The Guardian
Taking into account the recent posting by Mr Sedgwick that begins: Australian officials on high alert after terror warning...and given that the majority of the people killed in Bali were Australian, that only three Americans were injured, that the American Government would have had no way of knowing about this or any other possible attack, that nobody has claimed responsibility and that George Bush has been having one hell of a hard time drumming up support for his War Against Terrorism...well...if I was a conspiracy theorist I'd say that...but no...no, that's ridiculous...nobody would ever stoop to something so low as that, would they? Well...they wouldn't.
The first victim of war is always the truth. The second is always the innocent.
From Deputy Editor Sedgwick's desk:- "Authorities are on high alert after the United States warned Australia of a possible threat by terrorists to blow up power stations and electrical transmission lines."
Dammit those Indonesian night clubs looked so much like power stations and electrical transmission lines, Agent Gordon Liddy should be forgiven for his little top secret faux pas. Anyhow that's mere detail. The upshot of it all is not all bad or tragic, the Australian Prime Minister is now frothing at the mouth and yelling "Toldya, toldya!" (Of course in a controlled, considered statesmanlike way.) It will be in the same controlled, considered statesmanlike way that he will tell the Australian people that he will be, with a heavy heart and an even heavier hard on, committing thousands of Australian young men (and women, for our Johnny is an equal opportunity body bag kinda guy) to the fight against terrorism.
Well played George W. Game, set and memorial plaques for all.
