September 14, 2004

TERRORISM AND HOWARD

Alan Anderson in the Sydney Morning Herald:

While John Howard and Mark Latham scrupulously avoided politicising the Jakarta bombing, the usual suspects emerged to condemn anyone but the terrorists. Mike Carlton suggested Alexander Downer should apologise to the Australian Federal Police commissioner, Mick Keelty, for arguing that our involvement in Iraq did not increase the terrorist threat. Brian Deegan insisted on immediate negotiations with the terrorists. Even Mem Fox, author of Possum Magic, sheeted home the blame to Liberal foreign policy.

Despite this, the Howard Government will not be another victim of the attack.

Read the whole thing. And here’s Paul Sheehan, also in the SMH, on a similar theme.

This is the paradox of Australian politics: John Howard remains politically strong on the issue of national security despite antagonising Muslims in three theatres - Indonesia (East Timor), Afghanistan and Iraq - with political decisions which, collectively, have made Australia a higher target to the murderous jihadists now intent on so-called holy war. Howard captured the essence of this paradox on Friday when he told reporters: "We will not have our foreign policy or our security policy determined by terrorist threats. Once a country starts doing that, it's handing over control of its future."

This is exactly why two French journalists were left to die by the same nation that led opposition to the invasion of Iraq. It is the same in Australia, where the public's resentment of moral blackmail trumps every other issue. It is the bedrock of Howard's success with the electorate, something his most vociferous detractors have never cared to understand.

Posted by Tim Blair at September 14, 2004 01:02 AM
Comments

How to resolve a journalistic paradox: Try replacing "despite" with "because of" and see if the paradox disappears, as in the following example: "This is the paradox of Australian politics: John Howard remains politically strong on the issue of national security despite antagonising Muslims in three theatres..."

Posted by: Mike G at September 14, 2004 at 01:40 AM

with political decisions which, collectively, have made Australia a higher target to the murderous jihadists now intent on so-called holy war.

I keep seeing this term "higher target". Do these people not understand that "target" means TARGET? And that everybody in the West was a TARGET long before 9/11 and Bali?

Posted by: Rebecca at September 14, 2004 at 02:30 AM

" ..the usual suspects emerged to condemn anyone but the terrorists."

I'm so sick of this. The people who should apologize are the terrorists and people who insist they (terrorists) deserve any apology at all.

"We will not have our foreign policy or our security policy determined by terrorist threats. Once a country starts doing that, it's handing over control of its future."

Amen.

These are the beliefs we need our leaders to have. We don't need wishy-washy 'girlie men' at a time like this.

Posted by: Chris Josephson at September 14, 2004 at 02:32 AM

I hope Howards detractors never understand it.

Posted by: gubbaboy at September 14, 2004 at 08:46 AM

Poor bloody Mick Keelty. Hammered by the Government for a statement of the bleeding obvious on Iraq, now, he's being dumped all over by Downer for the silly SMS-45-minutes-before-the-embassy bombing claim. Anyone who knows Indonesia would act with extreme caution before giving any credence whatsoever to such a claim. Jakarta is a hotbed of misinformation and rumour. Downer says Keelty was beside him at his doorstop when he blurted this crap and that Keelty could have set the record straight. Yeah, right, the guy is going to come out on camera - in a foreign capital- and say 'Sorry, Foreign Minister, but you're a dickhead'? Keelty is a thoroughly decent, hard-working conscientious bloke who doesn't deserve to be a punching bag for the inept and panicky statements on national security from Howard and his ministers.

Posted by: Mike at September 14, 2004 at 12:08 PM

Will someone PLEASE give Deegan a parachute and drop him into Northern Afghanistan to commence negotiations. Anywhere but an Australian court. We need justice in courts, not insanity. Maybe he could take Pat O'Shane with him to take notes?

Posted by: Paul Johnson at September 14, 2004 at 01:54 PM