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errorist arget
BY
Aidan Hall
A THESIS PRESENTED IN PARTIAL COMPLETION OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF
The Certificate-of-Training in United Nations Peace Support Operations
United Nations Member State: Australia –
‘Lucky Country’ or Terrorist Target?
A Thesis
By
Aidan Hall
Post-Graduate Student Peace and Conflict Studies,
University of Sydney, Australia
Presented in partial completion of the requirements of
The Certificate-of-Training in United Nations Peace Support Operations
Submitted: _____________________________________
Forwarded Recommending Approval: _____________________________________
Approval: _____________________________________
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List of Contents
1) Introduction ………………………………………………………………4
2) Critical Context – a comparison of the protagonists ……………………..6
i. The Status Quo and Defining Terrorism ……………………..6
ii. Indonesia and Terrorism: A quick summary ………………...13
iii. Australia and the United Nations …………………………….20
iv. ‘Lucky County’ or Terrorist Target? …………………………25
v. Counter Terrorist Strategies:
Linking Australian Business and Government ……………….32
3) Integrative Conclusion: …………………………………………………...37
4) End Notes …………………………………………………………………39
5) Bibliography ………………………………………………………………48
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UNITED NATIONS MEMBER STATE: AUSTRALIA –
‘LUCKY COUNTRY’ OR TERRORIST TARGET?
INTRODUCTION
One of the most popular appellations used to describe Australia is the phrase ‘lucky
country.’ With its breathtaking natural beauty and glorious climate, Australia is home
to some 21 million people of mixed races including its indigenous people – the
Australian Aborigine.
Australia’s abundance of natural resources and burgeoning economy have for the last
few decades allowed the majority of Australians a fairly comfortable and affluent
lifestyle. Though in recent years, it has become more financially challenging, the
‘great Australian dream’ of buying one’s own home for some is still possible.
Professor Anthony Giddens, Sociologist and Head of the London School of
Economics, suggests that the risks which have concerned us in the past have been
natural or external; over which we have no control such as floods, plagues and
famines. However, many of the identified risks today have emerged out of our own
actions – such as AIDS epidemic, addictions, nuclear events, holy wars and terrorism.
Until recently, the concept of terrorism has seemed distant and unfamiliar to most
Australians. The aim of this research is to investigate if the ‘lucky country’ has in fact
run out of ‘luck’ figuratively speaking and is now facing potential terrorist threat in
the 21st century.
In order to come to some understanding of Australia’s vulnerability to terrorism, this
investigation will firstly discuss this rising phenomenon, as terrorism is not generally
dealt with comprehensively. An endeavour is made in explaining the importance of a
definition of terrorism the world can agree on, as without a proper definition, combat
against this type of criminal activity becomes almost impossible.
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Poverty and ignorance are food for extremism and provide support for radical groups
rooted in nationalism and religious fundamentalism. Since Osama bin Laden and his
regional deputy Abu Baker Bashir, declared Australia as an enemy of Islam, an
examination is made of South-East Asian regional instability and especially since the
Bali bombings where a large number of Australians were brutally massacred. The
archipelago of Indonesia is explored as the region is now regarded as a ‘hot spot’ of
global terrorist activity.
Secondly, this research looks at why Australia is specifically singled out and argues
that regardless of Canberra’s support of the US march to war, Australia remains
vulnerable to terrorist atrocities.
Due to the changing nature of contemporary terrorism, chemical, biological,
radiological (CBR) devices, weapons of mass destruction (WMD), maritime piracy
and Information Technology (IT) terrorism are all discussed as a means of possible, if
not probable, attack on homeland Australia.
Finally, counter terrorist strategies vis-a-vis international cooperation are explored in
context of Australia engaging in dialogue with other countries in the region to help
support one another in the aftermath of a cataclysmic incident. The economic costs of
terrorism are investigated and tied in with how the Australian government, together
with corporate business, can pool their ‘brain-power’ and workshop methodologies to
increase their ability to minimise threat and strategies to successful operations, post
shock.
These focal points and the United Nations (UN) operations are intimately connected
and therefore, are best discussed in context of their relationship to one another.
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UNITED NATIONS MEMBER STATE: AUSTRALIA
‘LUCKY COUNTRY’ OR TERRORIST TARGET?
CRITICAL CONTEXT – A COMPARISON OF THE PROTAGONISTS
The Status Quo and Defining Terrorism
The Latin word ‘terrere’ means to frighten and was first used in a wider context
during the French Revolution in the Reign of Terror (September 1793- July 1794)
when France’s last Queen, the unloved Marie Antoinette along with some 17,000
1
people from all over France were beheaded.
Since then terrorism has become one of the most challenging problems facing the
modern world. It has evolved into a specialised and sometimes sophisticated, large-
scale type of criminal conduct where innocent, defenceless and unrelated civilians are
victims along with the destruction of physical assets of a state’s infrastructure and
cultural sites. Whether it be anti-abortion terrorism, IT terrorism, Armageddonists to
ethnic-cleansing - from a legal point of view all forms of terrorist acts are criminal,
illegal and always a human rights violation.2
The events of September 11, 2001 have alarmed governments across the world to the
possibility of nuclear strikes should fanatical terrorists be successful in their attempts
to obtain illicit nuclear weapons and their components. Fortunately, there are many
obstacles terrorists face in acquiring individual components without being detected
and the technical expertise necessary to assemble nuclear weapons is difficult to
engage. Unfortunately, the conclusion of the Cold War, has seen an increase in
unemployed nuclear scientists who possess the necessary skills al-Qaeda have been
seeking since 1993.3
Detonation of a single nuclear warhead or a CBR device in a major population centre
like downtown Manhattan in the United States (US) or Europe carries the potential to
escalate into an exchange of nuclear strikes and regional war. Atomic detonation will
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cause large-scale loss of life, mass long-term casualties and considerable damage to
the ecosphere. As UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in his speech addressing the
General Assembly at New York City, “it is hard to imagine how the tragedy of 11th
September could have been worse. Yet, the truth is that a single attack involving a
4
nuclear or biological weapon could have killed millions.”
One underlying event that developed contemporary terrorism was the Cold War. In
1961 then-Soviet premier Khruschev, announced that the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR) would support so-called ‘liberation movements’, it caused grave
concern to US government intelligentsia. The Cold War period saw alliances between
nations normally opposed to each other but allied against commonly perceived
enemies. The US opposing the Soviets on political grounds allied with Afghan and
other Muslim resistance forces to fight the Soviets and the Afghan Soviet puppet
regime. A massive expansion of forces to form a guerilla army was achieved by
Saudi Arabian, Egyptian, European and the Sino-US coalition which established
training camps in Pakistan.5
The operational task was to train Mujahideen units who opposed communism on
religious grounds. After 10 years of guerilla warfare the war ended in 1989. US and
Saudi Arabian funding had amounted to US$3 billion with logistics taken care of by
Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence. The large number of 14,000 volunteer recruits
from 22 Muslim countries who fought in this irregular army were motivated by the
6
US strategy in widespread stimulation of militant Islam against communist rule.
After the Afghan-Soviet war transnational terrorists emerged, wishing to apply the
same measures against their own governments and the West. Some Mujahideen,
sometimes referred to as Afghanis were executed and jailed by their governments
upon return; others remained in Afghanistan still fighting with nowhere to go. A
sizeable number have been sighted in Bosnia, Chechnya, China, Kashmir, Nigeria,
Philippines, Sudan, Tajikistan and the United States. Western, Middle Eastern and
Asian Intelligence officials claim it is the influence of the Afghanis that is behind the
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increasing volume of violence by the most extreme fundamentalist movements
currently operating in the international arena.7
The Afghanis were fully trained militant guerrilla killers and terrorists with combat
experience. Literally, ‘rebels without a cause’ with no vocation and no interest in life
other than continuing to fight for Militant Islam, as they had been manipulated and
trained to do. Many will engage in any battle where Muslims oppose non-Muslims,
whether right or wrong. Many left Afghanistan to take up the ‘cause’ within the ranks
of other Islamic organisations, targeting the new enemy consisting of liberal Arab
governments and their allies in the West. Internal instability in Egypt, Algeria,
Tunisia, the Israeli Occupied Territories, Pakistan and the Philippines have been
linked to the operations of the Mujahideen. This certainly demonstrates the degree of
8
religious fanaticism instilled in them.
Funding is the primary concern of terrorists. Unless they are sponsored by a
government, they tend to generate funds through criminal activities. The Afghanis
ceased to be ‘heroes’ and became ‘villains’ for political reasons and because they
began to run a lucrative narcotics trade, including stockpiles, to help fund training
camps and terrorist operations. 79% of the world’s illegal opium with a value of US$
56 million in 2001 is supplied from Afghanistan. This makes Afghanistan the largest
producer of opium in the world. Not all-militant training camps closed after the
Soviet-Afghan war, and religious schools and other facilities became training schools
for further recruits to guerrilla warfare. It is estimated that Mujahideen from 40
countries attended these training camps after the war was officially over.
Subsequently, Islamic students formed an army known as the Taleban and seized
much of Afghanistan.9
With the resurgence of Islam around the world, fundamentalists cast blame on
Westernisation, urbanisation and industrialisation for new moral and social decline.
Osama bin Ladin developed the al-Qaeda network and transnational terrorist attacks
began on US Embassies and other installations around the world in an attempt to
promote division between Christians and Muslims, with an overall strategy aimed at
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creating a separate Muslim world. On 22 February 1998 bin Laden announced the
creation of the International Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders
and became preoccupied with the need to rid the Muslim world of those who do not
accept his extremist version of Islam. It is reported that bin Ladin, the most hunted
terrorist in history, funded US$20 million to rebels of the Militant Islamic
Movement.10
As can be seen, religion is much associated with terrorism today and if contemporary
Islamic terrorism is to be properly understood, it is necessary to point out that a true
Muslim adhering to Islam views terrorism as blasphemy as Islam forbids the killing of
women, children, unarmed or surrendered combatants, the destruction of buildings
and even the felling of a tree with single green leaf on it. In context of terrorism,
Islamic fundamentalism is actually a misnomer.11
The son of US evangelist Billy Graham, Franklin Graham said, “the god of Islam is
not the same god. It’s a very different god, and I believe it is a very evil and wicked
religion.” The danger with this simplistic view of Islam is the potential it carries to
permeate the popular imagination, forming the basis of policy decisions of Western
governments and the US. One example to be avoided was a comment by Saxby
Chambliss from the US House of Representatives Sub-Committee on Terrorism and
Homeland Security, when he told Georgia state law enforcement officials that they
should arrest every Muslim that crossed the state line.12
After September 11, representatives of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and
other various religions; recognising their faiths share several points in common,
especially that of common good for mankind and society’s wellbeing - joined Pope
John Paul II in the Italian town of Assisi. About 200 priests, imams, rabbis, patriarchs
journeyed to the birthplace of Saint Francis and with the Pope, prayed for peace in the
world. Assisi, known as an ancient pilgrimage centre, religious leaders from around
13
the world all vowed to do everything to eliminate the causes of terrorism.
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Description:cause large-scale loss of life, mass long-term casualties and considerable
damage to One underlying event that developed contemporary terrorism was
the Cold War. In . welcomed by Syria's top Muslim cleric, Shiekh Ammad
Kuftaro. some governments, short of direct participation, support terrorism
