Titus Jonathan's Stories

On the night of September 11,  2012 , Benghazi – the second most populous and the dusty Mediterranean port city in Libya – was quite peaceful until a sudden attack occurred towards the United States Department Special Mission Compound a.k.a. American diplomatic outpost by group of armed men. Christopher Stevens, the US ambassador to Libya, who just arrived at the compound from his office in Tripoli, including the DSS (Diplomatic Security Service) team members, were not ready as the attack was run very fast. The attackers were unstoppable even by the 17 February Martyrs Brigade, a Libya armed militia which tasked to guard the gate and protect the compound. Some people were slain by the armed attackers who then set the building on fire where several persons including the ambassador were trapped inside the ‘safe haven’ room. About 1.5 mile from the burning US compound, there was a CIA secret venue called as “The Annex” where a team of Global Response Staffs (GRS) was stationed. The...

This is a documentary about  the  six former heads of Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service who were tasked to guard their country from terrorist threats. Israel's Shin Bet,  the  equivalent of  the  American FBI and Secret Service, is a very crucial unit that must be led by  the  best person. You will see  the  men in this book. The  author of this book, Dror Moreh who is an Israeli cinematographer and director, conducted an intensive and lengthy interviews to six Shin Bet leaders, i.e. Avraham Shalom, Ya'akov Peri, Carmi Gilon, Ami Ayalon, Avi Dichter, and Yuval Diskin who headed  the  service from 1980 to 2011 respectively. The   Gatekeepers ,  the  title that Moreh chose, told a story about  the  character,  the  determination,  the  thought and  the  decision  the  six men should make in their daily live most of which was made in  the ...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 18 Oct 2010. Click here ) Someone has to fight evil, though evil will never die. These words may be kept in mind by the National Police’s Detachment 88 antiterrorism squad when combating terrorist networks in Indonesia these days. Some people said the acts of Detachment 88 will only trigger retaliation from Muslims, and the killing of the suspected terrorists will raise other mujahedeens to launch new attacks. The theory, though from some perspectives it is understandable, should not stop our state’s security apparatus from fighting evil. In other words, no matter how large a price to be paid, retaliation by evil should not discourage efforts to uphold the truth and to guard the state. Now the police are collecting evidence to charge Abu Bakar Ba’asyir for his involvement with the CIMB Niaga bank heist in Medan and the attack on the Hamparan Perak Police station in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, recently. Dragging Ba’asyir to court — as long as it suppo...

(a message from Noordin M. Top) I just imagine that Noordin M. Top watched TV when Densus-88 ambushed the house in Temanggung and Jatiasih Bekasi on 8 August 2009. He then sent a message to his accomplices said: My fellow jihadists, Just lay your face downward on the ground where you stand on right now. These days are tough days for us as we are now hunted with the utmost endeavor from the security forces. Be vigilant! Don’t let your eyes closed. Some of our confidants had been killed and arrested within past few days, others are scattered. Don’t take risk by showing up yourselves in public. You see the ambush in Temanggung that ended with the killing of Ibrohim and raid in Jatiasih Bekasi last week? That’s because of carelessness. You knew that carelessness is unforgiven matter in this game. A bit of carelessness would crush our plan and kill us – one by one! Don’t ever underestimate the Densus-88 . They, the damned smart and brilliant counterterrorism squad of Indonesian police have ...

(published in The Jakarta Post on 25 July 2009. Click here ) The bombers of the Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotel at Jakarta last week made the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of their faith. Talking about faith will always bring us to two different perspectives. We could say what the bombers did was wrong, evil, brutal, ferocious and against humanity. We could condemn the attack as well as curse the bombers infuriatingly. But, should the bombers still be alive and we could ask them why they did it, they would firmly say that they did it as exalted act. They dedicated their whole life to religion or even to God Almighty. They let themselves be killed as martyr because it was a stairway to heaven. Why? Because they believed their faith demanded it as a holy duty. Who could have told them they followed a deviated path and why they should have turned to the right path, such as ours? Who could have convinced them that what they believed was wrong, and conversely our beliefs were right? We co...