For those not in the know, Hambali is the purported leader of JI, the organisation behind the Bali bombing & also thought to be behind the recent bombing of the Marriot Hotel in Jakarta.
He had been on the run in SE Asia, eluding police from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, but was finally nabbed in Thailand (apparently).

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3152263.stm

Afternote: read on CNN that he was planning to attack the APEC summit due to be held in Thailand later this year. He was arrested by Thai authorities & handed over to the CIA.

[ 08-14-2003, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: Hayashi ]

Great! Now let's hope he gets a good, fair trial and gets good, appropriate punishment. I just hope that's not impossible given the volatility of this case, and of Indonesia itself.

FYI he's in US custody...

Doesn't make me any more sure about the legal process, the US seems to be in a perpetual state of Terrorist-Witchhunt mode.

Watch it, dude. No nasty comments please. 9|11 changed a LOT for the USA.

Sorry, Z. It sounded bad, I worded it bad. I should refine my comment. The western world as a whole seems to be on a witchhunt for blame. I wasn't trying to bash the US, I think it's a fine country. It's just, on sensitive issues like terrorism and domestic security, I am often unsure of the capability of a jury to give a unbiased and fair verdict. A trial and whatnot of this magnitude needs to be handled with care, by experienced legal professionals, IMHO. Sorry if anyone is offended by my posts, I am not trying to bash.

I find myself agreeing with True_Moose here (no offence). I can imagine that is very hard for a jury to be objective if a person has already been found guilty in the media.

It's always good when a murderer is caught and brought to trial but this is really a small event in the great scheme of things.

The government very much wants us to believe that groups like Al'Qaida and Jemaah Islamiah have a head - and if you chop off that head, you start to win the war. In reality the capture of Hambali or OBL really won't have any material effect upon those groups - they'll mourn the loss on the first day - and carry on 'business as usual' the next.

Tell me - would the US abandon the 'War on Terror' if Bush was assassinated? Would the 'War on Terror' be interrupted for more than a few seconds?
I think not.

I'd agree with that. And I'd agree with many statements which might sound anti-American but, in truth, are anti-Bush-administration. The two don't have to be the same thing.

In any case, I'm glad they caught Hambali. Whether he's "guilty" or not, I feel uncomfortable knowing he was caught here. Especially with the APEC summit coming up.

Think I'll be spending more quality time in my flat this October.