From Bin Laden to Facebook: 10 Days of Abduction, 10 Years of Terrorism

306 Pages·2013·6.47 MB·English

by  Maria A Ressa

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10 Days of Abduction,1 0 Years of Terrorism
International Edition
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M A R I A A . R E S S A Winning
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10 Days of Abduction,1 0 Years of Terrorism
International Edition
Imperial College Press
ICP
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Published by
Imperial College Press
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Covent Garden
London WC2H 9HE
Distributed by
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USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ressa, Maria.
From Bin Laden to facebook : 10 days of abduction, 10 years of terrorism / by Maria A Ressa.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-908979-53-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) -- ISBN 1-908979-53-4 (hardcover : alk.
paper) -- ISBN 978-1-908979-54-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) -- ISBN 1-908979-54-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Terrorism and mass media--Philippines. 2. Social networks--Philippines. 3. Abu Sayyaf
(Organization) I. Title.
HM741.R474 2013
302.3--dc23
2012048835
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Copyright © 2013 by Imperial College Press
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval
system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher.
For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright
Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to
photocopy is not required from the publisher.
In-house Editor: Monica Lesmana
Typeset by Stallion Press
Email: [email protected]
Printed in Singapore.
Monica - From Bin Laden.pmd 1 2/21/2013, 10:19 AM
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About the Book
The two most wanted terrorists in Southeast Asia — a Malaysian and a
Singaporean — are on the run in the Philippines, but they manage to keep
their friends and family updated on Facebook. Filipinos connect with al-
Qaeda-linked groups in Somalia and Yemen. The black flag — embedded in
al-Qaeda lore — pops up on websites and Facebook pages from around the
world, including the Philippines, Indonesia, the Middle East, Afghanistan,
Australia, and North Africa. The black flag is believed to herald an apocalypse
that brings Islam’s triumph. These are a few of the signs that define terror-
ism’s new battleground: the Internet and social media.
In this groundbreaking work of investigative journalism, Maria Ressa
traces the spread of terrorism from the training camps of Afghanistan to
Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Through research done at the International
Center for Political Violence & Terrorism Research in Singapore and socio-
grams created by the CORE Lab at the Naval Postgraduate School, the book
examines the social networks which spread the virulent ideology that pow-
ered terrorist attacks in the past 10 years.
Many of the stories here have never been told before, including details
about the 10 days during which Ressa led the crisis team in the Ces Drilon
kidnapping case by the Abu Sayyaf in 2008. The book forms the powerful nar-
rative that glues together the social networks — both physical and virtual —
which spread the jihadi virus from bin Laden to Facebook.
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About the Author
Author in Basilan, Philippines, March 16, 2011. Photograph by Beth Frondoso
Maria A. Ressa is the CEO and Executive Editor of Rappler, a social
news network which uses a hearts-and-minds approach to news
through a patented mood navigator.
Ms. Ressa has been a journalist in Asia for more than 25 years, most of
them as CNN’s bureau chief in Manila (1987–1995) and Jakarta (1995–
2005). She was CNN’s lead investigative reporter focusing on terrorism in
Southeast Asia, and wrote Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of
Al-Qaeda’s Newest Center of Operations in Southeast Asia in 2003.
In 1987, she was one of the founders of independent production com-
pany, Probe. In 2005, she took the helm of ABS-CBN News and Current
Affairs, for six years determining strategic direction and managing more than
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1,000 journalists for the largest multi-platform news operation in the
Philippines. Her work aimed to redefine journalism by combining traditional
broadcast, new media and mobile phone technology for social change.
She taught courses in Politics and the Press in Southeast Asia for her
alma mater, Princeton University, and in broadcast journalism for the
University of the Philippines. FROM BIN LADEN TO FACEBOOK: 10
Days of Abduction, 10 Years of Terrorism is part of her work as Author-in-
Residence and Senior Fellow at the International Center for Political
Violence & Terrorism Research at S. Rajaratnam School of International
Studies (RSIS) in Singapore. She is also the Southeast Asia Visiting Scholar
at CORE Lab at the N aval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
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Acknowledgments
Most of this book was written while I was Author-in-Residence and
senior fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and
Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) in Singapore. Thank you to RSIS Dean Barry
Desker and ICPVTR’s management and staff. A special thank you to
ICPVTR founder and the author of Inside Al-Qaeda, Rohan Gunaratna, for
giving me the resources and the academic freedom to flesh out early ideas of
how terrorism and emotions spread through large groups of people. Analyst
Diane Junio, along with HDB neighbors Yey Junio, Loi Ramos, Ava Avila,
and Jet Olfato, made sure I had company, food to eat, and movies to watch.
The year 2011 was a time of transition after six turbulent but fulfilling
years as head of ABS-CBN’s News and Current Affairs division. Thank you
to Gabby Lopez for trusting my judgment and respecting my decisions not
just during the hostage crisis but in the extensive organizational revamp and
the years I led the division. In accumulating the bricks and mortar of events
for this book, I had help from reporters Ces Drilon, Jay Ruiz, and Maan
Macapagal. My assistants Gina Jaculo and Anne Yosuico organized, filed, and
transcribed, always working beyond their job descriptions. Libby Pascual is
an amazing Human Resources Manager, and I thank her for her insights into
not just ABS-CBN but the people we managed as well. Thank you to Mario
Santos for his legal guidance, to Ana Espiritu for helping me allocate money
to turn ideas into reality, and to Cheryl Favila and Chi Almario for trusting
me enough to jump at a crucial moment and become key leaders of the news
team.
I was thrilled to discover Core Lab’s work at the N aval Postgraduate
School and to work with former JSOTF-P Commander Col. Greg Wilson, Dr.
Sean Everton, Dr. Nancy Roberts, Robert Schroeder, and Daniel Cunningham.
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