Telling blows in the war on terror

IN 2002, the Australian intelligence agencies, then working to the Howard government, were informing their US counterparts of a disturbing occurrence within Australia. A man of Iraqi origin, who enjoyed both Iraqi and Australian citizenship, was assembling the components of an unmanned aerial vehicle here. He had also sent away for aerial navigational information regarding Washington, DC, and other parts of the US.

The intelligence agencies hatched the idea of approaching the Iraqi to see if he was indeed working for the Baghdad government and whether he could be turned as a source. Whatever his ultimate intentions had been, the Iraqi did not end up providing information about Saddam Hussein's government.

This information has never been revealed before. It illustrates the vast global work involved in effective counter-terrorism, the relentlessness of it and its labour intensity. [snip]

In many ways the US-led war on terror has been extraordinarily successful. Al-Qa'ida and its affiliates have not been able to mount an attack in the US, or in Australia, since 9/11. This is no accident. It is the result of relentless police, intelligence, military and diplomatic work... [snip]

There is also no doubt that al-Qa'ida wants to acquire weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons.

Given the breadth of its support internationally, its notoriously long view of strategy, its operational persistence, and the propensity of democracies to lose focus on threats that are quiet for a while, the odds still have to favour al-Qa'ida eventually succeeding in this aim.

And that will change absolutely everything

[Recommended > ]

READ MORE