Australia

and the Threat of Global Terrorism:

Domes6c and Interna6onal Dimensions

Carlyle A. Thayer
Paper delivered to Interna6onal Conference on
Australia-Asia Rela6ons under Prime Minister Tony AbboB
sponsored by Na6onal Cheng Chi University
Taipei, Taiwan, March 31-April 1, 2015

Outline
1. Australia and Afghanistan 2001-2014
Opera6on Slipper
Terrorism in Indonesia
Terrorism at Home

2. War Against the Islamic State in Syria and

Iraq
Military trainer to Iraq
Australian jihadists abroad
Terrorism on the domes6c front

Australia and the

Global War on Terrorism
On September 11,
2001 Prime Minisrter
John Howard was in
Washington, D.C
On Sept. 14 Prime
Minister Howard
invokes the ANZUS
alliance
Australia joins Global
War on Terrorism

1. Afghanistan:
Opera6on Slipper (2001-2014)

N = 950 (2007), 1,000 (2008), and 1,550 (2009)

Afghanistan, 2001-14
1. Special Forces Task Group (2001-2002)
2. Special Forces Task Group redeployed
(August 2005-September 2006)
3. Reconstruc6on Task Force (September
2006-December 2013)
Special Opera6ons Task Group (April 2007)
Mentoring and Reconstruc6on Task Force
(2009)

External Dimension: Southeast Asia

Bali Bombings
October 12, 2002

202 persons killed including 88 Australians

Australian Federal Police Assist

Indonesian Na6onal Police

Australian Embassy
9/2004

J. W. Marriott Hotel Jakarta

August 2003
Bali 2 October 2005

Opera6on Pendennis 2004-05

17 month joint inves6ga6on by Australian
Security Intelligence Organisa6on, Australian
Federal Police, and NSW & Victoria Police
Raids conducted on two terror cells
Melbourne: eight members arrested
Sydney: nine members arrested

Other Terrorist Incidents

Holsworthy Army Base (August 2009)
4 men connected to Somali-based al-Shabaab
arrested

Al-Furqan Islamic Centre, Melbourne

Proper6es raided September 2012

Hyde Park riot, Sydney (September 2012)

Protest against lm The Innocence of Muslims
turns violent, police assaulted

Australian Terrorist Abroad

From 1999-2007 small groups of Australian
jihadis lef to ght mainly in Afghanistan and
Pakistan
Also in Lebanon
Somalia
Yemen

Australians abroad were arrested in Iraq,

Kuwait and Kazahkstan

Summary
Only a few dozen Australians involved
Australian jihadis interlinked through training
in Pakistan or Afghanistan
Some connected to established terrorist
groups but afer 2003 self-star6ng
Australian jihadists closely monitored
Australian jihadists low tech
Largely post-2000 phenomenon

Summary
Australian jihadis had some demographic
characteris6cs similar to other western
countries
Young, no strong religious upbringing, low
employment status

Australian jihadis also dier

Na6ve-born, married with children,
dispropor6onately less educated, likely to be of
Lebanese heritage

2. War Against
Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS)
Mid-2014 ISIS launch oensive from Syria into
Iraq and declare Caliphate
June 2014 Prime Minister AbboB confers with
President Obama in Washington
January 2015 Prime Minister AbboB meets
Iraqi Prime Minster Haider al-Abadi; Foreign
Minister Julie Bishop visits Washington

Australia Commits to Iraq

Special Opera6ons Task Group
170 SAS/Commandos dispatched
600 con6ngent Royal Australian Air Force Dubai
Super Hornet ghter bombers
Aerial refueling tanker
Wedgetail command and control aircraf

300-strong addi6onal Army Training Team

New Zealand joins with 143 troops

Opera6on Highroad (2014-)

train, advise, assist

Australian Jihadis Join ISIS

21,000 foreign ghters in Syria
Es6mate between 100 and 250 are Australian

Ocial Australian security gures vary:

up to 110 with 20 killed (February 2015)
30 Australian women have gone to Syria
30 ghters have returned to Australia
90 passports of suspected jihadis cancelled
400 cases currently under inves6ga6on

Australian Jihadis
Two reported to have carried out suicide
bombings
Several killed in U.S. drone strikes
Abu Sulaymann senior leader in Jabhat al-
Nursa in Syria
Neil Prakash senior leader in ISIS
Several jihadis implicated in aBroci6es

Mohamed Ali Elomar

Australias Home Front

Muslim community es6mated at 500,000
Paths to recruitment:
Inuence of religious leaders at mosques
Jihadist internet websites (100,000 social media
messages a day)
Networks created by convicted terrorists in jail

Facilita6on
Tradi6onal networks supplanted by oshore
networks

Opera6on Appleby
Joint Counter Terrorism Team to inves6gate
persons suspected of domes6c terrorism,
gh6ng abroad, funding terrorism
Police raid on iQraa Islamic Centre, Brisbane
Two arrested for funding and preparing to ght
abroad (September 10, 2014)

800 police raid 25 loca6ons in Sydney, 16

arrested planned public beheading

Other Domes6c Terrorist Incidents

Abdul Numan Haider shot dead afer stabbing
two Victorian policemen (Sept. 23)
Police raid home in Condell Park, NSW, arrest
2 men planning aBack (December 18)
Mar6n Place siege (next slide)
Police raid in Faireld, Sydney two men
arrested in plot to stage public beheading

Australia is under aBack by the Islamic State

Lindt Caf Siege, Mar6n Place,

December 15-16, 2014

AbboB Government Response

Domes6c terror alert raised to HIGH 9/15
Government allocates $600m for CT
Counter Terrorism Teams at airports

Administra6ve cancella6on of passports

Legal amendments to Criminal Code
Illegal to provide direc6on, recruitment,
membership, support, training and associa6on
with proscribed terrorist group

Na6onal Security Statement

February 23, 2015
Refuse protec6on visa to anyone who
destroys evidence of iden6fy
Data Reten6on Bill reten6on of metadata
Amend Ci6zenship Act
Revoke or suspend ci6zenship of dual na6onals
Suspend some privileges to na6ve born restrict
ability to travel, consular services, welfare
payments

Na6onal Security Statement

February 23, 2015
Legislate penal6es for inci6ng religious or
racial hatred by hate preachers
Strengthen laws against advoca6ng terrorism
Prohibit vilifying, in6mida6ng or inci6ng
hatred
Na6onal Counter Terrorism Coordinator
Debate: balance between civil liber6es and
need to protect the community

Australia and the Threat of Global Terrorism:

Domes6c and Interna6onal Dimensions

Carlyle A. Thayer
Paper delivered to Interna6onal Conference on
Australia-Asia Rela6ons under Prime Minister Tony AbboB
sponsored by Na6onal Cheng Chi University
Taipei, Taiwan, March 31-April 1, 2015