Battered by the war on terror, extremist groups in Southeast Asia apparently are recovering, thanks to the war in Iraq, according to an authority on Southeast Asia extremists. The U.S.-led coalition’s military strike to oust Saddam Hussein has fanned anti-American anger in the Muslim world and boosted al-Qaida’s efforts to recruit terrorists, according to Zachary Abuza, an assistant professor of political science at Simmons College in Boston. “What happened in Iraq just makes Muslims the world over feel humiliated, and they’re angry,” said Abuza, who faced death threats while researching possible links between Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist network and other extremist groups in Southeast Asia, such as Jemaah Islamiah, or JI, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or MILF. Abuza believes that anger will eventually translate into more terrorists in Southeast Asia. The coalition’s war in Iraq is “certainly doing Osama’s recruiting for him,” Abuza told United Press International. “Right now they’re rebuilding, they’re lying low, they’re recruiting new members, and for that reason you can say the war is quite good for them because anti-American sentiment is very strong throughout the region (Southeast Asia) because of Iraq,” he said. Full Story
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