Spies toe party line: whistleblower
25 July 2005
A HIGH-RANKING intelligence officer has spoken publicly for the first time about claims of cover-ups, bullying and recrimination in the Australian Defence Force and security agencies.
Lieutenant Colonel Lance Collins was one of several intelligence officers who highlighted the existence of a pro-Indonesia group of bureaucrats, academics, media and business people - the Jakarta Lobby - who were influencing Australian foreign policy before the sending of troops to East Timor in 1999.
Speaking on the ABC's Australian Story, which will be screened tonight, he claims the quality of Australian intelligence has been suffering because the system "is very heavily weighted to produce a certain answer that is acceptable to a certain political party and its agenda, rather than the nation and its wellbeing".
"The problem with our intelligence system is it's the politicians that choose, or approve the choosing of, the bureaucrats who run it."
Lieutenant Colonel Collins's claims are the focus of a report by Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Ian Carnell that is expected to be released next month.
He has since been moved to a training position, despite his claims being substantiated in an investigation by Captain Martin Toohey in 2003.
Lieutenant Colonel Collins says he has chosen to break his silence out of concern for Captain Toohey.
"Since I became involved in this thing six years ago, I've been confronted with a legion of hired liars who keep pushing this message - I'm just doing my duty, I'm doing what I'm told - and that's actually the ethics of the hitman, nothing personal, just business."
Lieutenant Colonel Collins angered his superior officers when he accused the Defence
Intelligence Organisation of factual errors in their analysis of East Timor. He accused the federal Government of turning off an intelligence link between DIO and Australian troops in East Timor for 24 hours as a way of punishing him for his behaviour.
The Government has denied both his allegations and the findings of Captain Toohey, who agreed with Lieutenant Colonel Collins that a pro-Jakarta lobby existed and that DIO "generally reports what the Government wants to hear".
http://theaustralian.com.au
A HIGH-RANKING intelligence officer has spoken publicly for the first time about claims of cover-ups, bullying and recrimination in the Australian Defence Force and security agencies.
Lieutenant Colonel Lance Collins was one of several intelligence officers who highlighted the existence of a pro-Indonesia group of bureaucrats, academics, media and business people - the Jakarta Lobby - who were influencing Australian foreign policy before the sending of troops to East Timor in 1999.
Speaking on the ABC's Australian Story, which will be screened tonight, he claims the quality of Australian intelligence has been suffering because the system "is very heavily weighted to produce a certain answer that is acceptable to a certain political party and its agenda, rather than the nation and its wellbeing".
"The problem with our intelligence system is it's the politicians that choose, or approve the choosing of, the bureaucrats who run it."
Lieutenant Colonel Collins's claims are the focus of a report by Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Ian Carnell that is expected to be released next month.
He has since been moved to a training position, despite his claims being substantiated in an investigation by Captain Martin Toohey in 2003.
Lieutenant Colonel Collins says he has chosen to break his silence out of concern for Captain Toohey.
"Since I became involved in this thing six years ago, I've been confronted with a legion of hired liars who keep pushing this message - I'm just doing my duty, I'm doing what I'm told - and that's actually the ethics of the hitman, nothing personal, just business."
Lieutenant Colonel Collins angered his superior officers when he accused the Defence
Intelligence Organisation of factual errors in their analysis of East Timor. He accused the federal Government of turning off an intelligence link between DIO and Australian troops in East Timor for 24 hours as a way of punishing him for his behaviour.
The Government has denied both his allegations and the findings of Captain Toohey, who agreed with Lieutenant Colonel Collins that a pro-Jakarta lobby existed and that DIO "generally reports what the Government wants to hear".
http://theaustralian.com.au
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 3:58 PM
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