# The Bali Bombing Thread- Merged



## Spr.Earl (29 Jul 2004)

Intelligence report concerns Australians

By Phil Mercer 
BBC correspondent in Sydney   



The Bali bomb attacks took Australia by surprise   


"Good intelligence is arguably more important to government now than at any time since World War II," concluded Philip Flood in his report into Australia's spy agencies. 
But the former diplomat went on to detail critical failures by the country's frontline defenders in the global campaign against terror. 

There were mistakes, he said, over Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and also in intelligence-gathering prior to the Bali bombings. 

The report found that pre-war information on Iraq was "thin, ambiguous and incomplete". 

But it cleared the government of manipulating intelligence to justify its involvement in the conflict - no doubt to the intense relief of Prime Minister John Howard, who is expected to call federal elections later this year. 


Lack of information 

The revelations about both Iraq and Bali are certain to cause alarm among Australians, but the latter will provoke particular concern. 

More than 200 people died in the Bali attacks less than two years ago - almost half of them Australian tourists. 

The Flood report decided that accurate assessments should have been made of Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the radical Islamic organisation blamed for the attack, prior to the attacks taking place. 

   Right from day one I've had a feeling that Australia really got caught by surprise, and I now know why. Our spooks just weren't up to it 

Erik de Haart, Bali bomb survivor   
"Australia and regional countries should have known much more about Jemaah Islamiah, its development of terrorist capabilities and its intentions towards Western targets," the report concluded. 

A concerted effort to investigate the group was only made when a plot to bomb the American and Australian embassies in Singapore was exposed in late 2001. 

While it did not go as far as to say the bombings could have been prevented, the report did conclude that the delay in properly targeting JI's activities had contributed to the lack of warning. 

Erik de Haart was on the holiday resort of Bali on the fateful night of 12 October 2002. 

He lost six friends in the bombings, and he himself was outside the Sari nightclub when it was torn apart by explosives. 

He told BBC News Online that he was "extremely disappointed" in the intelligence community following the release of the Flood dossier. 

"Right from day one I've had a feeling that Australia really got caught by surprise, and I now know why. Our spooks just weren't up to it," he said. 

As for the families of his dead friends, Mr de Haart believes many will be troubled by what the Flood investigation has revealed. 

"I think there'll be extreme anger and disgust at our spy agencies. They were paid to protect us but they failed," he said. 

The Australian newspaper agreed. "The end of the Cold War lulled Australia into a false sense of security... and left us unprepared for the challenges of the age of terror," the paper said in an editorial. 

Political fall-out 

Prime Minister John Howard has now emerged almost unscathed from two high-level investigations into the intelligence services. 


The report cleared John Howard of 'politicising' intelligence 
In March a parliamentary committee cleared the government of deliberately lying about the threat posed by Iraq's weapons capabilities. 

Now his administration has been cleared of manipulating intelligence used to justify Canberra's involvement in the war. 

The Flood inquiry is another good result for Mr Howard, on the eve of his 65th birthday and with a federal election expected by the end of the year. 

Mr Howard has so far avoided any deep and damaging political potholes over his Iraq policy, and he has performed strongly in recent opinion polls. 

But the future of around 900 Australian soldiers still in the Gulf will be a key issue in the election campaign. 

While Mr Howard lives to fight another day, Philip Flood's findings are likely to cause a shake-up in Australia's intelligence apparatus. 

The report said that future failures could be catastrophic. 

"JI's rise demonstrates the crucial importance of Australian agencies being alert to shifts in the regional security environment and the emergence of new threats," the Flood dossier said. 

"On South East Asia and the South Pacific, Australia needs to be an unquestionable global leader," it concluded. 

But there is unlikely to be a complete overhaul of the intelligence system. The criticism levelled at Australia's spy network is tempered by general praise that it is performing well in other areas. 

The report said there had been "intelligence successes" which receive scant publicity because of their secretive nature. 

These are said to include "uncovering terrorist networks in South East Asia and helping to disrupt planned terrorist attacks".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3920743.stm


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## George Wallace (1 Oct 2005)

It appears that there may be an offensive starting up.   Bombings in Iraq continuing against Coalition Forces.   Now we have another attack on Tourists in Bali.   Are we able to trust all Foreign Intelligence Services, if they may have, in some cases, Islamic sympathies or infiltrators?

From CBC this morning (reliability unconfirmed) http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/10/01/BaliExplosions20051001.html


> 19 reported killed in Bali explosions
> Last Updated Sat, 01 Oct 2005 11:04:42 EDT
> CBC News
> Hospital and police officials now say 19 people are dead and as many as 50 others injured as a series of bombs exploded Saturday in two tourist areas on the Indonesian island of Bali.
> ...


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## George Wallace (1 Oct 2005)

CTV's version:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051001/bali_blasts_051001/20051001?hub=TopStories


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## cobbler (2 Oct 2005)

Tragic, I hope they hunt the evil JI members down like dogs.

What can we expect though, in a country that will send you to jail for life for allegedly smuggling a bag of marijuana, yet will let somebody who is the spiritual leader of a major terrorist organisation responsible for hundreds of murders off with only 14 months jail, and then reduce that sentence as a national independence day celebration. 

Intelligence agencies have been saying to avoid Indonesia for years, and after the first Bali bombings (202 dead, 88 Australians) and then the Marriot hotel and Australian embassy bombings each in Jakarta,m it was only a matter of time before it happened again.

My condolences to all the families and freinds of those killed, the free world stands with you.


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## tomahawk6 (8 Nov 2008)

Justice has been done.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5132525/bali-bombers-executed-prison-source/

Three Bali bombers have gone to their deaths shouting for their God, five years after being sentenced to die for killing 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Crack Indonesian soldiers, handpicked for the job, took aim and shot the Islamic militants through the heart on their prison island just after midnight (0400 AEDT) on Sunday.

The executions reportedly took place in an orchard on Nusakambangan Island in Central Java, where Mukhlas, his younger brother Amrozi and Imam Samudra lived out their last years in a high-security prison.

A source at the prison said the condemned men had shouted "Allahu Akbar", or God is greater, as they were escorted from their isolation cells shortly before the executions.

The news brought mixed reaction in Australia, with many survivors and relatives of those killed expressing relief, but others worried about reprisal attacks.

"At 12.15am (04.15 AEDT), the convicts ... were executed by shooting and followed up with an autopsy," Jasman Pandjaitan, a spokesman for Indonesia's Attorney General's Office, said.

"They have been stated as dead. At this moment the bodies are being washed by the family."

Attorney General Hendarman Supanji will hold a press conference in Jakarta at 11am local time (1500 AEDT) on Sunday.

The family of Mukhlas and Amrozi said they had been advised of the executions and were waiting to receive the bodies, which will be flown to their home village of Tenggulun by helicopter later on Sunday.

"May our brothers, God willing, be invited by green birds to heaven now," the men's brother Mohammad Chozin said outside an Islamic boarding school in the east Java village, as supporters shouted "Allahu Akbar".

Many Australians expressed relief that the men were finally dead, six years after they brought carnage to Bali by sending suicide bombers to attack the Sari Club and nearby Paddy's Bar on October 12, 2002.

The men were sentenced to die in 2003, but five years of legal appeals delayed their executions and exhausted those waiting for justice.

"... we've waited a very long time for this and this is our justice," Sydney woman Maria Kotronakis, who lost two sisters and two cousins, told CNN, struggling at times to speak.

"Finally the moment has come."

Erik de Haart, a member of Sydney's Coogee Dolphins football club who lost six mates in the bombings, said he didn't quite believe the news when he heard it.

"It took a while to sink in. It's been so long that you kind of don't expect it ... you think they've found another excuse not to do it," he told Sky News.

"We can close this chapter of the book and move on a bit."

But he said the grief for his lost mates would never end.

"The guys are never going to come back, all we're left with is our memories and our thoughts of these guys," he said.

Survivor Peter Hughes, of Perth, who suffered horrific burns in the bombings, said the three bombers had paid the highest price for mass murder, but their executions did not bring him any joy.

"These guys went to set about mass murder and paid the highest penalty. It doesn't feel good but they did do the crime and they've paid for it," he told CNN.

Former Adelaide magistrate Brian Deegan, who lost his son Josh, said he was full of trepidation about reprisal attacks.

"I have (a sense of) trepidation as to what might happen as a result of this," he told AAP.

"I'm very concerned about that. There's no shortage around the world of persons that are prepared to commit suicide to achieve a result."

Mr Deegan said he continued to grieve for his son.

"The tears don't roll quite as often, that absolute gut-ache has diminished a bit. But they don't go away."

The bombers' bodies will soon be flown by helicopter to their home villages for burial within 24 hours, in accordance with Muslim custom.

In Tenggulun, sobbing mourners are converging on the home of Amrozi and Mukhlas' mother.

Hardline cleric Abu Bakar Bashir - the co-founder of Jemaah Islamiah, the group blamed for the Bali bombings - praised the bombers as "holy warriors" during a visit to the village on Saturday.

Security forces are on high alert across the mainly Muslim country, after the bombers urged supporters to carry out revenge attacks if their executions went ahead.

Australian authorities have advised Australians to reconsider the need to travel to Indonesia.


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## MikeM (8 Nov 2008)

Good riddance.


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## 1feral1 (8 Nov 2008)

Finally justice courtesy of FNC's and 5.56mm ball.

For the 89 Aussie who wre MURDERED, and all the others (202), including a Saskatchewan man from Wynyard, I remember.

"May our brothers, God willing, be invited by green birds to heaven now," the men's brother Mohammad Chozin said outside an Islamic boarding school in the east Java village, as supporters shouted "Allahu Akbar". Heaven for murders, what a crock of shyte! 


The ironly of it all, these cowardly terrorists who were executed today, were shot tied to a cross.

Meanwhile Australia has upgraded is security threat for Indonesia.

OWDU


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## twistedcables (8 Nov 2008)

Convicted in 2003 and dead after five years with one shot.

Now if only OUR system could be as efficient.  Remember that discussion on another thread on whether its cheaper to shoot VS incarcerate? hehe...


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## Snafu-Bar (8 Nov 2008)

Ammo cheap and plentifull. 

 Fresh air,food,tv,schooling,books and other such perks for scum such as Paul Bernardo far outweigh the use of said ammo.  :threat:

 Justice in Canada needs a swift kick in the arse.


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## jollyjacktar (10 Nov 2008)

Good!!!  They won't kill or hurt anyone again.  

Our milksop system would bend over backwards for these losers. Good to see them get what they deserve.


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## 1feral1 (10 Nov 2008)

All three of these AHs are now rotting in the jungle soils of Indonesia. 

Worm food.

Again, how ironic they died 'on' the cross.


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## OldSolduer (12 Nov 2008)

They deserved it. May they rot in the hot place....


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## Bruce Monkhouse (10 Mar 2010)

Bali mastermind confirmed dead

 http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/10/2841976.htm?section=world


 Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has confirmed the death of one of the masterminds of the 2002 Bali bombing.

The country's media have been reporting that senior Jemaah Islamiah figure Dulmatin was one of three men shot dead during a police raid outside Jakarta yesterday.
Television images had shown a man lying dead, holding a revolver.

At a lunch in Canberra, Mr Yudhoyono confirmed Dulmatin, who was believed to have been hiding in the southern Philippines, had been killed.
"I can announce to you that after a successful police raid against the terrorists hiding out in Jakarta yesterday, we can confirm one of those killed was Mr Dulmatin, one of the top South-East Asian terrorists that we have been looking for," he said through an interpreter.
"For the safety of our people, for the safety of Australians and Indonesians and the rest of the world, let us continue our cooperation to fight terrorism."

Australia congratulated Indonesia over the raids which killed Dulmatin, but Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told Mr Yudhoyono that he could not ease tough warnings of more extremist attacks in the country.
The families of those killed in the Bali bombings also welcomed the news.

A total of 202 people were killed in the bombings in October 2002, including 88 Australians.
Kevin Paltridge's 20-year-old son Corey was among the victims.
He says he and his wife heard the news of Dulmatin's death this morning.
"We both had a smile on our face and just thought, that's another one they've got and thank goodness they've got him," Mr Paltridge said. 


Senior figure

Dulmatin, an electronics specialist who also trained in Afghanistan, was a top bomb technician for Jemaah Islamiah.
The US government had a $US10 million reward for the capture of Dulmatin, who is said to have been wounded after escaping a raid by Philippine security forces in 2006.

Dulmatin was thought to be working with the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines, said Noor Huda Ismail, an Indonesian expert on radical Islamist groups.
Yesterday's raid was part of a wider operation in Java and Aceh that has so far seen 21 alleged terrorists arrested.

The Densus 88 anti-terrorist unit has launched a series of raids across the archipelago following the discovery of a militant Islamic training camp in Aceh last month.
Indonesia has been dealing with militant attacks for the past decade from groups such as Jemaah Islamiah, some of whose members trained in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the southern Philippines.


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## CougarKing (13 Mar 2010)

Thoughts, anyone? 




> *Australia and Indonesia Find It Hard to Make Up *
> 
> 
> By MARINA KAMENEV Marina Kamenev – Sat Mar 13, 12:50 am ET
> ...


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## old medic (27 Apr 2011)

Terror suspect in Bali bombings caught in Pakistan
ADAM GOLDMAN, NINIEK KARMINI
WASHINGTON— The Associated Press 
29 March 2011



> A senior Indonesian al-Qaeda operative wanted in the 2002 Bali bombings has been arrested in Pakistan, a rare high-profile capture in the war on terror that could provide valuable intelligence about the organization and possible future plots.
> 
> Umar Patek, a suspected member of the al-QaEda-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, was arrested earlier this year in Pakistan, foreign intelligence sources said Tuesday.
> 
> ...


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