Targeting
Participation in the “coalition of the willing” has not made Australia an Al Qaeda target, but as Spain has experienced, it does make us a more likely victim selection, despite the sledging of Mick Keelty by Howard’s government. Federal Police Commissioner Keelty has backed off his original comments, claiming his remarks were taken “out of context,” but his clarification shouldn’t be taken as support for the Iraq war, which I believe has probably made Mr. Keelty’s job that much harder. It isn’t Al Qaeda I expect to act, but radical Islamists in Indonesia working with them. Because terrorism tends to feed on itself, eventually degenerating into factional in-fighting after a period of dramatic, outwardly-focussed actions, I believe Europe has more to fear than Australia, but the proximity to Indonesia and the Philippines remains worrisome for the same reasons. Australia, as an open, democratic society, is much more amenable to organizational activities by terrorist groups than the societies from which their members spring. It becomes that much more likely as a result that terrorists should also commit their crimes within their host countries than in those where their problems really lie. Unfortunately, it is part of the nature of these fundamentalist groups that they blame others for what they object to. They arise from societies that actively discourage freedom, innovation, and personal responsibility, and their religious focus excuses such repression. This is why they will eventually fail, too, but in the meanwhile, we’ve got to protect ourselves. Discouraging dissent in our own societies isn’t a good method toward that end.