Bali target known previously

Noted & Quoted in: The Age

The Age

A confidential report obtained by the Asian Pacific Post newspaper says the intelligence information was shared with US allies including Australia.

Prime Minister John Howard and Austalian agencies such as ASIO maintain they had no prior warning of the October 12 Bali attacks.

But the new report identified the Sahid Bali Seaside Resort on Kuta Beach and the Hard Rock Hotel in Bali as targets--just 500 m from Paddys Bar and the Sari Club where the bombs went off killing 88 Australians.

The two resorts were among six targets in Indonesia placed on a list compiled by experts from the CIA, FBI, the National Security Agency, the US Army Engineering Corps, US Military Intelligence, US State Department and a variety of academic, security and intelligence consultants.

The US report, completed in September 2002, also identified potential terrorist targets in seven other countries including Australia.

Sections of the report show the intelligence was shared with American allies, including the Australian government, the Canada-based Asian Pacific Post said.

The report is likely to fuel further anger in Australia where a Senate inquiry is under way into intelligence ahead of the bombings.

ASIO last week told the inquiry it had identified the threat posed by Jemaah Islamiah too late.

Australian intelligence officers had pinpointed Bali as a possible target but the government said it was not based on hard intelligence and travel warnings to Indonesia at the time did warn of potential bombings.

Mr. Howard has said Australia had no warning of the Bali attack and had information been available, the government would have acted on it.

The US report said the potential terrorst targets had been determined and prioritised based on location, symbolic status, psychological threat profiling and weapons and explosives availability.

The targets included hotels, event locations and entertainment outlets, the report said.

It recommended a general tourism alert with limited specifics to reduce the economic impact on tourism.