Australia appoints counter-terrorism chief

Australia has named a former intelligence analyst and envoy to Indonesia and Iran as its new anti-terrorism chief amid concerns that a growing number of its citizens are involved in fighting or propagating for the Takfiri ISIL terrorist group.

The Monday appointment of Greg Miriarty as Australia’s first counter-terrorism coordinator came as part of the country’s billion-dollar measure to block its citizens from becoming radicalized or returning from terrorist battlegrounds in Syria and Iraq.

The Australian government has adopted plans to revoke the citizenship of those nationals found to be engaged in terrorist activities.

“We have a number of security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies and Greg Moriarty’s role will be to coordinate all of the efforts across government and report to the prime minister,” Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced Monday in a radio interview.

“There are many different departments, many different agencies and we want to ensure that there’s a completely coordinated approach and that nothing slips through the cracks,” she added.

The position of an anti-terror chief was established following a comprehensive counter-terrorism review by Canberra earlier in the year, according to local press reports, which add that Moriarty has “extensive knowledge of Islam and its radical variants.”

The development came as the government is also expected to unveil new legislation this week to revoke the citizenship of the dual nationals who promote, support or are affiliated with terrorist elements.

Referring to plan, Bishop said, “The United Kingdom has done it. Canada and the US are considering it. In fact, the United Kingdom has denied citizenship on over 20 occasions in recent times. So, we’re looking at this very closely. It’s a matter that our national security committee has been considering.”

The Australian foreign minister is currently authorized to cancel, suspend or refuse to issue passports to prevent Australians from traveling. She says she has exercised the authority on a number of occasions.

“The number of Australians seeking to go overseas (to fight) is not declining, so we have to take every step that we can to keep Australians safe here and at home and also prevent them taking part in a bloody conflict overseas,” Bishop said in her Monday remarks.

Meanwhile, local reports further indicate that the scheme to amend the country’s citizenship laws, which was first announced in February, could also affect second-generation Australians who only hold one passport, forcing them to adopt the citizenship of their parental countries of birth.

More than 100 Australians have reportedly traveled to the Middle East in a bid to fight alongside Takfiri terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria, including the ISIL.

Australia has been a firm backer and participant in the US-led so-called war on terror, which has included the military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Australia has also actively supported the foreign-backed militants that have engaged in a destructive war to destabilize and overthrow the Syrian government.

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