Change in strategy needed to address Daesh threats
SINGAPORE: A different strategy and a more tailored approach which seeks to move past outmoded forms of conventional warfare is needed to address the rising threats posed by the Daesh militant group.
Malaysia’s Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the tailored strategies should be the guiding principle in the fight against the terrorist group.
“We must realise that Daesh is not the usual terrorist group we are used to dealing with. Daesh is not al-Qaeda. They differ in their goals but are partly rooted in their histories,” he said during his plenary address on the second day of the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ (IISS) 15th Shangri-La Dialogue security summit which opened here Friday.
Hishammuddin said terrorist organisations like al-Qaeda had only hundreds of active cells, could not directly confront military forces, preyed on civilians and most importantly, they did not claim control of territories.
Daesh on the other hand, asserted control over vast amounts of oil-rich land which had allowed the group to build a self-sustaining financial model, unthinkable for most terrorist
We must realise that Daesh is not the usual terrorist group we are used to dealing with. Daesh is not al-Qaeda. They differ in their goals but are partly rooted in their histories. — Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Defence Minister
groups.
“At present, they boast more than 31,000 fighters with extensive military capabilities engaging in sophisticated operations while controlling lines of vital communication and commanding infrastructure.
“This is why conventional counter-terrorism and counterinsurgency strategies have not and will never work against Daesh,” Hishammuddin said.
He stressed that Daesh was a clear and present danger to the Asia-Pacific, both in the form of potential returned fighters and self-radicalised lone wolves.
“They also have the potential to exacerbate instability in the region’s hotspots, such as the southern halves of the Philippines and Thailand as well as exploiting other fault-lines in the region.
“It is pure, unrefined evil that if left unchecked could poison our future. We have scored some successes against it on several fronts but we are by no means safe,” said Hishammuddin.
The Daesh threat, he said, could not be resolved by simply bombing certain countries into submission, nor could it be resolved by knee-jerk reactions.
“We need to agree on a comprehensive plan to defeat Daesh, and the plan needs to involve greater cooperation of all parties including, but not limited to the military.
“Destroying it could very well be the greatest challenge of our generation,” Hishamuddin said. — Bernama