http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20533277-2702,00.html Diplomat warns of terror's far reach Cameron Stewart October 06, 2006 ISLAMIC terrorism has become a deeply interconnected global phenomenon, with terrorists having killed more Australian civilians than American or British civilians in the past five years, Australia's ambassador to the US, Dennis Richardson, warned yesterday. Mr Richardson said it was a mistake to "compartmentalise" terrorist attacks in Bali, London and elsewhere, without recognising the growing common global ideological links between them. "It is all part of the one story ... unless you understand that then you are not seeing what is happening globally and how it's connected," Mr Richardson told an audience at Washington's Georgetown University. Mr Richardson used a strongly worded speech in the US capital to dispel the perception among many Americans that Australia was somehow remote from the threat of terrorism. "You mention to an American audience that more Australian civilians have been killed in absolute numbers in terrorist attacks since 9/11 and people are surprised," he said. "People say, 'Oh, there's been a lot more British people killed that Australians'. Well, wrong." Mr Richardson said this perception was fuelled by widespread media coverage in the US given to the London bombings last year relative to the second Bali bombing several months later. But in reality, more Australian civilians had been killed by terrorists since September 11, 2001, than have Americans, British, French or Germans. Almost 100 Australians have been killed in terrorist attacks in the past five years, including 88 in the first Bali bombings of October 2002. The ambassador said some factors - including the alliance with the US or Australia's military involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and East Timor - might provide additional motivation for terrorists wanting to target Australia. But he said it was unlikely that these were the "central driver in al-Qa'ida's targetting of Australia". "Otherwise, how do you explain al-Qa'ida's very real interest in Australia and the targeting of us before our involvement in those countries? It simply does not make sense," he said. Mr Richardson played down friction between Australia and the US over restrictions imposed by the Pentagon over intelligence sharing on Iraq, saying the issue had now been resolved. The ambassador, who was head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation for almost nine years before being posted to Washington, strongly defended the role and performance of Western spy agencies. "I know that it is very fashionable in this town and in this country to kick your intelligence agencies to death, but in point of fact they have been crucial to the war on terror," he said. "They have been central to information sharing globally and I think their performance has been quite outstanding." Despite these intelligence successes, Mr Richardson said he did not believe an attack in Australia was less likely now than it was four years ago. "Despite the progress and the successes, it would be a brave person to make that claim and I think the 7th of July in London last year was a timely reminder," he said. He said Australia remained a target because it stood in the way of al-Qa'ida, Jemaah Islamiah and other terror groups achieving their own world view. There should be no compromise with people such as JI's spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir, who "are terrorists masquerading as good Muslims, who seek to hide their hatred in the language of the pious". Mr Richardson said some countries were being hypocritical in their criticism of the way the US had conducted its war on terror. He said many critics of the controversial terrorist jail in Guantanamo Bay might be alarmed if the US turned around and released all of its prisoners en masse. 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