Sir,
Despite the headlines, I suggest that public opinion is
not with those protesting over detaining a suspected or active terrorist.
For all the wailing from law societies, civil libertarians and do-gooders, most people want a peaceful society with laws that are severe enough to protect them from terrorism. Judging from the cases of suspected terrorism so far, our current laws appear to be too lenient and unsuited to the state of conflict between radical Islamists and the West (namely us).
To continue to apply to terrorists the kind of laws that we use for routine criminal suspects is plainly unsound and will cost many lives as the authorities will trail at a disadvantage. This is because they will be reacting to terror rather than proactively seeking to prevent it.
The media and strident critics forget that the culprits in this conflict are the terrorists and their supporters, not our protective agencies. It is the aggressive zeal of terrorism that has widened its reach globally and its disguises are many. To combat terrorism and reduce the chance of innocent Australians being randomly killed, our protective agencies need and should be given extraordinary powers in every aspect of their work.
Greg O'Regan,
Farrer, ACT
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