(Darren England/AAP Image via AP) (Associated Press)CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s prime minister on Monday defended the nation’s intelligence agency bosses after a former prime minister described them as “nutters” who have damaged bilateral relations with China. Former Prime Minister Paul Keating on Sunday urged his center-left Labor Party to “clean them out” — referring to the security agency chiefs — if Labor wins government at elections next week. Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Australian security agencies had prevented 15 terrorist attacks in Australia since the national threat level was increased in 2014. Keating said security agencies had “all gone berko” — a slang term meaning berserk — since Garnaut’s report. “When the security agencies are running foreign policy, the nutters are in charge,” Keating said.

Source: Washington Post May 06, 2019 00:45 UTC