PM: We Will Act Against Those Who Intrude into Our Country

In the wake of the recent Bali bombing, the US-initiated global war on terrorism has taken unexpected turns in the Asia-Pacific region. Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard, is coming under fire from his Asian neighbors for following the lead of the US and asserting the right to unilateral action against terrorists anywhere. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is fuming at the "arrogant" Howard's claim that Australia has the right to hunt down its enemies, even if that means seeking them out in foreign countries. Mahathir railed against the idea today, vowing that "If these people use unmanned aircraft or helicopters and missiles to carry out assassinations against certain targets in our country, we will deem this as an act of war." The clear reference was to America's recent use of unmanned aircraft in Yemen to assassinate a suspected Al Qaeda leader traveling in that country. Neither the US nor the Yemeni governments have explicitly stated how much the Yemenis assisted the US in that operation. – YaleGlobal