Oz intelligence recruits non-English speaking agents to combat Chinese spies, Muslim terrorists

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) has stepped up espionage against Chinese spies and Muslim extremists by more than doubling in only two years the number of intelligence officers from non-English-speaking backgrounds.

The domestic spy agency, dominated by white Anglo-Saxon males during the Cold War, has recruited an unprecedented 88 foreign-language-speaking spies since late 2004 as part of the federal government's plan to fast-track ASIO's expansion.

Many of the new recruits are fluent Chinese speakers and have been assigned to a new ASIO counter-espionage unit specifically to combat the increased number of Chinese spies Down Under.

Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the ASIO needed recruits with "a range of experience and backgrounds".

A spokesman for Ruddock declined to reveal details of ASIO's foreign-language capabilities, but confirmed that the number of ASIO officers from non-English-speaking backgrounds had soared from 78 to 166 since 2004.

However, the agency is still facing problems in attracting the required number of Arabic speakers for operations inside the Muslim community.

According to The Australian, at least five key intelligence and security agencies, including ASIO, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, the Defence Signals Directorate, the Defence Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Federal Police are struggling to recruit Arabic speakers, problems similar to that being faced by the CIA and the FBI that is desperately short of Arabic-speaking agents.

According to the paper, there are fewer than a dozen fluent Arabic speakers working full-time inside intelligence and security agencies in Australia.

Officials have said the problem has been exacerbated by the difficulty in obtaining timely security clearances for Arabic speakers, as ASIO is required to delve deep into their past, including time spent in the Middle East. (ANI)

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