The younger Jabarah is believed to have been sent to South-East Asia by al-Qaeda's third in command, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who is credited with planning the September 11 attacks. Mohammed, arrested in Pakistan several months ago, is in US custody.
The US official who briefed The Age said that the interrogation of Mohammed had provided new evidence of al-Qaeda's links to JI. "We are learning more and more from him every day including (about) Jemaah Islamiah," the official said. "We have always felt reasonably confident that Hambali was the operational link between JI and al-Qaeda and everything we have learnt has confirmed that understanding."
While Hambali's whereabouts are unknown there is new intelligence that Bangladesh is becoming the latest haven for al-Qaeda operatives on the run.
At a closed intelligence seminar in Washington last week, officials suggested that up to 500 JI operatives could still be active in South-East Asia and targeting Westerners at tourist spots in South-East Asia, in particular in southern Thailand and Cambodia. But Singaporean intelligence officials have also expressed fears that shipping lanes and ports in the region could be attacked.
The fresh Department of Foreign Affairs advisories warn travellers to take care in commercial and public areas frequented by foreigners, including shopping centres, clubs, hotels, bars and restaurants. They cover popular holiday areas, like Phuket in Thailand and coastal resorts in the Philippines.

The US has reason to be deeply concerned. Reading the translated transcript of Osama bin Laden’s message broadcast yesterday I felt an odd sensation as if something was emerging from the words. There is no doubt in my mind that the words were written by the hand of a Cleric. The transcript carries underlying messages - messages that should concern the US and its allies. The specific words of great concern, if translated correctly from news reports, are “hot conditions” which could be a threat of radioactivity. But, I ask myself are these particular words used to manipulate people's dread of random destruction and to increase the level of fear?

I believe a credible chemical and nuclear threat exists. My concern is that they have the means to not only detonate a dirty bomb but chemical weapons from assembled caches that remain hidden. At present, this is the most frightening aspect of the situation. There is also a peculiar alliance surfacing from under the words of the transcript. Is it a hidden alliance of convenience or something more? The ramifications of what I’ve seen pull together so many threads that its influence will spread far and wide - it's all part of a pattern.

Chemical, Biological and nuclear weapons are our worse nightmare and understandably Governments and the public are concerned about such weapons being available and being in the hands of terrorists. Once in a while something happens that shakes everyone's confidence. Newspaper reports have been a mix of gossip, speculation and hard intelligence. It would seem from news reports today that a high level alert exists and the threat is being taken very seriously. News reports also contained only a part of the truth of what has and is occurring. Something is being hidden or remains shadowed. I understand the need for secrecy. There are something's that you cannot share with the public and such things have to remain hidden. Wide ranging enquiries stretch outwards and intelligence chatters over secure data lines world-wide. The investigation itself is a matter of focus, of finding something tiny, something simple. Listening posts world- wide are searching intercepts and databases for clues, seeking key words in the hundreds of intercepts as they go through data re-runs. I am not sure if they will find what they are seeking as those responsible use other means.

I've taken a careful look at the bits of the jigsaw but it is difficult to pull together. I have too many questions to which I cannot find answers because of missing fragments. There is no doubt in my mind that they are as ruthless as hell. They intend to target the public. They want a massive and dramatic effect. There is no doubt that the broadcast is a threat and is a part of a strategy, a warning, that they intend to escalate the terror. They want to kill. It's frightening to think that they now have the means and they are not afraid to use it. Such a scenario seems horrific but very plausible. A small detonation could kill thousands of people. From what is emerging from the underlying words I am utterly convinced that it is true.

My bleak scenario sounds far-fetched when I re-read my notes. But now, I am not so certain. Al Qa’ida have made no secret of the fact of their ambitions. If they follow through with their plan, and I have no reason to doubt their threats, we can expect to see further outbreaks of violence throughout the Middle East, which may spread into other Islamic countries. They are still able to conduct their affairs without the world being able to detect the shadows. They know they are being watched and they have become even more careful. Their activities are concealed in small independent cells which are difficult to infiltrate and which operate independently. Al Qa’ida is very careful in its concealment with its involvement with certain organisations and through these organisations they continue to exploit Islamic communities world-wide. They continue to forge an extensive network of contacts.

The words themselves show the drama, the conflict, the hatred and the love - the tears, the cowardice, the bravery and the passion. They are a warning of Al Qa’ida intentions. I don't doubt that they hold some psychological and prophetic significance. What I’ve sensed is an autonomously created reality. What has surfaced from within the words has rhyme and reason. No account can truly capture their essence, the ominousness with which these words are charged and the contradictory directions they move in.


Translation of Osama bin Laden's message
The Australian dated 13th February 2003

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Beneficent: A Message to our Muslim brothers in Iraq. Alsalam Alikom Wa Rahmat Allah wa Barakato. (Koran verse) Oh Believers, be pious to God, and never die but when you are believers in Islam.

We are following with utmost concern the Crusaders' preparations to occupy the former capital of Islam (Baghdad), loot the fortunes of the Muslims and install a puppet regime on you that follows its masters in Washington and Tel Aviv like the rest of the treacherous puppet Arab governments as a prelude to the formation of Greater Israel.

We need to reassure – while we are close to the unjust war, the war of the bawds, America is leading with its allies and agents – on a number of important lessons:

First, to be honest in intention that the fighting would be for the sake of God, not to triumph for nationalism or pagan regimes in all the Arab countries, including Iraq. God said in his book, "Those who are the believers fight for the sake of God. Those who are infidels fight for the sake of the juggernaut. Fight the followers of the devil. The devil's cause is weak".

Second, remember that victory comes only from God. We have to exert all efforts with preparations, stimulation and jihad. God said, "O believers, if you fight for the sake of God, God will grant you victory and make your standing firm".

Therefore, you are obligated to hurry up to ask for God's forgiveness from all sins, especially the great ones. The Prophet said: "Avoid falling in the seven great sins, which are: believing in any but God, magic, murder, usury, stealing orphans' money, fleeing from battle, slandering believing women . . . besides, drinking alcohol, adultery, not obeying the parents and false testimony". You should be obedient in general.

Third, we recognised after fighting and defending ourselves from the American enemy that it depends on its fighting mainly in psychological war for the huge propaganda machine it has, and it also depends on the heavy air bombing. America uses these two in order to hide its soldiers' weaknesses, which are fear, cowardice, and lack of fighting spirit. These soldiers are totally convinced in their unjust cause and their unjust lying Government. They also lack a just cause to fight for its sake.

They are fighting only to serve the interest of those who have the capital, arms dealers, oil owners, including the criminal gang in the White House. Adding to that, those who keep their personal envoys, Bush the father.

We have recognised that one of the best, effective, and available means to devoid the aerial force of the crusading enemy of its content is by digging large numbers of trenches and camouflaging them in huge numbers, as I previously referred to in my past talk of the Tora Bora battle last year. Such a great battle where the faithful achieved victory over all material forces. We did that by holding firm our principles, and with God's help.

I will recall one part of such a great battle to prove how much they (American soldiers) are cowards, in one side, and how effective are these trenches in depleting them from another side.

We were 300 mujaheddin (holy fighters). We were digging 100 ditches spread over an area of one mile only. The range is one ditch for every three brothers. To avoid grave human losses during the air bombing as our centres were exposed – in the first hour of the American warfare in October 7, 2001 – to a heavy concentrated shelling, which then turned sporadic during the middle of Ramadan. Then on Ramadan 17, the shelling turned to a very heavy one, especially after the American command was certain that some of al-Qa'ida leaders are in Tora Bora, including the poor slave (talking about himself) and the holy fighter doctor Ayman el-Zawahri.

The bombing lasted 24 hours a day. No second passed without aircrafts passing over our heads day and night, as the headquarters in US Defence Ministry with all other allies had nothing to do but to bomb and destroy that tiny spot and clear it from existence. The aircrafts were spilling bombs over us, especially after it finished its main mission in Afghanistan.

The American forces were bombing us with smart bombs, cluster bombs, and bombs which invade caves. B-52 aircraft were flying every two hours over our heads and throwing each time, 20 to 30 bombs. The modified Sinmo 13 aircrafts were bombing us daily with new bombs. Despite such a heavy shelling with the horrible propaganda, the first of its kind, on such a small zone surrounded from all sides, in addition to the forces of the hypocrites which were pushed to fight us for a continual half a month, which we faced their daily waves, despite all that, they (American soldiers) turned back carrying their killed and injured soldiers. The American troops couldn't dare to invade our bases, which indicates their cowardice, fear, and the false myths they spread concerning their military capabilities.

The conclusion is an enormous defeat for the coalition of the international evil with all its forces facing such a small group of mujaheddin, 300 only in ditches in an area of one mile, in a temperature of 10 degrees below zero.

The result of that battle was 6 per cent injuries among the individuals, whom we ask God to consider as martyrs, and injuries inside the ditches were 2 per cent only, thank God.

If all the evil global powers were not capable of defeating one simple mile occupied by mujaheddin using very poor equipment, how can such evil powers triumph over the Islamic world?

This is impossible, God willing, if they hold their faith in their religion, and were determined to fight for the sake of God.

Our mujaheddin brothers in Iraq, don't worry about American lies concerning their power and their smart bombs and laser ones. Such smart bombs have no use among the mountains, trenches, plains, and forests. They need an obvious target.

As for the well-camouflaged trenches, the smart or the idiot bombs can't do anything to it. The only way is haphazard bombing which depletes the enemy's ammunition and the enemy's money. So go and dig many trenches as it was mentioned before in the holy book, "Take the earth as your shelter". Such a way will deplete all your enemy's reserves in a few months. As for their daily production, that is easy to bear, God willing.

We advise about the importance of drawing the enemy into long, close and exhausting fighting, taking advantage of camouflaged positions in plains, farms, mountains and cities. The enemy fears the most the town fights and street fights. Such fighting would cause the enemy huge losses of souls.

We stress the importance of martyrdom operations against the enemy, these attacks that have scared Americans and Israelis like never before.

We also make it clear that anyone who helps America, from the Iraqi hypocrites (opposition) or Arab rulers, whoever fights with them or offers them bases or administrative assistance, or any kind of support or help, even if only with words, to kill Muslims in Iraq, should know that he is an apostate and that (shedding) his blood and money is permissible (in Islam).

God said (in the Koran): "O believers, do not take Jews or Christians as your masters. They are loyal to each other. Those who follow them is one of them. God does not proselytise the unjust nations."

I also assure those true Muslims should act, incite and mobilise the nation in such great events, hot conditions, in order to break free from the slavery of these tyrannic and apostate regimes, which is enslaved by America, in order to establish the rule of Allah on Earth. Among regions ready for liberation are Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, the country of the two shrines (Saudi Arabia), Yemen and Pakistan.

You know that such a crusade war concerns the Muslim nation mainly, regardless of whether the socialist party and Saddam remain or go. So Muslims in general and Iraq in particular must pull up your pant legs for jihad against this unjust campaign. You should also keep the ammunitions and weapons, as it is an obligatory mission.

It is known before that you should not fight raising the pagan banners, but you have to, as a Muslim, to have a clear faith and banner during war for the sake of God, as the Prophet said, "Whoever fights should raise the word of God".

It is not harmful in such conditions for the Muslims' interests and socialists' interests to come along with each other during the war against the crusade, without changing our faith and our declaration that socialists are infidels. Socialists' leadership had fallen down a long time ago. Socialists are infidels wherever they are, either in Baghdad or Aden.

Such war which may take place these days is similar to the war between Muslims and Romans when the interests of the Muslims came along with the interests of the Persians who both fought against the Romans. Nothing was harmful for the Companions of the Prophet.

Before I conclude, I would like to assure on the importance of encouragement (for mujaheddin) and raising their spirits and being alerted from flickering, confusion, and disinclining. The Prophet said once, "Encourage them and don't discourage".

(For three times he said) "God, who sent down the book (Koran), who ran the clouds, who defeated the parties, defeat them (enemy) and grant us the triumph over them.'

Translated transcript of Osama bin Laden's message broadcast yesterday by the Arabic Al-Jazeera network.

The undercurrents that exist throughout the world are quite sobering - al-Qa’ida seem to be raising its ugly head - or many heads - right across the spectrum. I have been trying for a very long time to understand what is happening. Now I see a part of the story. At first I thought those responsible for the Bali bombing were to a certain extent incompetent as they had so easily been tracked down through good detective work but I now realise it is far more complicated than that.

We attempt to stomp out the plague by destroying the source of infection. We hunt them and imprison them and occasionally we kill them but they still explode bombs in hotel lobbies and in night clubs killing innocent, men, women and children. But those responsible for such atrocities are not the real face of the terror we see but remain hidden under the layers created.

Al-Qa’ida is being reborn as an organisation that has no leaders, no structure, no purpose or plan other than to sustain the deadly spectre of terror. A solid structure is being built that is invisible, to develop the infrastructure of an organisation that would not exist, to plan operations that would appear to have no planning - operations that could be denied plausibly by the people who had ordered them. It is beginning to develop into an organisation that has no address, no footprint and eventually no name.

In the aftermath of each bombing or assassination there is only the blackness and anonymity of pure terror. Anonymity means cut-outs. Layers of people, witting and unwitting, interposed between the word and the deed. It means establishing dead drops in major cities and discreet communications. Building a network means expanding the frail infrastructure already in place. Underneath everyday life there is a ferment brewing of the long inert masses especially amongst the restless and energetic young people who have intense fanatical aspirations. All that hate, frustration, idealism and sheer raw energy which is being tapped into and manipulated.

Intelligence services in many countries have checked and cross checked their files, pulling the strands of information together. I believe a pattern has begun to emerge. It is difficult to hunt the nameless. Intelligence services would give anything to learn the names of the people involved, their whereabouts and headquarters. The recent atrocities prove that they have men and women scattered throughout the world gathering not only information on targets when required, but able to use extreme and damaging terror tactics if called upon. It implies a mastermind planning things on a massive scale, much wider than has been seen before. What we are seeing is only a single facet of this organisation at work. They work with others and have accomplished much more by exchanging vital information and resources. These groups have been given every possible means of assistance and co-operation which includes not only military assistance and provision of weapons, but electronic technology, training in the use of equipment and any other such means in the propagation of propaganda, dissidence and Islamic ideals throughout the world. We have not seen the end to this terror and more outrages are planned. It's one hell of a conspiracy and I can't even guess at its spread but it goes further than the Middle East, Europe and Asia.

It may be a lengthy process to ferret out the true culprits of the terrorism in Bali. What is frightening is the professionalism with which it has been carried out.

It’s been widely believed that terrorists can be beaten by conventional means albeit of a sophisticated variety. Have they now gone one step further? The evidence is compelling. They’ve become increasingly experienced and prepared. The attack wasn’t random - it was the work of a highly organised group. Is this a start of a grand strategy and perhaps a part of a larger scenario within the Asian region? Is this an opening salvo or another pinprick around a periphery of a storm? What is the key to the strategy if one exists? Is it a crude attempt at provocation or retaliation?

There has been some unusual activity recently in the ME but is it connected? The atmosphere has become paranoid, almost psychopathic and we have a tendency to be indiscriminate when focusing our attention. The American’s are being extremely circumspect, are particularly concerned and continue to remain highly tense. There is a lot of uncertainty. There are so many questions, which remain unanswered. Local investigations have been initiated to attempt to identify the individuals concerned. At the moment the they are concentrating on links to Al Queda as well as internal homogeneous groups.

If it is a home-grown act of terrorism how will the Indonesians deal with it? There’s no doubt that there are some serious internal problems arising from within Indonesia itself, yet such a bombing could easily be the work of an outside terrorist group. There are so many tracks to follow. There’s nothing except a still-huge mass of contradictions, neurosis and fear. I sense confusion and conflict. It remains a matter of considerable concern and the atmosphere is tense. Fear isn’t very far away and like the wings of a new butterfly, passions are spreading out, stiffening into a hard resolve. The situation is very disturbing. Each day brings a new set of problems and a greater puzzle to be solved. Every effort is being made to quickly and fully determine the matter and to determine culpability. They are fitting the pieces together into a composite which may help to explain what happened but it will require not only time but also a great deal of study and reflection to sort out. What horrors will be revealed and what will remain hidden?

I don’t envy those, who will be asking the same questions and who are hoping to find the answers which will not easily be resolved. With all our sophisticated technology, satellites and listening devices worldwide we seem to lack knowledge. On the outside, looking in, it doesn’t look good whatever way you look at it and given the circumstances one has a tendency to lean towards an an outside hand in the event. I sense a certain unpleasantness surrounding the event and lurid images flicker in my head. A haunting melody, full of strange harmonies, erratic rhythms and discordant notes making me feel unsettled and uneasy.

The above is my own impression; everything is deduction and may be extremely probable, but is not certain. Tangled plots and endless conspiracies, leading to the inevitable question of who is using whom? I'm beginning to see connections, links, patterns everywhere. Have I become trapped in the centre of the web - my imagination? It is possible that local Islamic extremists may have advanced the plot on their own, but I urge caution in this respect. It is my belief that it has come from some other direction. It is a Machiavellian business, a warfare in the darkness with few clues to distinguish friend from foe.

Finding out who is behind it and how it connects to the threat received by American intelligence is a tall, but not impossible order. You see something you are intended to see and then, while you are congratulating yourself on your shrewdness, the second trick, the real sting goes right by you. No one knows what Islamic militant groups such as Al Queda are plotting they are enigmatic as a cat's eye. What may be obvious now is what we are intended to see. There is a nagging suspicion in the back of my mind that an illusion may have been created. The sun, half hidden by blushing clouds, shadows.

Islamic extremists are like a hydra, you cut off one of its heads and more pop out from nowhere. There are no membership lists, no cards they carry. I find it difficult to understand the lengths they go to propagate their brand of violence and hatred. I doubt whether we have touched the core of the problem, like the Indonesians so many countries have failed to resolve economic, social problems and endemic corruption which remains rife in many countries throughout the Middle East and Asia. It provides a fertile breeding ground for extremism and fundamentalism. Such groups exploit the situation to their benefit. It's not an isolated phenomena anymore. It's spreading like a virus. They'll carry the revolution with them in an unbridgeable schism.