Mainstream JI is crippled but terrorists just keep on coming

The arrest of JI leaders in 2007 is quite significant, but it should not be exaggerated. One must not forget that there are senior JI leaders who are still at large including the leader of JI’s Malaysian violent faction, Noordin Top; JI’s military commander, Zulkarnaen; the electronic and bomb-making specialist, Dulmatin; and the recruitment expert, Umar Patek who sought sanctuary in the Philippines’ Abu Sayaf Group.

We must understand that JI is not a static terrorist organization; it is a social organization that conducts economic, public relations and social outreach activities. The JI members are self-contained since they trade among each other through various means of business activities, such as multi-level marketing in herbal products, plantations and other commodities. The continual arrest of JI members suggest that the group’s numbers are consistently larger than most security analysts speculate.

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