Bomber To Australia: I Will Be Avenged

Indonesian terrorist Iwan Darmawan Mutho, also known as Rois, delivered an unrepentant warning to Australia as he was sentenced to death yesterday for his part in the 2004 bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia.



Yet more warnings from a terrorist regarding Australia. Although I am confident that these threats are little more than posturing and an attempt to sow doubt and fear, when viewed in the context of the recent terrorist warnings concerning Los Angeles and Melbourne, as well as the introduction of controversial new counter-terrorism laws, it seems as though terrorism is increasingly being pushed to the forefront of discussion and debate within Australia and amongst Australians.

Therefore, I suppose there are two pertinent questions. The first, naturally enough, is: are threats of revenge-based attacks, such as those threatened by Rois, credible? I would argue that they are not, at least on the face of things, but this brings us then to the second question: might not the increasing spotlight on Australia in terms of terrorism prompt terrorists to consider us more of a legitimate target? The reason I ask is that, were I a planner in Jemaah Islamiyah and I saw Australia's name popping up again and again in relation to terrorism, it might conceivably prompt me to consider Australia as a primary target.

I know that many Australians felt a great sense of justice when Rois was sentenced to death, especially in light of what were seen as relatively light sentences given to those responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings. Will there come a time, however, when sentencing terrorists does in fact lead to increased attacks against Australian interests overseas or even on Australian soil?

Related News Links:
www.news.com.au
www.theage.com.au

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
WAR: Australia Introduces Tough New Counter-Terrorism Laws
WAR: New Al Qaeda Video Threatens Los Angeles And Melbourne

[edit on 27-9-2005 by DJDOHBOY]

just heard on the news amad hasan (SP?) also sentanced to death.

to the terrorists that keep saying this about australia, i doubt you'll be sucessfull in your attempts.

Unfortunately, once that seed of fear has been planted it tends to grow out of contol like a weed. They had been warning London of impending attacks since 9/11 and after 7/7 all you could hear was the 'I told you it would happen' rhetoric, which led straight through to some contraversial, not very well thought out measures for our own 'safety'.

I guess what I'm saying is not only do we live in a time when citizens have the threat of terrorism always at the back of our minds but the responsibility to ensure that our governments won't use it (some more cynically would say to milk it) to pass patriot type laws that will be far worse in the end.

just heard on the news amad hasan (SP?) also sentanced to death.

You are indeed correct, sir. From ABC News Online:

An Indonesian court has sentenced a second man to death over the car-bomb attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta last year. Achmad Hasan, 33, was found guilty for his role in the September 9 attack that killed 12 people, including the suicide bomber. Hasan was "legally and convincingly guilty" of helping to plan an act of terrorism and giving refuge to perpetrators of terrorism, Judge Achmad Sobari says.

Again, most Australians I know view this as justice, especially given the cynicism many Australians feel towards the Indonesian justice system.

nikelbee
I agree wholeheartedly with your statement concerning the responsibility of citizens to ensure that their governments use their powers wisely and legally. I have known many people associated, whether directly or indirectly, with the defence of Australia in one form or another and amongst many of them the prevailing attitude is essentially "Death to our enemies!" I suppose it is easy for the average citizen in these types of situations to sit back and simply watch events unfold. When this happens, it is the voices that shout the loudest that tend to be heard. I wonder, following the increased focus on Australia's involvement with terrorism, whose voices will be heard and whether anyone will actually be moved to do anything to make their voice heard.

It is symptomatic of our society that we tend to raise our heads when high profile warnings or unfortunate events like attacks occur, more than happy to put them down until the next big warning/event.

Meanwhile in the background those liberties are crumbling until it is too late to regain them. It is a remarkable quality of human nature how easily we adapt to changes. We tend to get on with our without what we had previously and not give it too much thought (like living with the constant presence of CCTV cameras).

Boy aren’t I the pessimistic little bunny today.

Here is an interesting article about the erosion of civil liberties in Britain.

Civil liberties may have to be "eroded" to protect Britons from terrorism, the head of security service MI5 has said.

In a speech made in the Netherlands on 1 September and put online by MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller said the world had changed and a debate was needed.

She said the July London bombings were a "shock", which MI5 and police were "disappointed" they could not prevent.

Former MI5 agent David Shayler said any liberties lost would be hard to regain and could make "martyrs" of terrorists.

Mr Shayler told BBC News questions still needed to be asked about how the 7 July suicide bombings happened.

"It's made apparent how MI5 fails to stop attacks even when in possession of intelligence because of bureaucratic inertia," he said.

Mr Shayler, of Middlesbrough, was jailed for six months in 2002 for revealing intelligence service information to a newspaper.

He said he had been motivated by a desire to expose abuses of power by the intelligence services.

BBC News