Terrorism 'still a threat'

Source: the age
THE terrorism threat to Australia has not decreased, Defence Minister Stephen Smith says, effectively rejecting an Australian intelligence assessment revealed in WikiLeaks cables.
Then head of the Office of National Assessments Peter Varghese told US diplomats in October 2008 terrorism was ''a good news story that is getting better, with the violent Islamist threat receding''. He told them al-Qaeda had failed to achieve the strategic leadership role it sought in the Islamic world. The Americans also reported that the ONA had assessed the tide had turned on Jemaah Islamiah.
Exclusive: The WikiLeaks Australia files
View the secret cables here

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Mr Smith said he would not comment on intelligence, but was willing to talk about the threat international terrorism posed to Australia. ''Whilst it is the case that we've made progress against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, whilst it is the case that together with Indonesia, progress has been made against Jemaah Islamiah, in Indonesia, the threat of those two organisations and the threat of international terrorism continues.''
This was reflected in the government's counter-terrorism white paper this year. Asked whether the threat had decreased in recent years, Mr Smith said: ''I don't believe so.''
MICHELLE GRATTAN