REMEMBER THE USS COLE

The anti-protesters got what they wanted. Huge coverage first on SKY news and then on the nightly TV bulletins.

Footage of two anti-war protesters who managed to cling to the bow and the stern of the HMAS Sydney as it headed down Sydney Harbour en route to the Gulf and the war against Iraq.

One managed to unfurl a No War banner and 12 people were arrested but that is a mere pimple when you consider the boil they inadvertently exposed.

What sort of security is there when an Australian warship can be successfully attacked by protesters at the bow and stern? What sort of security is there when an Australian warship can be forced to stop and reverse because a rope or hawser is stretched across the bow to impede its progress?

In my opinion neither the Defence Department nor the NSW Police have come out of this with much credit.

Metropolitan Marine Police Commander, Grahame Welsh, claims they weren’t caught out or outwitted by the protesters. He said they acted on
“available intelligence”. Oh yeah?

Even Inspector Clouseau would have suspected anti-war protesters would try something.

And how about this “washing of the hands” comment from the head of the Water Police: “ It is a warship, there are sailors and people on board who can defend themselves”.

The threat came from the water. From Water Police territory.

But the Defence Department response was even worse.

Defence spokesman, Brigadier Mike Hanna, said security on Sydney Harbour was mostly a matter for NSW Police and a similar situation would not occur during the war in Iraq.

“ If it was a suicide bomber approaching or a small vessel clearly not identified as a protest vessel in the northern Persian Gulf then we have weapons systems on board and the appropriate action would be taken”.

So if you want to attack the HMAS Sydney in the Gulf just paint a No War slogan on your boat and you’ll be fine.

You may think I am over-reacting or exaggerating but imagine the propaganda for the Iraqis and terrorists in general if the Sydney had been holed and disabled right in Sydney Harbour before even clearing the heads.

What if one of those inflatable Zodiacs-- which eluded police long enough for protesters to attach themselves to the ship’s hull – had been packed with explosives?

Farfetched. Remember the USS Cole blown up at the port of Aden in Yemen.

Seventeen sailors died and 39 were injured.

The fact that security was so slack that two people could cling to the Sydney like limpet mines was a disgrace.

Tuesday, April 8, 2003

©Copyright Derryn Hinch 2002