The Wire

In western countries, the possibility of a terrorist attack has become a daily part of life – or at least that’s what our governments would have us believe. Here in Australia, we regularly receive advice to stay alert (but not alarmed), via politicians and fridge magnets. Through the media we hear that other countries are also at different stages of alert. Earlier this month in the United States, a terror warning was issued for financial buildings in Washington, New York and New Jersey. The information that led to this warning came from the computer of an Al-Qaeda suspect arrested in Pakistan in mid-July. However, the information is up to four years old, and is considered by many critics to have been part of the planning for the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre. The US and Australia both have imminent federal elections, and warnings such as these raise the question of how governments use fear as a tool in the political landscape. Ed Giles spoke to Dr David Wright-Neville, from the Department of Politics at Monash University, and David Burke, from the NSW Council on Civil Liberties.