http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/alarm-at-iraq-terrorism-exports/2007/07/11/ 1183833598287.html Alarm at Iraq terrorism exports
IRAQ is emerging as the new "university" for jihadis, including Westerners who have joined the insurgency, acquired deadly skills and will one day return home, the state's top counter-terrorism officer warned yesterday. The chilling observation from the head of NSW Police's counter-terrorism command, Assistant Commissioner Nick Kaldas, came as the Federal Government and the Opposition continued to brawl over the merits of withdrawing from the conflict. In a speech to the Security 2007 conference, Mr Kaldas said Iraq would likely be a breeding ground for terrorists for the rest of the decade. "There are almost certainly people from Western backgrounds involved in this insurgency on the ground in Iraq," he said. "My concern would be what happens to those people when they either bow out of the conflict or the conflict concludes in some way and they return to their normal habitat. "Unfortunately, they would probably come back with networks they couldn't have developed sitting in a coffee shop in their capital cities, with some experience and certainly more knowledge than they had before in relation to some of the tactics that are used by insurgents and terrorists generally." Several Australians have gone to Iraq since the war broke out, including a Sydney spraypainter, Ahmed Jamal, who was detained for almost three years as an alleged security threat. Mr Jamal, who was released this year without charge, has maintained his innocence. Like the battle to expel the Soviets from Afghanistan in the 1980s which produced the first crop of al-Qaeda leaders and operatives, Mr Kaldas said Iraq was the modern-day "university" for violent extremists. The emergence of Iraq as a jihadist battleground has been posited by both sides of the political divide to support their cases - as both a reason for staying, and a reason to leave. Yesterday Labor's foreign affairs spokesman, Robert McClelland, said a likely withdrawal of British forces from Basra in coming months would place 500 Australian combat troops in nearby provinces at risk. Mr McClelland noted that the Australians depended on the British for helicopter and artillery support. "There is every possibility that unless the Australian Government changes its rhetoric and actually starts looking at what is happening on the ground we could be left holding the baby in Iraq," he said. Mr McClelland said Labor would consider supporting a wider international force in Iraq. If forces from Arab nations were to be "intermingled" with peacekeepers from around the world, it would be more likely to be accepted by Iraqis than the US-dominated force. But the Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, said Mr McClelland's "bizarre" suggestion would only make the situation worse. Deployment of Sunni Muslim forces from neighbouring countries, such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia, would exacerbate the sectarian conflict in Iraq itself. "And the fact that they're neighbours would of course create an increase in regional tensions," Mr Downer said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
