1. Counterterrorist Efforts Against Jemaah Islamiyah Overview *Sara Harris
Efforts against JI leaders
Indonesian police and military counterterrorism efforts
Allied efforts by Indonesia and other states against JI
Did radical Islamist JI achieve success or failure?

2. Arrest of JI Leaders Arrest of three key influential JI leaders:
Abu Bakar Ba’asyir or Bashir (leader)
Riduan “Hambali” Isamuddin (mastermind behind JI terrorist campaign)
Azahari Husin (mastermind behind 2002 Bali bombing)
Goals of Arrests by Indonesian Government:
Crackdown on Islamist extremist group, JI
Take out presence of leaders within organization, which would cause disruption internally amongst members and their mission
Prevent/early detection of future attacks
Collect information on other leaders or members
Bashir assumed the position of leader of JI following the death of Sungkar
1970: he was imprisoned as a result of government crackdown on Islamic extremist group JI
Hambali (operational chief) Bashir’s closest associates
Azhari Husin Britain-educated engineer and explosives expert
Alluded capture after his release by disguising himself through surgery and wearing an explosive belt
In years leading up to the Bali bombing Indonesian government’s actions towards JI were minimal, after the 2002 Bali bombing this was the awakening to Indonesian government and Southeast Asia to the threat posed by JI
Due to internal disagreements and the arrest of their leaders, the organization became very decentralized. With no clearly defined leader JI became weak and unable to successfully organize in order to combat counterterrorist efforts made by the Indonesian government.
While this worked in favor for the Indonesian government it also made it more difficult for them to completely dissolve JI
No single individual in indispensable as their organization is very spread out
1970s: Imprisoned in Indonesia for Islamist activism
1985: Fled to Malaysia after Indonesian court ordered him back to prison
2003: Convicted of treason for involvement in a plot to overthrow the Indonesian government
2004: Released from prison and then rearrested the same day on new evidence
March 5, 2005: Acquitted of the 2003 attacks in Jakarta charges, but was found guilty of conspiracy for the 2002 Bali bombings and sentenced two-and-a-half years in prison
August 2003: Arrested in Thailand as the mastermind behind the JI terrorist campaign
Today: In U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp
Suspected of being Al-Qaeda’s operations director
2003: Arrested by authorities
Suspected mastermind behind bombing including October 2002 Bali bombing, 2003 attack on the Marriot, and September 2004 car bombing outside Australian Embassy in Jakarta

3. Police vs. Military Role in Counterterrorism
Indonesian police
Created counterterrorist squads
Indonesian national CT force also known as Detachment 88
Successfully captured members of Islamist organization
Caused unorganization and disruption internally
Conducted raids
Confiscated weapons
Froze assets
Allied their efforts with other states
Cut off communication
Indonesian military (TNI)
Intelligence based gathering
Deradicalization and reform programs
Aimed at rehabilitating the terrorist in order to disengage members from their extremist views
Counterterrorist efforts remain under the control of Indonesian police.
Formed in 2003 after the 2002 Bali bombing; Detachment 88 is responsible for investigations, intelligence, and hostage rescue
Considered an elite CT force
It has had success in targeting and dismantling terrorist organizations throughout Indonesia
Due to weak Interagency cooperation between Indonesian police and military it has caused rifts (regarding jurisdiction and mandated laws on the militaries domestic security role)
Funding was cut and focus was placed solely on internal affairs, as political figureheads of Indonesia didn’t believe they were at risk of international terrorism.
Competition for funding between Indonesian police and military was cutthroat
Deradicalization programs were carried out through civic missions in conflict-prone areas.

4. Allied Efforts Against JI
The Philippines, Singapore, and the United States allied with the Indonesian government in their fight against the radical Islamist group, Jemaah Islamiyah.
Exchanged information/sharing of intelligence
Increased law enforcement cooperation
As cooperation increased amongst states, JI terrorist group began to decline
Instead of fighting bilaterally against JI each country allied their counterterrorist operations.
Indonesian government accepted American and International assistance to combat terrorism, began reforming Indonesian national security, and legal reform in the prosecution of convicted terrorist
As the war on terror progressively increased within states, many began increasing their law enforcement cooperation and intelligence sharing.
With each country working together to exchange information this ultimately helped in breaking down the JI network.

5. Jemaah Islamiyah: Success or Failure?
Indonesia’s adoption of counterterrorist measures against JI have weakened their Islamist organization
JI still remains an active terrorist organization in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries
They hold the largest terrorist organization presence in Indonesia
Continue to promote an extreme Islamic agenda with ties to Al-Qaeda
Counterterrorist efforts against JI, by Indonesian government, have been successful in the weakening of this organization. However, they have been unsuccessful in eliminating the Islamic extremist group entirely.
Despite their decline, JI still remains the largest terrorist organization in Indonesia as well as other Southeast Asian countries (e.g., Philippines and Singapore).
Even with Indonesia’s counterterrorist efforts JI continues to adapt and reorganize in order to promote an extreme Islamic agenda and maintain their Islamist groups existence.