The Bloke

I watch alot of historical documentaries, news stories and the like. He was trained by the CIA/US military advisors while fighting against the Soviet invasion of Afganistan. They also trained most of the Taliban faction that ultimately to control of Afganistan, just like they supported most of the Viet Minh (later Viet Cong) in Vietnam during WW2.

BadgeIsBack

True, and that is why poeple think Australia is a target. Interesting though today I read that the terroists want to go for the big symbolic targets. Frankly that is the US. One way is to attack US carriers departing from the UK...

Seems to me Australia is safer - maybe until they foiled this recent plot - but it may be a matter of degrees or time..

cresta57

I guess it's down to where abouts you live in the country. Terrorists are unlikely to blow up the local pub we use, though it may do some improvements if they did. If you live/work in a major city I'd say your a little more venerable. I feel far safer here than I did living in close proximity to the Humber bank oil & gas installations back in the U.K
Australians took the whole terrorist threat quite lightly until the Bali bombings. Since then we've had a few home grown terrorists David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, Jihad Jack as well as the guy, whose name escapes me, that lived here on the Sunshine Coast, he's alleged to be the white Anglo Saxon that appears in the terror threat video from AQ?.
I've no doubt there will be an attack regardless of how big a bang it is, the Madrid and Bali attacks are only a couple of examples of attacks on the smaller players in the game.

International terrorism: significant attacks associated with Al QaidaThis is a list of significant terrorist attacks from the first on the World Trade Centre in New York until that in London on 7 July. It does not include all terrorist attacks. Some of those listed were directly linked to Bin Laden or other Al Qaida leaders, but many were conducted by terrorists inspired by Al Qaida.

During this period several planned attacks which might have led to significant loss of life have also been prevented, most notably a planned attack on Strasbourg Christmas Market in December 2000 and other attacks planned a year earlier against targets in the US and Jordan.

Date of event
Location
Summary

26-Feb-93
USA (New York)
First World Trade Center bombing planned by Ramzi Youssef. 6 killed, over 1000 injured.

11-Dec-94
Philippines
Small bomb on Philippines Airlines flight; 1 Japanese businessman killed, 10 people injured.

29-Jul-95
France (Paris and Lyon)
4-month bombing campaign. Attacks on the Paris metro, the Arc de Triomphe and outside a Jewish school in Lyon.

13-Nov-95
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh)
Car bombs at military compound.

18-Sep-97
Egypt(Cairo)
Gunmen attack a tourist bus. 9 Germans and 1 Egyptian killed.

17-Nov-97
Egypt (Luxor)
Gunmen attack tourists. c.70 killed.

7-Aug-98
Kenya (Nairobi) and Tanzania (Dar-es-Salaam)
Truck bomb attack against US embassies. Over 200 people killed, thousands injured.

12-Oct-00
Yemen
Boat bomb attack on the USS Cole in the port of Aden. 17 US soldiers killed, 39 wounded.

11-Sep-01
USA (New York and Washington)
Hijacked planes crashed into the two World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. A fourth plane crashes into a field in Pittsburgh. c. 3000 killed.

11-Apr-02
Tunisia
Vehicle bomb attack against a synagogue on the resort island of Djerba. c.21 killed.

8-May-02
Pakistan (Karachi)
Bomb attack against bus carrying French engineers near Sheraton Hotel.

14-Jun-02
Pakistan (Karachi)
Truck bomb attack against US Consulate. 12 killed, 51 injured.

6-Oct-02
Yemen
Boat bomb attack against French oil tanker MV Limburg off Ash Shahir port. 1 killed.

12-Oct-02
Indonesia (Bali)
Attacks against US Consulate, Sari Club and Paddy's Bar. 202 killed, including 26 Britons.

28-Nov-02
Kenya (Mombasa)
Attack on an Israeli-owned hotel. 12 killed. Surface-to-air missile launched at Israeli airliner the same day.

12-May-03
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh)
Attacks at 3 compounds housing expatriates. Over 30 killed.

16-May-03
Morocco (Casablanca)
Multiple suicide bombings against Spanish club, hotel and sites. 45 dead, c.100 injured.

5-Aug-03
Indonesia
Vehicle bomb attack against Marriott Hotel. c. 12 killed, 100 injured.

8-Nov-03
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh)
Major vehicle bomb attack against residential compound housing mainly expatriate workers from other Arab countries. 17 killed, over 80 injured.

15-Nov-03
Turkey (Istanbul)
2 vehicle bomb attacks at Jewish synagogues.

20-Nov-03
Turkey (Istanbul)
2 vehicle bombs at HSBC Bank and British Consulate. Together with 15 Nov attack, over 60 people killed (including 2 Britons).

11-Mar-04
Spain (Madrid)
Bomb attacks against 4 trains. Terrorists blew themselves up when confronted by police. 199 killed.

1-May-04
Saudi Arabia (Yanbu)
Attack on expatriate oil workers. 6 foreign nationals and 1 Saudi killed.

30-May-05
Saudi Arabia (Al Khobar)
4 attacks in Al Khobbar target oil companies and compound.

9-Sep-04
Indonesia (Jakarta)
Vehicle bomb outside Australian Embassy. 9 killed, over 100 injured.

8-Oct-04
Egypt
Large explosions at Hilton Hotel in Taba and at 2 campsites in the Sinai area. Over 30 killed.

28-Oct-04
Pakistan (Islamabad)
Explosion at Marriott Hotel. 7 injured.

19-Mar-05
Qatar (Doha)
Vehicle bomb attack outside the Doha Players' Theatre. 1 (British national) killed, 12 injured.

07-Apr-05
Egypt (Cairo)
Attack near tourist bazaar in Cairo. 2 French nationals and one American killed, c.18 injured.

30-Apr-05
Egypt (Cairo)
Tourist bus fired on in Cairo. 8 injured.

07-Jul-05
UK (London)
4 explosions - 3 in tube trains, one in bus. At least 52 dead, 700 injured.

The Bloke

Hicks: Still in detention though never charged or convicted.




Habib: Released- never charged or convicted

Ashers

So do I, and I've not ever seen this.

And even if there's any truth in it, the U.S. would have good reason to train these people under whatever world climate we may have been living in - e.g. against the Russians in the cold war.

The same can be said about the U.S. arming Saddam. It always makes me smile when anti Americans spout this, as though the motive was some deeper conspiracy by the White House - fully predicting that one day Saddam would be an enemy of the west. No matter what some people may think of America, surely they can't believe any such motives could be that perverse.

In reality, this was again part of the cold war (the Russians were arming Iran) during the Iran Iraq war. But the west was also incensed by the ruthless over throw of the Shah in Iran, and imposing of radical Islam on the people by the Ayatollah in 1979.

So during these times, it seems supplying Iraq with weapons was prudent.

I'm afraid, no matter how hard people try, under the current politically fashionable 'I hate America' umbrella, the yanks can not be blamed for every major or minor catastrophe we have in the world today.

The Bloke

So I take it that you think I'm imagining it, obviuously don't quite watch enough then and have the typical ostrich mentality that it won't happen here. Alot of people in Australia for years blamed former Prime Minister Robert Menzies for selling scrapmetal to the Japanese prior to WW2, which they turned it into bombs, planes and tanks which was unleashed against the US, Australia AND Britain. The US and other governments all have their own agenda which change frequently to suit the political climate of the time. Most of the modern problems of the region can be traced back to the political betrayal of the Arabs by the then colonial powers of Britain and France for their own political agenda.

"They have sown the wind and will reap the whirlwind"
Hosea 8:1.14

manxfamily

And even further back to the Crusades and back still further to biblical times where the current problems with Israel and Palastine can be traced.

Of course the modern day problem with Israel and the arabs with has of course engulfed the whole world thanks to the wests allegance with Israel is a direct result of Hilters escapades in WWII. If the state of Israel had not been formed then just maybe the current East/West hostilities wouldn't be so problematic.

BadgeIsBack

About all I've ever needed to know is that its always more complicated than you realise, and no amount of watching Fox or the History Channel is necessarily going to help. The Bloke/ and the Ashers: I agree though with what you said, things are done in certain climates which reverberate differently in others. You can't always point a finger with the glorious weapon of hindsight.

What makes me laugh is all the conspiracy theorists - its always the people marginalised or feeling left out that seem to have the most to gain from enjoying theories.

Alot of politics or history is like business, you have a policy and a plan. There is often no right answer. And not everything need be a conspiracy or a secret. Not everything you read in the newspaper is true. A lot of decisions are made on the basis of intelligence reports that are plain wrong. And a kid or a relatively junior person has written it.

I've read stuff in the newspapers and pissed myself laughing. They've got it completely wrong, and you know thousands are a) either going to believe it, or b) form a wrong conclusion or assessment from it. Quite depressing really.