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Article Excerpt
Victoria's tragic Black Saturday bush-fires persisted through most of February 2009 in the face of courageous, sustained, and selfless efforts by thousands of firefighters and other personnel to bring them under control. A Royal Commission has been established by the Victorian Brumby Government and has been given wide-ranging powers and terms of reference, and it is to be hoped that it will identify the causes of the fires and recommend measures to prevent such a catastrophe from occurring again.
Pyroterrorism defined
On the other hand, the fires must alert us to the extreme danger posed by pyroterrorism, especially as global terrorist organisations continue to modify their strategies in the face of the increasingly effective counter-terrorism measures that are being employed against them. (1) Pyroterrorism can do great harm to valuable natural resources and infrastructure; destabilise and degrade regional economies; kill, maim, terrorise, and radically reduce the quality of life of large populations of people; and even destabilise social and political systems.
Pyroterrorism may be defined as the use by non-state organisations of large-scale fires to attack, intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in order to advance political, social or religious objectives. In pursuit of its objectives it exhibits the four central elements of terrorism: the targeting of non-combatants, a political motivation, extreme violence with an intended psychological impact, and organised and totally committed perpetrators. (2)
Pyroterrorism is inherently low-tech in nature and requires only primitive technical materials to carry out attacks. It is inexpensive and, logistically, is comparatively uncomplicated. It takes advantage of a variety of very vulnerable, permeable, and easily accessible forest targets with multiple entry-points and escape-routes. It can be carried out by relatively untrained personnel using improvised devices. It allows the perpetrators considerable room for manoeuvre and capitalises on their familiarity with the geography of the areas targeted. It promises a good chance that they will evade capture or even identification, and success isn't premised on their death, as it would be in a suicide mission.
Accidental or deliberate?
The Victorian fires, however it is eventually determined they were caused, illustrate the potentially vast damage that could be achieved by such attacks. They began in the mountainous forest areas north-east of Melbourne, and in Gippsland, Bendigo and other parts of the state, on Saturday, 7 February 2009, and continued for several weeks. The fires broke out on a day of extraordinarily high temperatures (up to 47[degrees]C) and gale-force winds (exceeding 100km/h), after an extended heat wave and a protracted drought. In a ghastly conflagration, they caused the largest ever bushfire death toll in Australian history, leaving at least 210 people dead, some 500 injured, and over 30 missing. Some towns were virtually wiped out, including Kinglake, Marysville, St Andrews, Steels Creek, Flower-dale, Strathewen, and Narbethong. The fires destroyed more than 2,000 homes and 1,500 other buildings or structures, and damaged thousands more, leaving an estimated 7,500 people homeless. An area of approximately 4,500[km.sup.2] (450,000ha) was burned out and millions of animals were destroyed. At one point, fires came close to the main electricity transmission lines supplying Melbourne from the Latrobe Valley, and also threatened the Hazelwood Power Station. Insurance payouts could reach several billion dollars.
The principal fire was the Kinglake-Murrindindi fire complex that was formed by the merger of two originally separate fires following a wind change on 7-8 February. This became a firestorm that burnt out over 2,100[km.sup.2] (210,000ha) and killed at least 196 people across a wide area. Other major fires were in the vicinity of Churchill, Beechworth, Bendigo, Redesdale, the Bunyip State Forest, Horsham, Coleraine, Heidelberg, Wilson's Promontory and the Dandenong Ranges. It appears certain that some of the fires were deliberately lit, prompting Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to describe such actions as "mass murder".
Various investigations began into the fires, and the police declared that the sites of all fires would be treated as crime scenes. Several people were arrested, although they were later released, but on 12 February a Churchill resident was arrested, first in connection with the Churchill fires, and then charged with arson causing death, and intentionally lighting a bushfire, as well as possession of child pornography. Victorian Premier John Brumby subsequently announced a Royal Commission into the fires, and that began preliminary work in March. Brumby promised breathlessly that the commission would be "the most open inquiry that is possible. No stone unturned. Every bit of information on the table. And if that means calling ministers or premiers, or whoever it is, we will be happy to assist." (3)
Muslim extremists celebrate
Messages of sympathy and support were sent by dozens of countries to the people of Victoria and Australia. Regrettably, other parties appear to have taken a different perspective on the tragedy and welcomed the destruction and large-scale loss of life. For example, a CBS News report quoted celebratory messages posted on Internet forums supportive of al Qaeda: (4)
In a message entitled "Al Qaeda behind Australia's bushfires", a member of one forum who uses the name "Osama1" talked about the terrible devastation and loss of lives caused by the fires, which he hoped were the work of al Qaeda. "Imagine if all this was the work of an al Qaeda raid against Australia who is taking part in the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan ... how awesome would that be?" He also urged Islamist militants around the world to "fight the enemy" through this new form of jihad. "O' mujahideen everywhere, why don't you fight the enemy with bushfires such as those ones? Fires which could kill hundreds of them, destroy thousands of their homes, and cause damage worth millions."
Similarly, FOX News revealed that "terrorism experts suspect Muslim extremists are watching closely" the impact of the bushfires devastating Australia because "the large death toll, the huge swath of destruction and the massive financial blow to the country are proving to Islamic terrorists that arson can be a highly effective--and simple--tool of holy war". (5) The report quoted counter-terrorism expert Dr Jarret Brachman as observing: (6)
Forest fires track...
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