THERE is the impression that the police prefer to shoot dead suspected terrorists rather than take them alive. In three raids, the police have killed everyone in their hiding places. Most recently, two weeks ago, Syaifudin Zuhri and Mohamad Syahrir were shot dead in their home at Ciputat, South Jakarta.

Understandably, the police prefer a “short-cut recipe” where terrorists are concerned, particularly when their own lives are in danger. The