{"id":28678,"date":"2016-09-15T11:00:44","date_gmt":"2016-09-15T01:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=28678"},"modified":"2016-09-14T15:36:58","modified_gmt":"2016-09-14T05:36:58","slug":"minto-australias-fourth-terrorist-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/minto-australias-fourth-terrorist-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"Minto: Australia’s fourth terrorist attack"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
Australia has now experienced its fourth terrorist attack in two years. As the world prepared to pause and recall the fifteenth anniversary of 9\/11, Australians woke to the news that a 22-year-old with a history of petty criminality but no known links to terrorism had attacked another man<\/a> with a large knife and was later charged with committing a terrorist act and attempted murder.<\/p>\n What to make of this? At one level, the act itself is simple and relatively unsuccessful. The perpetrator clumsily attacked someone apparently known to him, who managed to get away. \u00a0Sanctuary was provided to the victim at a nearby business, and members of the public subdued the attacker. Police responded quickly. If not for the apparent terrorist motivation<\/a>, it\u2019s unlikely this would\u2019ve made the news.<\/p>\n At another level, however, this indicates the impact of Islamist extremist ideology in Australia, and is a sober reminder of the reason our terror alert level is at \u2018Probable: a terrorist attack is likely\u2019. Yet another troubled young man has used violence apparently inspired by Islamist extremism, although the details of his particular case are yet to come out.<\/p>\n Based on Australia\u2019s experience with terror and extremism to date, however, we can anticipate the case will gradually uncover indicators of the perpetrator\u2019s association with other extremists online and in person. \u00a0Other events in Australia suggest that religion and faith are unlikely to feature significantly in the individual\u2019s past, instead coming as part of the violent extremist package, while a history of violence and association with other criminals is likely. NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burns has already confirmed a prior criminal record for property offences.<\/p>\n We can also expect Islamist groups to take credit and celebrate the attack. But what\u2019s there to celebrate? The attack failed. That the stabbing could occur speaks more to the simplicity of the attack than its effectiveness. It\u2019s not possible to prevent every violent criminal act, terrorist-motivated or otherwise. In fact, that the attack involved a knife rather than a more destructive weapon speaks well of the way Australia is managing prohibited items, including the effectiveness of our gun laws, although a more lethal attack remains possible.<\/p>\n