Our actions do have consequences

"OK, so we’re trying to pit young, mostly white, middle-class, university-educated intelligence officers with bad language skills and little knowledge of Islam against poor, zealous, Islamic-extremist men with nothing to lose and who want to become suicide bombers. I know who’s going to win this war."

Former Australian spy discussing intelligence failures in South East Asia, The Bulletin, October 12

The article paints a devastating picture of the Howard government's politicisation of the intelligence services, the inability to recruit moderate Muslims after the Afghanistan and Iraq missions and inexperienced officers in the field.