Because they hate us

Abstract

Terrorist acts, most notably 9/11 and the Bali bombings, transformed our attitudes to the secretive world of intelligence, surveillance and security. In this book a prominent group of writers including Michael Mori, Ben Saul, Anne Aly and Peter Leahy lay bare the facts about spying and security in post-9/11 Australia. Their compelling book cuts through panic and fear-mongering to ask hard questions: Is ASIO unaccountable? Is the money we spend on security worth it? Is cyber-terrorism an urgent threat? Are our spies up to the job, and how do we know anyway as we only hear about their failures? Is WikiLeaks good for human rights? Are we trading our privacy for a false sense of security? Spooked untangles the half-truths, conspiracy theories and controversies about the ‘war on terror’, and is a welcome antidote to misinformation and alarm.