President Bush has described Southeast Asia as the second front in the global war on
terror. This classification is not surprising given the fact that many countries in the
regionâ??Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippinesâ??featured prominently in alQaedaâ??s most ambitious plans, including the targeting of the USS Cole in October 2000
and the September 11, 2001 attacks. For al-Qaeda, Southeast Asia is also the second front
in global jihad. Even prior to 9/11, Southeast Asia was becoming the hub of global
terrorist activities. The region has served as a host to several homegrown Islamist terrorist
groups. Many members of these groups received training and waged jihad in
Afghanistan. Since the early nineties, al-Qaedaâ??s influence spread across the region,
developing extensive and well-entrenched networks. This process was facilitated by
Southeast Asiaâ??s l
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