INSIDE THE MIND OF A TERRORIST … IN PERTH?

Mr Atran, a leading scientist at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris and at the University of Michigan, considered it to be usual for terrorists to come from middle to upper-class families, and on face value, appear to be relatively normal individuals.

With this in mind, is it feasible that terrorists could be walking among us in the streets, train stations and shopping centres of Perth? Is our city one of the world's so-called "soft targets" for a group of well-financed, well-mannered terrorists? Could the unsuspecting public have a well-organised terrorist cell developing right under its very nose?

Highly doubtful, one may think, when you consider WA's geographical isolation and relative unimportance compared to high profile cities under the world wide terrorism spotlight. But in light of the "catch a soft target by surprise" strategy that al-Qa'ida and its affiliates have been deploying, sleepy Perth, just perhaps, becomes a more attractive target.

According to Clive Williams, Director of Terrorism Studies at Australian National University, Australia's alliance with the US in the Iraq war has catapulted Australia's position as a terrorist target.

"My belief is that with Iraq, Australia went up into the top four of preferred al-Qa'ida targets (after the US, Israel and the UK)."

"Al-Qa'ida has to have a cell structure and operational capability in place before it mounts an attack. We know that there have been attempts to set up cells here for future attacks."

Perth's potential targets include the central railway station, Subiaco Oval, the domestic and international airports, the American and British consulates, Fremantle harbour, the SAS Swanbourne barracks, Garden Island Navy base and the Kwinana oil refinery.

Mr Williams´ post-Madrid bombings comments have been echoed elsewhere. In an interview with ABC's Lateline program, Rohan Gunaratna, terrorism expert and the acknowledged authority on the al-Qa'ida network, said, "It is true that Jemaah Islamiah has suffered in South-East Asia but still it retains significant capability to mount attacks. Jemaah Islamiah and al-Qa'ida both have intentions of attacking Australia."

In the aftermath of the train bombs that took more than 200 lives in Madrid, attention has turned to other countries that joined the US-lead coalition of the willing.

Australia ranks as a high profile partner. That said, Mr Williams offers some cause for optimism.

"So far we seem to have been on top of the situation, helped particularly by our geography. Spain, which was further down the list, but probably in the top ten, was a much softer target because of its porous borders and large Muslim immigrant community."

Within easy reach or not, the fact remains that in the minds of terrorists, we form part of the so-called Zionist-Christian enemy.

A leading expert on terror, Jessica Stern, has attempted to tap into the minds of terrorists. The National Security Council director for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian Affairs in the Clinton administration, Ms Stern spent five years interviewing them.

When asked to describe jihad (holy war), many terrorists referred to it as "addictive". Reasons for them turning to terrorism included alienation, humiliation and lack of political and economic opportunities. Violent extremism becomes even more attractive when jihad can be funded by untraceable flows of finance via covert or illicit foreign exchange transactions.

All the evidence, however, suggests that being a follower of a radical terrorist agenda does not mean you have to be mentally disturbed. Alleged mastermind of the Madrid bombings, Jamal Zougam, and his half-brother Mohamed Chaoui, were not perceived as shady characters. Their Spanish next-door neighbours, shocked at their arrests, saw them and their family as charming, modern neighbours. Mohamed Bekkali, also arrested over the bombings, had only one known obsession - he was a fanatical supporter of the Real Madrid soccer team.

The general agreement amongst authorities in the field of terrorism is that terrorists are no different psychologically from anyone else. They do what they do to achieve a desired result. This is highlighted by terrorist leaders, who have demonstrated repeated evidence that they are not in any way mentally ill.

What they do show are strong abilities in strategy and planning, as well as highly fanatical ideologies. Whilst the psyche of every terrorist is distinct, a common trait is their marginal personalities and extreme inner anger. They are also highly driven by political, ethno-national and hard-line religious motives.

The job of combating terrorism becomes particularly difficult when religious motivations are factored into the equation. The violence they deploy is not seen as a means to an end, but rather an end in itself. An US-style war on terror, therefore, can only fuel this violence, and promote terrorist recruitment.

The Bush Administration's unilateral approach has so far proved to be largely counter-productive. But is there an alternative approach?

Some experts believe the best way to fight terrorists is to ensure that they do not receive the popular pockets of support that they thrive on. After all, the fact that they maintain this support suggests that their tactics are applauded and that they bask in the public limelight.

One way of reducing this support is through addressing the issues that are creating terrorism. The Palestinian problem and the Chechen problem top that list.

In years to come, when we reflect on the battle against what some commentators are calling the "al-Qa'ida franchise", there may be regrets on the way the terrorist problem was tackled.

The power of the crystal ball we never had. The lessons we should have learned. What we should have done to gain a better understanding of the mind of a terrorist.

The idea of a crystal ball reflection some time in the future may not seem much help in the current climate of terrorist threats.

Today you might be wandering down the street, and you observe a man of Arabic origin with a backpack strapped to his body pass you by. You grip your young daughter's hand and quickly move on.

You then step into your local corner deli to buy a carton of milk, and a polite middle-eastern man smiles at you from behind the counter as he hands you the change.

You then return to the safety of your home, two doors away, all the while thinking "maybe I'm living next door to terrorists."

By placing the suspicious eye upon our Muslim community, the vast majority of whom are, of course, good standing, law-abiding people, rich in moral fibre and sickened by terrorist violence, we face the risk of turning our society into a collective of paranoid xenophobes.

One must take into account that a terrorist is a highly rare breed indeed. Remain vigilant, yes, but paranoia has no place in our multicultural playground called Perth.