Asia's bin laden captured in thailand

[MaiChai]

Indonesia-born Hambali has been dubbed by the US Central Intelligence Agency the "Osama Bin Laden" of South East Asia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2346225.stm

http://edition.cnn.com/2003....ex.html

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/page.ne....d=19087

Wonder if Bush will still come?

[bon1]

i'm happy they caught the guy, but i really wish that bush would not come here. i'm planning to leave town during the apec summit, beacuse i really think bkk will be one big target if he does come. just seems to me like there are too many areas to prtect here... hopefully w will stay at home, and save us all... :cool:

[simon43]

Hmmm - I travelled 10,000 km from London last week to be with my GF in Thailand, and we holed up in a romantic hotel in her home-town of Ayuthaya....didn't realise that some loony Bin Laden guy was also holed up just around the corner from us  

I wondered why my GF's attempts to learn to drive on Ayuthaya's main street attracted so many cops......

[MaiChai]

And maybe she looks a little Muslim'ish?

[Blackandwhite]

My wife and child will be in BK on the 4th October and I am concerned about this terror problem does anybody know the dates this summit is going on. Where would be good for them to stay. They are only there one night but that is enough.

[bandy]

Dates for the APEC Summit are 20th + 21st October - Monday / Tuesday.  This is a few days after the Bangkok Gift Show which will attract many many overseas buyers into BKK as well.

[wolf5370]

Hmmm - I travelled 10,000 km from London last week to be with my GF in Thailand,

Simon, is this the girl you 'rescued' that now works for you instead or a new one? If new, how's your new employee taking it?

I know its off topic, but can't miss an episode in the Soap Opera that is Simon's love life!

[sriracha john]

UPDATE

Hambali could face death

Accused Bali bomber Hambali could face the death penalty, with the US military prosecutor confident he will be among the few Guantanamo Bay detainees to be charged.

Chief prosecutor Colonel Mo Davis told The Australian yesterday that prosecutors were busy developing cases against the 15 so-called "high-value detainees", one of whom is Hambali.

"We're certainly early in the development stage of it ... we're optimistic that we'll be able to develop a case that is suitable to take to trial," he said.

Colonel Davis said prosecutors aimed to swear charges against at least some of the high-value detainees by October at the latest.

"I can't say that any one of the (high-value detainees) is the frontrunner at present but we have attorneys working on all the cases with a target date of having the first of the cases ready by fall," he said.

He said the cases against detainees such as Hambali, accused of being the interface between Jemaah Islamiah and al-Qa'ida, and alleged September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed were more complicated than other cases to be heard by the military commissions.

"The high-value guys, we were truly starting from scratch on those," he said. "They were very substantial, voluminous cases. It'll take a significant amount of work to get them ready for trial."

Colonel Davis declined to outline what charges Hambali might face, but said murder was a contender. He intimated there was a good chance he would face the death penalty.

"Certainly that's a possibility," he said. "If you look at the cases that people have had direct involvement in causing the deaths of many people, he certainly is one that, at least at this stage, suggests that he may be responsible for the deaths of a number of people."

Hambali was arrested in Thailand in 2003. US authorities allege he was the operations chief of Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiah. He is accused of helping to plan the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. He is also suspected of involvement in a wave of church bombings in Indonesia that claimed 18 lives and of plotting to attack the Australian High Commission in Singapore.

In April, Hambali appeared before a tribunal to determine whether he was an "enemy combatant". He denied being associated with al-Qa'ida and said he left JI in 2000.

US authorities have said they intend to charge about 75 of the estimated 385 detainees held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Colonel Davis said one of the reasons for delays was the physical constraints imposed by the facilities at Guantanamo, which has only one courtroom.

Under military commission rules, once charges are sworn against a detainee, he must appear at a preliminary hearing within 30 days and the trial proper must begin within 120, or the charges are thrown out.

Colonel Davis said plans were under way to build a second courtroom, which he hoped would be available this year, but acknowledged Hambali's trial could be years away.

- The Australian

[The Skipper]

I recall this arrest a few years ago.

Didn't his group have a list of potential bombing targets in Bangkok?

Nana Plaza, Israel /US Embassy, Kao San Rd etc..

Should'nt somebody in security be placing barricades here?(like 3 years ago)

A truck bomber can still drive right into Nana Plaza, no problem.

A large group of Farangs and a load of up-country bargirls packed into a congested place with only one way out.

Could there be a more perfect terrorist target in the entire Kingdom?

Kiss the tourism industry goodbye when that happens.

[ColPyat]

UPDATE

Hambali could face death

Accused Bali bomber Hambali could face the death penalty, with the US military prosecutor confident he will be among the few Guantanamo Bay detainees to be charged.

What right allows the US to have him stand trial in the US and not in Indonesia, where he committed his crimes?

[Ulysses G.]

UPDATE

Hambali could face death

Accused Bali bomber Hambali could face the death penalty, with the US military prosecutor confident he will be among the few Guantanamo Bay detainees to be charged.

What right allows the US to have him stand trial in the US and not in Indonesia, where he committed his crimes?

Who cares?

Indonesia has a rather bad record on setting these scumbags free to kill other innocent people. Fry him!

[ColPyat]

Who cares?

Indonesia has a rather bad record on setting these scumbags free to kill other innocent people. Fry him!

There is a world wide problem of the US kidnapping suspects in many countries, often innocent ones, and detaining them for years in Guantanamo, and far worse prisons all over the world (where torture is standard procedure). Read "enemy combatant" by Moazzam Begg.

The only thing that separates us from "the scumbags" is that we supposedly uphold due process. As soon as we break it, what difference is there between us and them? By breaking all our own laws, we are in the process to become even worse than them.

We should care, because we are rapidly loosing the basics of what makes modern western civilization, and only create more discontent, and more "terrorists" as an inevitable outcome.

[taxexile]

What right allows the US to have him stand trial in the US and not in Indonesia, where he committed his crimes?

because indonesia couldnt even try the bali bombers properly.

the us seems to the only country in the world of taking a stand against these people.

these terrorists think they can cause havoc and mayhem wherever they want in the world , because no one is capable of standing up to them , least of all the pathetic governments of indonesia etc.

in fact i'm convinced that they operate with the tacit approval of all islamic governments , maybe not at the highest levels of these governments , but not too far down the chain of command.

if the us wants to go after them , then thats fine by me. i wish more western countries would wake up to the dangers the world faces at the hands of these people should they be allowed to operate from a position of strength.

london , madrid , new york , bali and numerous places in africa and the middle east have all suffered at their hands.

lock 'em up , circumstantial evidence is more than enough. no mercy. fry 'em.

[ColPyat]

lock 'em up , circumstantial evidence is more than enough. no mercy. fry 'em.

Rather shocking.

And one still wonders how all the brutal dictatorships even in recent history were possible. Now we have the answer.

[Ulysses G.]

Part of being brilliant seems to be questioning the obvious to the point where there is no right or wrong.

This murderer deserves to die and if Indonesia is unwilling to uphold its own laws and implement justice, kudos to anyone willing to take on the job!

[cdnvic]

All in all, the US justice system, despite some of it's errors in the past, is still far more fair, reliable, and far less prone to corruption than the Indonesian justice system.

[Robski]

UPDATE

Hambali could face death

Accused Bali bomber Hambali could face the death penalty, with the US military prosecutor confident he will be among the few Guantanamo Bay detainees to be charged.

What right allows the US to have him stand trial in the US and not in Indonesia, where he committed his crimes?

Who cares?

Indonesia has a rather bad record on setting these scumbags free to kill other innocent people. Fry him!

Sad really how you are always one of the first to make comments like that, and always ready to call people ignorant or unintelligent if they don't agree with you, do you only sell right wing propaganda in that bookshop of yours, or is it all fantasy?

I think the guy should be brought to trial for his crimes, but I don't see why the US should act as police, jury and judge for the world, they haven't exactly got a good record either.

Edited May 16, 2007 by Robski

[Ulysses G.]

I call YOU unintelligent, because it's pretty obvious from your posts that you are rather slow.

I called ColPyat "brilliant" because he is. I love his posts even though we often disagree with each other.

Get it?

[ColPyat]

All in all, the US justice system, despite some of it's errors in the past, is still far more fair, reliable, and far less prone to corruption than the Indonesian justice system.

It was, until the neo-cons took over.

What happened though with the worldwide detention centers, the kidnapping of suspects, (more than a few of them proven innocent after years of detention, torture and no representation by a lawyer), disregarding the laws even of its partner countries is a perversion of anything that the US pretends to stand for. The US under Bush turned into something very similar to the enemy they fight against, and have lost all moral high ground they had after 9/11.

[ColPyat]

Part of being brilliant seems to be questioning the obvious to the point where there is no right or wrong.

This murderer deserves to die and if Indonesia is unwilling to uphold its own laws and implement justice, kudos to anyone willing to take on the job!

Any accused person deserves a fair trial. This 'due process' is elementary to our legal system, and the only thing that separates a modern western country from what is termed a "rogue state" and a terrorist organization. If you fight those with the same methods they employ, disregard the principles of due legal process - you don't win - you just turn into another rogue state.

Hand him and other accused over to The Hague.

[cdnvic]

do you only sell right wing propaganda in that bookshop of yours, or is it all fantasy?

Last one I bought there was an autobiography.

[Robski]

Rush Limbaugh perhaps!?

[Ulysses G.]

It is pretty obvious that the terrorists have worked out the weaknesses in the Democratic system just like they did airport security for 9/11 and they are using them against us. We have to figure out how to thwart them.

During warfare it is very common to suspend liberties in order to win a war, and this is certainly WAR!

[cdnvic]

Hand him and other accused over to The Hague.

So that he can rot in jail till he dies waiting for international justice to crawl along? (remember Milosovic?)

If the courts in The Hague weren't so mired down in bureaucracy the US and other might be a bit more willing to take part.

[cdnvic]

Rush Limbaugh perhaps!?

Hardly

[PhilHarries]

This guy will, whatever your opinions of the US justice system and Guantanamo Bay, receive some semblance of a fair trial.

What fair hearing did the victims at Bali get?

Just because a bunch of Arabs disagree with US and UK policy towards Israel, and I support them to a degree in that point, it is always the innocent who have to die to highlight "the cause".

But when one of these scum are caught everyone starts bleating about justice and a fair trial. Okay, give him a fair trial and, if found guilty, waste him. Why does the US have the right to do it? Because nobody else has the guts. We owe it to the victims of Bali to ensure this guy is prosecuted and punished and not let slip by a crooked system that bends like a piece of cotton in the wind of Islamic radicalism.

[Ulysses G.]

You are certainly adding a lot to the conversation.

You are pretty much proving my point.

Edited May 16, 2007 by Ulysses G.

[ColPyat]

It is pretty obvious that the terrorists have worked out the weaknesses in the Democratic system just like they did airport security for 9/11 and they are using them against us. We have to figure out how to thwart them.

During warfare it is very common to suspend liberties in order to win a war, and this is certainly WAR!

True.

But i believe that by disregarding our own democratic achievements we only fall in their trap, and turn into something they believe us to be/need us to be in order to justify their cause. Due process seems slow at times, but the centuries and countless systems based on injustice have proven that any other alternative is horrible.

What kind of a war is this?

There is no opposing army, other than the one we declared to be our opponents, but then turned out not to be so. Even the CIA has advised against going into these wars, but political agenda has over ridden expertise.

There are only very murky alliances and conflicts between all sides, where the largest supporters of Islamic terrorism are the most important regional partners of the countries that fight terrorism. And even the terrorist organizations themselves have been not too long ago financed, supported, even partly invented by the country and its partners that now appear to fight against them.

Economical interests, ideological and religious views seem to overlap in this "war" more than at any other time, on all sides of this conflict. Even to the point that the families of some of the main proponents - Bin Laden and Bush - have been (still are?) in close personal business relationship with each other.

What kind of a war is this?

[Robski]

You haven't got a point. You're just a typical Yank ex-pat, you'll do anything for your country except live there.

[sbk]

We will stop the flaming, no matter how many emoticons you include, flaming is against forum rules.

Get it?