IRRESPONSIBLE COMMENTS CONTINUE

Antony Loewenstein thinks the Australian government is exaggerating the threat of domestic terrorism for political gain:

Attorney General Philip Ruddock continues his irresponsible comments and says that Australians should be nervous about a terrorist attack on home soil. With a recent report stating that there are around 60 suspected Islamic extremists in Australia, Ruddock gives no indication of what his government is doing to stop these supposed extremists.

Creating fear is so easy in the current environment. And the Howard government are masters at the game. They take no responsibility for their own foreign adventures, argue that deployments in Timor, Iraq or Afghanistan have played no part whatsoever in the increased risk and publicly talk tough against "terrorists". So why is Australia so hated? Who are these people? Merely ideologues determined to see the end of our liberal way of life? Hardly, but labelling a group or individual as irrational and mad is so much easier than examining one's own actions.

The government is creating fear? What about the fear being created by the fanatics in our midst? Abu Bakr, for example:

"According to my religion, jihad is part of my religion."

"What you have to understand is that anyone who fights on behalf of Allah, when he dies, the first drop of blood that comes out, all of his sins will be forgiven."

"Iam telling you that my religion doesn't tolerate other religion. It doesn't tolerate."

"The only one law which needs to spread, it can be here or anywhere else, is Islam."

There's a domestic terror threat alright; Loewenstein refuses to accept this because the left and Islamists have the same political enemies and share short term goals.