afraid

[philboyd studge]

that the next major terror target just might be s'pore:

-a player in the world economy and globalization.
-surrounded by hundred of millions of people who resent it as an outpost of the west, in particular the usa.
-systematic discrimination against malay minority.
-dependence of economy on mrt and malay workers coming across the causeway.

draw your own conslusion. seems to me to be only a matter of time. draconian law enforcement does not equal good counter-terrorism. its not so easy to deter suicide bombers.

...not to mention the troubles in southern thailand and the cells found in the region.

also, s'pore is especially vulnerable because it is so small.  when you're a city state, if you bomb the city...

all this makes me very sad to think that maybe spore is the ideal target.

[chococat]

This begs the question: why did JI attack Bali?  Why not Singapore; they could have taken out a lot more infidels in Singapore.   I think they have less of a beef with the Chinese and, despite the high number of westerners here, Singapore still has a Chinese majority.  

The only thwarted JI attack I read about from the US last year was a plan to attack of the embassies on Napier Road. Which i guess is the only problem they have with Singapore - the Americans, Australians and British. Were there more attempts?  Anyone?

[Manc Man]

It was easier for the ignorant peasants that did the Bali bombing to operate there than here. No passport required, no language skills, no border controls, don't stick out like sore thumbs.

The pigs actually sent to carry out the Bali bombing don't have the wit to pull off the same thing in a foreign country. That would require a different calibre of psycho entirely.

I think JI would love to strike Singapore.

I think there is a battle going on every day to keep them out.

If there is any cause for optimism it is that I think the average short timer here seriously underestimates just  how tightly locked down this island is.

The police here are a lot tougher, smarter and empowered than the happy smiling polite traffic cops most of us meet would have you believe.

Fortunately for us.

mm

[T2K]

Well Philboyd, since you're afraid you should probably go back to the States.  Since it's so safe there....

Choco - JI attacked Bali because it was a much much softer target than Singapore, and also a pretty high yield one.  I don't know if you ever went to the Sari Club, but it was a good example of "western decadence".  Filled with whiteys and a few Asian tourists, in addition to the Indo staff.  

There isn't much love lost between the Chinese and the militant moslems in the region though (note decapitated Chinese heads on spikes everytime there is some serious rioting in Indo), and they would hit Singapore if they could.  And maybe they will manage it sooner or later, who knows.

[Dr Opinion]

> "...why did JI attack Bali? Why not Singapore..."

(1) To the JI, Bali is a "sin" economy: it's all drugs, hookers, booze, Hindus, Ozzies and Japanese. So, to the psychotic mind, "they all deserve to die".

(2) Bali is easy to move around in, to move to and from, and to operate within. There is a large garrison there, but it's primary purpose was to protect against insurrectionists, not terrorists.

(3) The words curdle in my throat, but Manc is right. Singapore is very secure. JI probably planned to fin bomb-making materiel across to Ubin, but now they've fenced off the entire Northern part of the island and it's a no-go.

[Bruno]

Boo!

[George Bush]

What about attacks by sea?

The following is lifted from a TIMEAsia article:  
http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501030707-461898,00.html

" The Strait of Malacca, between Malaysia and Indonesia, is the world's busiest waterway, a maritime bottleneck that is only 2 km across at its narrowest point: hundreds of ships pass through each day, including those carrying almost all of Japan's oil from the Persian Gulf. Security is so loose that pirates hijack ships every week. "Most people in the business think an al-Qaeda-linked attack of some kind at sea is inevitable," says a senior maritime security official in Southeast Asia.

Last September, captured al-Qaeda operative Omar al-Faruq told U.S. interrogators that he had begun plotting a suicide attack against American vessels visiting Indonesia, but had to give it up due to a lack of local volunteers willing to sacrifice their lives. A scarier possibility is of terrorists hijacking an oil tanker or a ship carrying chemical or nuclear waste, which "regularly transit the Strait without any escort," the official says. That might not be a mere scenario: there have been three mysterious attacks on chemical tankers in the Strait in the past month. "It's particularly worrying that the attackers did little more than get on board, immobilize the crews and leave with a few token valuables," says a regional intelligence official. "They were almost like training exercises." If a terrorist blew up, say, a liquefied natural-gas carrier, the resulting blast would be like a mini nuke and could flatten an entire port. Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew was alarmed enough to issue a public warning last year about the dangers posed by seaborne attacks on the republic's port.  "

Couldn't also short-range missiles be fired from the deck of a freighter?  Or is this too sophisticated for JI or al Qaeda or whomever?

[T2K]

Dear George,

Hijacking a tanker or cargo vessel - possible.  Happens a lot.

Bringing said hijacked vessel into proximity of a populated area and detonating its cargo to cause massive casualties - entirely different story.

Short range rockets are not big casualty producers.  Probably not worth the effort.