Category: War on Terror

Dana Vale is starting to lose me. First she comes up with the crazy idea of a Gallipoli Theme Park on the Mornington Peninsular and now she’s wants Hicks brought back from Guantonamo Bay.

Former veterans affairs minister Danna Vale said today she had asked Prime Minister John Howard to lobby US President George W Bush for Hicks’ release. She says the Australian’s rights are being denied.

If she had half a brain she would’ve realized her faux pas when Hicks senior and Bob Brown agreed.

Hicks’ father Terry and Greens Senator Bob Brown say they hope Ms Vale’s comments will lead to public support for his release from other Coalition MPs.

I can understand Hicks senior going along with it but if I ever said something that Bob Brown agreed with I’d book myself in for retraining Dana Vale might like to consider that option as well. I’m sure glad she isn’t running Veteran Affairs any more. Marvelous, isn’t it? One second rate back bencher makes a comment and it’s all over the news with Howard and/or Downer having to waste time and say no! It’s not happening……remember, we said so before…..nothing has changed. Back in your box. Meanwhile from the UK comes bad news for Hicks and good news for the rest of us.

NSW and Victorian police have made arrests preempting a terrorist attack. I’ve just watched the news conference and had to smile at the journalists repeated questioning aimed at getting Commissioner Moroney to say Howard forced the police hand by his statement about possible, imminent terrorist attacks. Please say Howard forced your hand. Please say Howard was wrong. Please…pretty please! The Commissioner didn’t bite.

Nine men have been charged in Melbourne with terrorism related offences and seven were being held in Sydney after a joint counter-terrorism strike in the two states this morning.

Cleric arrested as well

ONE of the nine men arrested in anti-terrorism raids across Melbourne overnight was the outspoken Melbourne Muslim cleric Abu Bakr, his lawyer said today.

Residents shocked at terror raids in South west Sydney

Residents of Renown Avenue, Wiley Park, described their shock at being woken by armed police raiding a single-storey brick home nearby.

And predictably, a junior journalist was dispatched to find someone who thought they were good people.

Ms Beyrouthy said she believed several families lived in the raided home, and she had often seen them in the street. “I am surprised (about the raid),” she said. “I see a lot of people in there (and) they’re very good people. “We’ve never had any problems with them.”

TREASURER Peter Costello has indicated last week’s amendment to federal anti-terrorism laws was directly related to raids today on homes in Sydney and Melbourne targeting terrorist suspects. AFP confirms 15 held after raids Commissioner Moroney says ‘Someone has been shot at Green Valley’ The SMH has a link Man shot in western Sydney The Age obviously made a typo when they let this positive Howard statement through

Victoria Police chief commissioner Christine Nixon said the raids were connected to comments last week by Prime Minister John Howard regarding a “specific” terror threat.

But manage to quote a lawyer to balance the issue and reflect The Age’s point of view;

However, a lawyer acting for six people in Sydney described the prosecutions as “political and a great shame on this country”.

I think you will find the public will describe the prosecutions as a positive step in the war against terror and will feel just a bit of pride and relief in that our political leaders had the sense to amend laws to allow police to act prior to the event rather than have to play catchup after Australians have been killed. I particularly like the fact that Abu Bakr was also arrested. Altogether a good mornings work. We should thank the police and the politicians who had the stamina to pursue the terror bills passage through parliament inspite of all the left wing carping.

DEVELOPING STORY: An Australian soldier serving in the elite special forces has been killed in a training accident in the Middle East, Defence said today. More as it comes to hand. UPDATE: From the Defence Media Centre

One of Australia’s most experienced special forces soldiers Warrant Officer Class 2 David Russell Nary, from the Special Air Service Regiment, was killed yesterday as a result of an accident that occurred during a training activity.

WO Nary had served for almost 25 years, experience that we can ill afford to lose.

Warrant Officer Nary was an extremely popular soldier with a wealth of special forces experience. He enlisted in the Australian Defence Force in 1981 and served as an infantry soldier in 8/9 Royal Australian Regiment, and 11/28 Royal Western Australia Regiment prior to joining the Special Air Service Regiment in 1989.

He had already served in three overseas rotations and was training for deployment in Iraq when the vehicle accident happened.

Warrant Officer Nary served the nation on operations in the Sinai, East Timor and Afghanistan. He was a professional and dedicated soldier. His experience, leadership and significant achievements within the Regiment were recognised in January this year when he was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 2.

Rest in peace soldier, your duty done. UPDATE: This is the second time that Naomi Nary has been widowed

It was a second tragic blow for Naomi Nary, who married the long-serving soldier after her first husband, SAS Corporal Gordon “Dutchy” Holland, was killed in a training accident in Perth in 1993. That first tragedy happened soon after the couple returned from their honeymoon.

Tragic.

Scared to shoot back, British troops feel the stress.

LONDON: British troops in Iraq are suffering levels of battle stress not experienced since World War II, army doctors have warned, because of fears that if they shoot a suspect insurgent, they will face court.

That’s what happens when the government continually caves into the Left-leaning press. What a great bonus for the terrorists. Whenever one of theirs are killed they simply wind up the Western press who agitate for a trial of their own soldiers.

One source said: “There doesn’t appear to be any overt consideration or understanding of the pressures our soldiers are under. The unpopularity of the Iraq war at home and a belief that firing their rifles in virtually any circumstances is likely to see them end up in court are sapping morale.

Imagine, if during WW2 each and every Bomber Command pilot was charged and tried with murder after raids over Germany or Pte Smith on the Kokoda Track was charged because he killed a Jap before reading him his rights. Beggars belief!

The plot thickens with the ‘Piracy’ against the cruise ship Seabourn Spirit now being described as a possible ‘Terrorist” attack.

AN unexploded missile is embedded in an accommodation unit after a possible terrorist attack off the east African coast, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has said today.

As well as missiles, the pirate/terrorists have RPGs and machineguns in their armoury.

The passengers on the US-owned Seabourn Spirit were woken by machinegun fire and a rocket-propelled grenade crashing into the vessel at dawn on Saturday about 160km off the coast of the lawless nation of Somalia.

My money’s on terrorists. A full armoury suggests an infrastructure that too date, hasn’t been a signature of pirates. UPDATE: Rueters report the missile is actually a rocket propelled grenade (RPG)

An unexploded rocket-propelled grenade remained on a U.S.-owned cruise ship after the vessel escaped an attack by pirates in the Indian Ocean over the weekend, Australia’s foreign minister said on Monday. “An unexploded rocket … is embedded in some of the passenger accommodation of the ship,” said Downer.

It’s actually a grenade but rocket or grenade…whatever, it’s still dangerous.

I note, neither The SMH or The Age can bring themselves to use the word ‘Muslim’ when talking about the riots in Paris. The Australian manages to touch on the subject though.

Crackdowns on Muslim associations in the suburbs, rising unemployment, inequality of access to the top French schools and universities, and the housing crisis that keeps many poor workers in high-rise council estates on the periphery of Paris were all blamed for the rioting.

Maybe lack of education is more to blame for inequality of access to French education and for rising unemployment but that’s not going to be acceptable to the local Clerics. Keep ’em ignorant. Force 12th century ethics, morals and knowledge down their throats. Maintain the rage and envy….hate us for our success based on superior education and separation of powers and the subsequent comforts all this brings. Maintain your disadvantaged status or join the 21st century.

Under the leader Guess who can’t keep a secret? PM in hot water SMH journo’s Marian Wilkinson and Tom Allard attack the PM based on anonymous statements.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, has been accused of jeopardising a year-long operation by state and federal police targeting terrorist suspects in Sydney and Melbourne.

Name them! Until you do the article has the same credibility as every other anonymous criticism. Nil. There exists a balance between keeping the people informed and denying terrorists intelligence but one thing is clear and that is, Howard must tell us if a new threat exists. If he doesn’t and someone dies the public will be rightly angry. If certain people are a threat and ASIO et al have been watching them then they only have to maintain vigilance or aprehend them. They can do that now. As I understand it the exercise in changing the act to to the more general an act allows federal agents to apprehend potential terrorists before they actually select the target. This is not a case of debating the new anti-terror laws, it is simply attacking Howard and it won’t wash with the public. Howard isn’t in hot water, The Fairfax stable is and I don’t wonder why. Sacking editorial staff to better reflect it’s ever decreasing circulation is only the start. They need to get some serious hacks that might better reflect the opinion and concerns of the reading public.

Channel Ten tried to get him to spill confidentiality again but he didn’t bite.

“I’d very much like to like to but … I can’t do that without risking some sort of legal response from the Commonwealth,” he told the Ten Network.

Now the Federal and State governments can get on with the job of getting these laws in place without Left wing antics confusing the issue. Meanwhile Beasley is attacked for trying to toughen the laws. Yep you guessed it, by the Left who want the laws to comply with some overseas human rights mob. Maybe they would have a case if they could guarantee that the overseas human rights body had the safety of Australian citizens as their first priority but I seriously doubt that is the case.

Labor’s left faction has accused Mr Beazley of being too soft and toeing the government line on terrorism measures while ignoring the party’s obligation to comply with a key international covenant on human rights. A senior Labor insider said it was time for Mr Beazley to “pull his finger out” as the faction passed a resolution reconfirming the ALP’s commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Stuff the ICCPR. Australia’s elected representatives run this country, not them.