Australia's Victoria Bushfire: Arson, Probably; Muslim Plot? Unlikely!

(Update:
"Muslims Jailed, Suspect Arrested: Terrorism and Australia's Bushfires Burn On"
(February 14, 2009))

(Update:
"Islamic Website Called for 'Forest Jihad' - But Still No Evidence in Victoria"
(February 9, 2009))

I don't track individuals who visit my blogs, but I do keep track of data like referring pages and search strings.

One visitor to a post in another blog had Googled "muslim bushfire victoria" - without the quotation marks. The post ("Australia's Victoria State Bushfires: 65+ Dead" (Apathetic Lemming of the North (February 8, 2009)) doesn't contain the word "Muslim," but does discuss the disastrous fires in Victoria.

Intentionally set wildfires or bushfires would, I think, make an effective terror weapon. I discussed this possibility last year, when the Sierra Madre fire was burning. It was (barely) possible that last spring's big fire in California was an act of terror.

But - as I wrote then - "I seriously doubt it."

I'll say the same for Australia's lethal fires in Victoria. At least some were intentionally set: "Kieran Walshe, the deputy police commissioner for the state, said: 'When you look at the way fires started, you can clearly see it's not possible for a natural ignition to occur.' " (CNN)

But, that does not mean that Islamic terrorists were involved - or any other sort of terrorist, in the usual sense of the word. Arson - particularly on this scale - is criminal. But not necessarily an act of terrorism.

Related post:

• "Sierra Madre Fire: It Could Be Worse"
  (April 28, 2008)

In the news:

• "Scores killed in Australia's 'worst fires' "
  CNN (February 8, 2009)