Malcolm Turnbull Echoes Waleed Aly, Doubles Down on Shunning ISIS Hype

When Waleed Aly gave his stirring, pitch-perfect take on ISIS in the wake of the Paris terror attacks, commentators were quick to point out it was exactly the kind of speech that should be coming from the leader of a nation, not “just” a TV host. The sentiment spread like wildfire.

Policy consultant Terry Barnes said if Malcolm Turnbull “can find the right words in the days and months ahead, when our Islamic State enemies are striving to divide, conquer and destroy civilised people everywhere,” he’d earn some serious respect.
Turnbull might just have gotten around to that today, as he used his update on Australia’s national security concerns to reiterate Aly’s views after Paris: ISIS is weak, and we shouldn’t buy into the hype. 

The PM backed the statement up, citing the Iraqi and Kurdish forces who had halted ISIS in contested areas. At home, though, Turnbull championed the same winning factors Aly did. He focussed on avoiding resentment and distance between Muslim and non-Muslim Australians, and said the terrorist organisation could be combated by “our values, our way of life, [and] our unity.”
   

Concessions were made, though. Turnbull confirmed the terrorism alert level remained at a ‘high’ level, and that “a terrorist incident on our soil remains likely.” 


In contrast to the full-scale ground attacks in the previous two Gulf Wars, Turnbull said the response to ISIS would “require a patient, painstaking, full-spectrum strategy.”

Turnbull has made his stance on the issue known before, but his speech today marks the first time he’s addressed it as PM. If you feel so inclined, you can watch the entirety of today’s speech and sense the Waleed-vibes here.
Story via ABC.
Image via Youtube.

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