Canberra (Australia), Aug 13: Prime Minister John Howard said today he agreed with the nation's intelligence chief that another "catastrophic" terrorist attack against western interests was just a matter of time and Australia was a probable target.
"It may sound a rather grim warning but that's the kind of world we live in," Howard told a news television. "Nobody should underestimate how much the world changed on the 11th of September 2001."
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry reissued travel advice for Indonesia, warning that Australian intelligence agencies continue to receive reports that further terror attacks are being planned against soft targets like hotels.
Australian security intelligence organisation chief Dennis Richardson said in a speech delivered privately last week that he shared American fears of another terror strike like those on the World Trade Center and Pentagon that killed thousands.
"There is genuine concern that a catastrophic attack is a certainty and only a matter of time, a point on which I'm inclined to agree,'' Richardson said, adding Australia's alliance with the United States and support for the war on terrorism ``does contribute to us being a target.''

Howard said Richardson, whose comments were made public yesterday, was in the best position to make such an assessment.
Bureau Report