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Over 100 terrorist attacks thwarted in Australia, US, and UK
MORE than 100 planned terrorist attacks have been prevented since 2001, according to Attorney-General Philip Ruddock. Mr Ruddock refused to divulge how many had been thwarted in Australia, saying most of the planned acts were in the US and Britain. Intelligence gained from captured terrorists, spying activities and electronic intercepts was responsible for most of the preventive actions. "It is important to recognise we have been targeted," Mr Ruddock said. "There are people among us, working and living in our community, who would seek to do us harm," he said.

Mr Ruddock told the third annual Australian Homeland Security conference in Canberra yesterday that the Australian and international intelligence community was making inroads into thwarting the terrorists' plans. He also warned that a planned Labor judicial inquiry into spy agencies would distract key senior officers from their task of fighting terrorism. "Nearly two-thirds of Al-Qaeda's leaders have now been captured or killed and more than $200 million belonging to . . . terrorist accounts has been seized." Mr Ruddock also warned against using a "broad brush" in relation to targeting terrorists.

Meanwhile, an American terrorist expert estimated that about 70,000 trained terrorists remained at large around the world. Daniel Benjamin, a senior fellow at the Centre for International and Strategic Studies in Washington and former counter-terrorism adviser to president Bill Clinton, told the conference via satellite that the Iraq war was a mistake and had pushed many moderate Muslims towards terrorism. He said the Bush Adminsitration had failed to understand the war against terrorism was an ideological campaign and that targeting states or individuals was not the answer. "You have the potential to marginalise and alienate," he said.

Mr Ruddock said society should be bolstering moderate Muslims. "More Muslims have died as a result of terrorist activity than non-Muslims." Mr Benjamin said only about 3500 Al-Qaeda or other Muslim terrorists had been "taken out" since September 11, 2001. Many of those were the leaders, but the remaining 70,000, trained in Afghanistan, were active in communities around the world. Mr Ruddock said the September 11 terrorist attack, which had so far cost the US economy about $120 billion, represented an "extraordinary return on investment". "All of this damage came at the expense of the lives of just 11 suicide bombers and about $500,000," he said.

There's always an excuse for not taking action, isn't there? 70,000 cannon fodder with no leadership and no funding is a nuisance, not a threat. It's the combination of countries that foster and support terrorism as a matter of policy — such as Iran and Syria — and stateless organizations — such as al-Qaeda, al-Tawhid, Lashkar e-Taiba and the Learned Elders of Islam — that represent the enemy. Once they're destroyed, the cannon fodder will have to get jobs and won't have the time to be Lions of the Desert.

Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-08-24
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=41428