Fed: Aust raises profile in JI sights - expert
By Rod McGuirk
CANBERRA, Aug 7 AAP - Australia had raised its profile in Jemaah Islamiah's (JI) sightsthrough its police cooperation in Bali and Jakarta terrorist bombings, a terrorism expertsaid today.
Dr David Wright-Neville, of Monash University's global terrorism research project,said he had been intrigued by anti-Australian outbursts during the Bali bombing trialsto date.
"I certainly think the cooperation of the (Australian) Federal Police in the investigationwhich was pretty high-profile will have registered with JI," Dr Wright-Neville said.
"And it is certainly possible that they could seek to capitalise on that high profilecooperation and target Australians somewhere in South-East Asia."
Dr Wright-Neville expected JI had anticipated the death sentence passed against Balibomber Amrozi bin Nurhasyim today and had planned their response.
"I suspect that many of the JI hierarchy will be pleased with the verdict because itgives them an excuse, gives them a martyr and a justification for any further attacks,"
he said.
"My own view is they probably will have something in mind; they'll try to send a messagethat they're still cohesive - an attack of defiance."
A failure to attack would suggest that JI had been diminished by the police crackdownsince Bali and had extended itself with the Marriott Hotel bombing on Tuesday, he said.
But former AFP intelligence director Sandy Gordon was not convinced that JI would exploitAmrozi's sentence.
Dr Gordon, a lecturer on South-East Asian terrorism at the Australian Defence ForceAcademy, said few Indonesians had sympathy for the Bali bombers.
"If I were JI, tactically I would rather do something around any sentence that mighttake place in regard to (JI spiritual leader) Abu Bakar Bashir," Dr Gordon said.
"Many Indonesians are convinced the alleged Bali bombers are guilty and the Bali bombingshave done nothing for Indonesia."
Dr Gordon said the Jakarta hotel bombing could have been focused on Bashir's trialrather than Amrozi.
AAP rmg/jnb
KEYWORD: BALI TRIAL AUST ANALYSTS
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