Monday 3 October 2022 02:33 PM ISIS brides and children in Syria to be deradicalised before returning home to ... trends now
Islamic State brides and their children stranded in Syria will taken to a third country in the Middle East before being brought back to Australia, a former ADF special operations intelligence analyst has revealed.
Cabinet's national security committee will meet on Tuesday to formally approve a rescue plan to repatriate more than a dozen families who recently underwent 'risk assessments' following a secret ASIO mission to the war-torn nation.
Sixteen Australian women and 42 children have been held in al-Roj detention camp in northeast Syria near the Iraqi border for three-and-a-half years following the fall of Islamic State in March 2019.
The women left Australia to join their husbands fighting for the fundamentalist terrorist movement before their short-lived 'caliphate' collapsed three-and-a-half years ago.
The federal government's controversial move to reverse the policy banning foreign fighters and those who fled to Syria and Iraq to assist them, has already been met with division in Australia.
Hosts on The Project on Monday raised questions about how the families would be safely reintegrated back into Australia.
Former ADF intelligence analyst Shane Healey gave an adamant answer when asked by co-host Carrie Bickmore whether Australia is obliged to bring them back 'even if there is a slight risk'.
The federal government is looking to repatriate Sixteen Australian women and 42 children currently held in al-Roj detention camp in northeast Syria. Pictured are women and children at the camp
The women fled Australia to join their husbands fighting for ISIS before the short-lived 'caliphate' collapsed in March 2019 (pictured, ISIS fighters)
'Yes, 100 per cent' Mr Healey replied.
'I don't see how we can bring refugees out of Sudan, out of Afghanistan and out of other countries that are war torn and leave Australian citizens sitting in such a terrible state.'
He stressed women and children rescued from the detention camp won't be whisked to Australia straight away and will need further assessment before they can return home, a process that could take months.
'They're going to take them to a host nation somewhere in the Middle East and give them a holistic assessment- psychological, education, medical and that takes weeks and then slowly unpack whether it is trauma or any medical issues and then start building them up to integrate back in Australia,' Mr Healey explained.
'Most of the young kids probably don't even speak English or have had formal education so that would be one of the processes.'
The Project's Waleed Aly said what he was describing sounded similar to other deradicalision programs, which have a 'sketchy' track record overseas.
But Mr Healey was extremely confident families would be successfully reintegrated back into Australia without issues - despite some public outcry.
Former ADF special operations intelligence analyst Shane Healey (right) was asked by The Project's Carrie Bickmore (left) whether whether Australia is obliged to bring them back 'even if there is a slight risk'
'I hate the term 'deradicalised' because I believe it is an extremist spectrum,' Mr Healey said.
'It's not about being radical or their religion, it is their acceptance or use of violence.'
'Most of those courses or programs failed because they are trying to target the religious aspects. I worked for Youth Justice NSW where we were very successful in this, we targeted their willingness or acceptance to use
