Stopping the scourge of terror: The biggest challenge of 2017

Every time I visit the United States, my penchant for reading brings me to Barnes and Noble where I browse and ponder on books of my interest. In my recent trip, I got so engrossed with the topic of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), aka ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), aka IS (Islamic State).

Two books in particular caught my attention. ISIS, by Robert Spencer, 2015, and How to Win the Global War Against Radical Islam by Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (Ret), 2014. Whatever bias these books may have presented was balanced by my stock knowledge, international training and exposure on the subject matter.

After reading through these times and much careful thought, it became even clearer to me that the biggest challenge for 2017 is the scourge of terror.

Knowing ISIS

ISIS, a militant fundamentalist group that has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, is the most successful.

It is also the wealthiest with vast financial resources “… from oil production and smuggling, ransom from kidnappings and selling stolen artifacts …,” making it the most dangerous terror group in the world at the present time.

Its reign has rivaled the atrocities of Mao Tse-Tung, Pol Pot, etc., and it has embarked on a campaign against non-Muslims and non-Sharia government, all in the name of establishing an Islamic state.

How did ISIS become what it is today? How did it develop its power base? Many analysts have advanced various reasons why Muslims all over the world have joined ISIS. Max Abraham, a terrorism expert at the Northeastern University, summed up the prevailing view when he said, “If you ask a terrorist, many would probably fail the most basic test in Islam. Here are some of the reasons: Poor education, failure of Arab education, an us-versus-them mentality along ethic, ideological and sectarian lines, making youth vulnerable to external influence.”

Furthermore, joblessness and poverty, anger and oppression, bad governance, lack of trust in the West, especially in the US, failure to redress justice, the thrills, the chills, helping the down trodden, girls and guns, all these add to the mystique and the myth.

If a comparison were to be made with the history of violence in Southern Philippines, many similarities are present, both in the past and in the present day. In fact, it even approximates some of the conditions that led to the rise of local insurgency.

Many of the participants come from the youth sector, whose mindset can easily be manipulated and exploited by unscrupulous groups.

In simple terms, they lack the ideological maturity to understand what they are fighting for.

Islamic appeal worldwide is bringing about a domino effect. ISIS recruits have been inspired to travel to Iraq, Syria, and Libya. Despite condemnation, Muslims and non-Muslims alike all over the world are being drawn to join and fight for the cause that ISIS stands for. The zeal, the resources, the fundamentalism all add up to make ISIS the most pressing danger of our time.

What challenges does this scourge forebode for our country? Are we prepared to confront the massive ISIS offensive?

The cycle of violence follows a series of events that start with atrocity, which create shock terror, fear, grief, anger, bitterness, revenge and retaliation, and back to atrocity. According to Paul Rogers, “The War on Violence,” intervention must be initiated at the level of atrocity to arrest the cycle. So far, the efforts of the government, especially the ongoing peace process, stand as the most compelling intervention moves that have stalled the cycle of violence temporarily. But the question is, how long will this last?

Grim developments

Recent developments, both global and local, have weakened the impact of this intervention mode. Let us enumerate some of these events.

• 19 Dec 2016: Terrorist attack that occurred in a market place in Berlin which left 12 dead and 56 others injured. Germany’s security service has confirmed that the perpetuator, a certain Anis Amri has alleged links to Islamist extremists. (AFP, 20 Dec 2016)

• In Indonesia, Islamic attack killed four people in Jakarta. Terrorism attacks are focused on Jakarta and Bali due to the propaganda impact that it can create. (AP, 28 Dec 2016)

• Australia police foiled a terror attack planned for Melbourne on Christmas day. Four of the suspects were Australian-born in their 20s of Lebanese background.

• 20 Dec 2016, Malaysian police arrest seven for suspected links to militant groups. (Reuters)

• In the Philippines, the Matute group, Khalifa Islamiyah Movement, Al Khobal group and ASG continue to wreak havoc, challenging the authorities. A Filipino was arrested in Kuwait on her way to join the ISIS. Her husband is an active fighter within Libya (AFP, 26 Dec 2016)

Understanding ISIS

Islamic State Caliph Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi sent out a message on the eve of his tactical defeat in Ramadi in Dec. 2015: “Stand up against the tyrant and apostate people of [Saudi Coalition] and champion your brothers in Levant, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, the Caucasus, Egypt, Libya, Somalia, the Philippines, Africa, Indonesia, Turkestan, Bangladesh and everywhere.”

According to the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence, “…the territory controlled by ISIS now ranks as the place with the highest number of foreign fighters since Afghanistan in the 1980s, with recent estimates putting the total number of foreign recruits at around 20,000.” In the ICSR paper, around 20 percent were nationals of Western European countries.

Many of the recruits made initial contact with ISIS and its ideology through the internet. The online propaganda has enhanced the capacity to carry out terrorist attacks, even without traveling to the Middle East. With their emerging strength in the digital front, the radical Islam war of domination has been picking up even greater momentum. In the article “How to Marginalize the Islamic State” online, author Jared Cohen writes, “The group has relied extensively on the Internet to market its poisonous ideology and recruit would-be terrorists.”

Their successful recruitment online gives reason for more stringent monitoring of their digital activities.

In short, ISIS is a cult of Jihad. They possess influential media production units that can demonstrate and project power. They expand their radicalism though extensive use of the internet. This method has facilitated the recruitment of many Americans, British, Australians, Europeans, many of whom are Christian women. Many are teenagers who learned about ISIS through social media. There are likewise existing terror cells in the Philippines. Many youth have already been enchanted into participation. The possibility to intensify further is high.

These then beg serious questions that bear on every citizen, especially the Commander in Chief.

a. Are we able to recognize the nature and extent of the threat? The infiltration of terrorist groups in Southern Philippine continues. Shall we wait for another Ipil attack or Zamboanga siege, and Mamasapano massacre to realize the magnitude of terror.”

Let us not take the position of denial or alarmist to project a “manageable” or “situation under control” status.

b. Do we possess the technical, operational, and intelligence capabilities in the face of such realities? The AFP and the PNP lack the sophisticated technical know-how and equipage that can detect and pursue real terror, latent or active.

That is the reason why US forces are in Southern Philippines. They provide the technical and intelligence support as well as the expert human resources against the war on terror. Their absence will create a significant vacuum on the most basic level, even in tracking potential terror activities or containing the threat.

On the other hand, their presence can also be seen as courting disaster because the US and its allies are considered as anathema to their cause.

On the aspect of intelligence gathering and psychological operations that include social media, we are no match to the ISIS. Substantial resources in manpower and equipment are essential, an investment that is not on our priority list. Furthermore, save for the AFP-PNP, NBI, and other government agencies involved in security and enforcement, the bigger part of the bureaucracy is not primed for basic intelligence work. They only know intelligence funds.

c. Do we recognize that the war on terror is not the responsibility of the security forces alone? It is a national concern that requires the involvement and participation of the whole citizenry. But if the public is encouraged to get involved and participate in security measures, militant groups cry militarization. What then is the action alternative left for us to keep our country and our people safe?

The drug menace destroys humanity while terror destroys both humanity and civilization. Such a double whammy gives us no choice but to gear up and work double time, if we are to keep out the scourge of terror from swallowing us in its terrible wake.

The article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines or MAP. The author is a member of the M.A.P. National Issues Committee, the 42nd Commanding General of the Philippine Army, the 1st Force Commander of the UN Peacekeeping Force in East Timor, presently part-time Professorial Lecturer at UP Diliman. and Director, Graduate Studies at the Manuel L. Quezon University. Feedback at <[email protected]> and <[email protected]; [email protected]>. For previous articles, please visit )