Back in May 2011 I spotted two terrorists in a parking lot. I live in Indonesia which has known terroism in the past. I live in a predominantly Christian province which is actually the safest region in the country for religious minorities. So here's my story: My two friends an I were having some casual fun seeing the local sites one afternoon. We drove up a mountain and stopped at a roadside restaurant with a view. The restaurant was closed. We were hoping to see a waterfall but it was not there. The only other car in the parking lot belonged to two guys standing in the parking lot. As soon as I saw the two guys, I immediately knew that these two were up to no good judging fro appearance, behavior and circumstances. My friend asked them if they knew where the waterfall was and they said they did not and we left. Here were the warning signs: 1.One of them was holding a camera and taking not photos of the view, but of the road. Why? Why did they not ask one of my friends or me to take their picture standing in front of the view? I watched documentaries where it is explained that terrorists send out agents to do surveys of sites for potential attacks. 2.They were both from the Island of Java (ethnically Javanese) where churches are burned down, home to Abu Bakar Baashir the spiritual head of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah and Bin Laden sympathiser and voter stronghold to the PKS party which is Indonesia's largest and most fundamentalist Islamic political party. If they were mere tourists, where was their local guide? 3.If they were working and the guy was taking photos for perhaps a site for a new building or place to set up a business, why were they wearing casual dress and not suits and uniforms (office and industrial workers wear suits and uniforms in Indonesia or at least wear name tags) and why were they working after working hours? (offices close at 4-5 PM in this country). 4.One of them had long hair reaching his shoulders and the beginnings of a beard and mustache (a stubble). This told me one thing: He's changing his appearance to disguise himself. I did not want to believe they were up to no good. So I made one of the BIGGEST mistakes of my life which I regret to this day. I did not memorize or write down their license plate. I could have reported them to the police had I done so. I thought I was the only one who was suspicious. It was only when we left that my friend confirmed he was also suspicious. Had I written down or memorized the licence plate, I could have alerted the police to suspicious behavior and those two could have been brought in for questioning. But now that I think about it, those two were dumb enough not to be more discreet. But yeah they were met by somebody equally dumb enough not to think fast and look at their licence plate. Anyway I learned my lesson. Has anybody here been in similar situations or would any of you have done things differently?
No. Nothing happened. Either somebody else reported them or maybe they got spooked and called off any potential attack.
