Australia foils terrorist attack

[Kr0z]

By Joanne Collins

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian authorities arrested 17 people on Tuesday on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack, raiding homes in Melbourne and Sydney less than a week after parliament passed tougher anti-terror laws.

One man was shot in the Sydney raids and the police bomb squad was examining a backpack at the scene. Outspoken Muslim cleric Abu Bakr, who has voiced support for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was among those arrested in Melbourne.

Prime Minister John Howard last week said Australia received intelligence about a "terrorist threat" and amended anti-terror laws making it easier for police to arrest suspects.

"Intelligence was received that a group was making arrangements to stockpile chemicals and other materials capable of making explosives," New South Wales state Premier Morris Iemma told a news conference in Sydney.

"Police believe that the group was planning a terrorist attack in Australia," Iemma said.

Victorian state Police Commissioner Christine Nixon said the group did not have a target and specifically ruled out the Commonwealth Games, which are due to be held in Melbourne in March and opened by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

"But we had sufficient evidence these people were planning a significant attack," Nixon told reporters.

Police said they had seized chemicals which if combined would be "volatile", firearms, computers, travel documents and backpacks.

Australian media last week reported that possible targets under police surveillance were the Sydney Opera House, harbor bridge, two Sydney oil refineries, the Australian stock exchange in Melbourne and Melbourne's main rail station.

Australia, a staunch U.S. ally with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, has never suffered a major peacetime attack on home soil. The country has been on medium security alert since shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Four Australians are awaiting trial in Sydney and Melbourne on terror charges, linked to supporting and training with banned groups such as al Qaeda.

Continued

? Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

[Kr0z]

Really glad that Abu Bakr was arrested, he belongs in Guantanamo. I wonder if Australia will set up a "Guantanamo" type area for all these scum. I hope so. Good move for Australia and a great anti terror move. (Y)

The court was told Bakr was the spiritual leader of the group which had engaged in military-like training and were committed to a "violent jihad" in Australia.

Bakr has voiced his support for Osama bin Laden and defended Muslims fighting U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, but denied any involvement in terror activities.

^

Hang him!

Damn, no death penalty in Australia. I wish there was. I can only hope for an "unfortunate" accident to befall Mr Bakr. :shifty:

Edited November 8, 2005 by psychoticpickle

[j.nudd]

Well, it's always a step in the right direction when terror attacks (or suspected ones at least) can be stopped.

[Mr. Golden Deal]

^

Hang him!

Damn, no death penalty in Australia. I wish there was. I can only hope for an "unfortunate" accident to befall Mr Bakr.

So being held indefinitely without trial, constant abuse, and lack of all due process because of an opinion sounds like a good idea to you?

Man, the longer this "war on terror" goes on, the more Osama bin Laden looks like Emmanuel Goldstein.

[John S. Veteran]

Man, the longer this "war on terror" goes on...

586785760[/snapback]

Nice to see some acknowledgment that it actually does exist.

It's a global problem folks.

[Kr0z]

Nice to see some acknowledgment that it actually does exist.

It's a global problem folks.

586785947[/snapback]

And what a problem. I can't believe what's happening in France and now in Germany too. I really hope the authorities there get on top of the problem.

[blackhorse]

And what a problem. I can't believe what's happening in France and now in Germany too. I really hope the authorities there get on top of the problem.

586786038[/snapback]

Its not terrorism thats happening in france and germany....its riots by disgruntled youths without jobs and who face discrimination on a daily basis.

[nexx]

Its not terrorism thats happening in france and germany....its riots by disgruntled youths without jobs and who face discrimination on a daily basis.

586786064[/snapback]

If they're not with us, their against...oh hell..SHOOT THEM ALL! :rolleyes:

[John S. Veteran]

Its not terrorism thats happening in france and germany....its riots by disgruntled youths without jobs and who face discrimination on a daily basis.

586786064[/snapback]

Oh of course it's not...keep telling yourself that, complacence works, just ask the Spaniards. :pinch:

Where's all the you brought it on yourself crowd that were so high and mighty after 9-11?

reportedly up to 40% unemployment in many of the cities being trashed :whistle:

[n3wt]

Nice to see some acknowledgment that it actually does exist.

It's a global problem folks.

Wow, you completely missed what he was saying. Emmanuel Goldstein was the fictional terrorist in 1984 who was created to keep the people afraid and in line, among other things. (As in, he didn't actually exist.)

[Mr. Golden Deal]

Yeah, thanks adonai, for taking what I said completely out of context to support your argument. Not to mention that you didn't even remove the quotation marks that implied I was skeptical about the "War on Terror" (since the Americans like to capitalize their wars, apparently).

Oh of course it's not...keep telling yourself that, complacence works, just ask the Spaniards. pinch.gif

Where's all the you brought it on yourself crowd that were so high and mighty after 9-11?

reportedly up to 40% unemployment in many of the cities being trashed whistle.gif

Hmm... let's see here...

ri?ot Audio pronunciation of "riot" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (rt)

n.

1. A wild or turbulent disturbance created by a large number of people.

2. Law. A violent disturbance of the public peace by three or more persons assembled for a common purpose.

ter?ror?ism Audio pronunciation of "terrorism" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (tr-rzm)

n.

The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.

Looks like rioting is not necessarily terrorism, even though I suppose you could stretch the definitions to overlap. It seems like the riots are built up frustration and tension being released all at once, rather than some controlled event designed to frighten the French.

I think the fact that it's widely been acknowledged that since these riots are caused in part by discrimination and unemployment, even by the French, I think that's a pretty good sign that they're not trying to shift the blame.

[John S. Veteran]

Shoot the messenger all you like guys, it isn't going to change what's happening all over the world. it's this very sort of complacence that bites you on the backside because all these other countries think this is American paranoia or just an American problem.

[n3wt]

Shoot the messenger all you like guys, it isn't going to change what's happening all over the world. it's this very sort of complacence that bites you on the backside because all these other countries think this is American paranoia or just an American problem.

I like this, avoid the fact that you done been got by changing the subject and rambling.

In fact, I don't think terrorism is an American problem, a global problem, or even a greater problem than it has been for the past 2000 years.

In the 1st century, Zealots conducted a fierce and unrelenting terror campaign against the Roman occupiers of the eastern Mediterranean. The Zealots enlisted sicarii to strike down rich Jewish collaborators and others who were friendly to the Romans.

In the 11th century, the radical Islamic sect known as the Hash-Ishiim (This word, derived from the word "Hashish," which the Hash-Ishiim reputedly used to drug their victims, translates directly to the word "assassin" in the English language) employed systematic murder for a cause they believed to be righteous. For two centuries, they resisted efforts to suppress their religious beliefs and developed ritualized murder into a fine art taught through generations. Political aims were achieved through the power of intimidation. Similarly, the Christian warriors of the Crusades pursued political aims by means of assaults on Muslim civilian populations.

In 1867 the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a revolutionary nationalist group with support from Irish-Americans, carried out attacks in England. These were the first acts of "republican terrorism", which became a recurrent feature of British history, and these Fenians were the precursor of the Irish Republican Army. The ideology of the group was Irish nationalism.

In Russia, by the mid-19th century, the intelligentsia grew impatient with the slow pace of Tsarist reforms, and sought instead to transform peasant discontent into open revolution. Anarchists like Mikhail Bakunin maintained that progress was impossible without destruction. Their objective was nothing less than complete destruction of the state. Anything that contributed to this goal was regarded as moral. With the development of sufficiently powerful, stable, and affordable explosives, the gap closed between the firepower of the state and the means available to dissidents. Organized into secret societies like the People's Will, Russian terrorists launched a campaign of terror against the state that climaxed in 1881 when Tsar Alexander II of Russia was assassinated.

In 1893 the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization was founded in Thessaloniki, now in Greece but then part of the Ottoman Empire. The organisation was driven by Slavic nationalism, and later acquired a reputation for ferocious attacks, including the 1934 assassination of Alexander I of Yugoslavia during a state visit to France. The Fenians/IRA and the IMRO may be considered the prototype of all 'nationalist terrorism', and equally illustrate the expression that "one man's terrorist is another mans freedom fighter". Both groups achieved their goal, an independent Ireland and an independent Macedonia.

Source

Next we'll be fighting a "War on Stupidity" or a "War on People Who are Mean to Puppies" or some other random problem that has existed since the beginning of time. ("War on Drugs" anyone *chuckle*)

[blackhorse]

Oh of course it's not...keep telling yourself that, complacence works, just ask the Spaniards.  :pinch:   

Where's all the you brought it on yourself crowd that were so high and mighty after 9-11?

reportedly up to 40% unemployment in many of the cities being trashed  :whistle:

586789019[/snapback]

you are so right :laugh:

look there is a supporter of terrorism

I saw in news last year that there were riots...uh sorry...terrorist attacks by Aborigines in australia :wacko:

[pre]

Heard this in the news...