Afghan War
Australia marched into Afghanistan on the khaki coat-tails of the Americans in 2001 and it now seems we will be walking out ahead of previous schedules.
It will be a well-overdue withdrawal and the electorate’s dissatisfaction with our presence there will have been a factor along with any military appraisal.
It is an unpopular war and one the Gillard Government has been having trouble trying to justify.
Continue reading "Finally, some certainty for our diggers in Afghanistan" »
What happened
Our biggest wartime horror in a long time. Three diggers and their Afghan interpreter were killed and seven other Aussie troops wounded when an Afghan army ally turned his weapon on them.
This was not the first time that an Afghan colleague attacked Australian soldiers this year and nor was it the last. Lance Corporal Andrew Jones was killed by an Afghan soldier as he came out of his base accommodation in May. And just last month three diggers and two Afghans were wounded when an Afghan soldier opened fire from a guard tower with an automatic weapon and grenade launcher.
What happened next
A serious erosion of trust between Australian troops and their Afghan allies.
Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #8 Afghans turn on Aussies" »
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Sumit says:
Remember the Cops? Huh? Oh, you mean cops like the Pima County SWAT team who mrduered former Marine Jose Guerena, You and your Cop buddies act like entitled spoiled brats and regularly murder Veterans; if not you target us. Sorry, but my local Sheriff deliberately targets any military stickered vehicles… Read more »
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Mum says:
Our soldiers haven’ t invaded any country Leto - this is a UN mandated mission. We’re there for the national security of both our country and theirs. If you think it’s right to stand by while women and children are raped and murdered just because we’re lucky enough to live… Read more »
Writer, comedian and Can of Worms reporter Dan Ilic visited Aussie diggers in Afghanistan last month to perform a series of comedy shows. He writes about his time in Tarin Kowt in this second part of a two-part report. Read the first part here.
The next stop on the trip was the Australian stronghold of Tarin Kowt.
We flew there on an Australian Chinook, a large transport helicopter that can fit about 40 soldiers and gear. This was an amazing journey. Flying tactically, we buzzed across the Afghan terrain only about a hundred metres off the ground, hugging the valleys and mountains for cover.
In the back of my head I knew that only a few weeks before an American Chinook got shot down carrying 30 Special Forces troops. But somehow this was suppressed by the sheer excitement of being in a big loud flying machine.
Continue reading "Operation Your Mum: On the ground in Tarin Kowt" »
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St. Michael says:
You seem to have missed this little thing called “propaganda” while you were over there. The genetic problems, for example. Napalm does not cause genetic problems. It’s similar to petroleum jelly that’s set on fire, which is what makes it stick to people and burn. There’s no genetic conditions caused… Read more »
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youdy beaudy says:
In Saigon they have a museum. The Vietnamese call it something like, ” the museum of american atrocities”, from what i can recall having been there and seen it. I saw people crying there, western people from all over the world while looking at the photos of the carnage caused… Read more »
From working with U.S forces in Afghanistan, many Commanders observed how Afghanistan had become a politically correct war.
Ralph Peters hit the nail on the head in his 2006 New York Post article when he observed that it is hard enough to bear the timidity of our civilian leaders - anxious to start wars but without the guts to finish them - but now military leaders have fallen prey to political correctness.
Unwilling to accept that war is, by its nature, a savage act and that defeat is immoral, influential officers are arguing for a kinder, gentler approach to our enemies.
Continue reading "Our politically correct war in Afghanistan" »
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Bloggs says:
Dark Horse is actually completely correct. We have more than one front in the radical Islam wars. The home front is ignored by politicians and apologists alike. This will be our undoing. Read more »
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Bloggs says:
@ Rufus. Nice sentiment, but you are a dreamer. The Afghan people cannot determine their own future. If left alone the Taliban will immediately take over and kill everyone who was not in agreement with their extreme rligious policies, including all those people now working towards a stable and free… Read more »
Here’s some of what the Prime Minister Julia Gillard told the Parliament on October 19 this year (you can read her whole speech starting on page 692 here):
To ensure the new international strategy can be delivered, last December the United States committed to a military and civilian surge in Afghanistan. The elements of this surge are now reaching full strength. Once fully deployed, this will take coalition force numbers to roughly 140,000. US forces on the ground have tripled since early 2009. The total force now has the resources required to deliver a comprehensive international strategy focused on counterinsurgency and designed to deliver transition.
Continue reading "Gillard deserves the benefit of the doubt on Afghanistan" »
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iansand says:
I might, after I got a life. A quest I also recommend for you. Read more »
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Billy says:
iansand - The point is that regardless of who was there in Afghanistan, English, Scottish, Irish or Welsh Regiments it was the ‘British Army’ since the Act of Union 1707. There has not been an English Army, Scottish Army, Welsh Army, or Irish Army since the Act of Union. It… Read more »
With the beginning of a parliamentary debate into the war in Afghanistan this week, the more localised conflict between Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott of trips to the warzone came to a periodic truce.
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But the outbreak of the highly politicised PR war between the leaders over who was supporting the troops in Afghanistan more does bring us to an interesting question: what is the point of politicians hanging in war zones?
Earlier in the week the Greens Senator Bob Brown was asked by the 7:30 Report’s Kerry O’Brien why, as the leader of a party pushing for troop withdrawal from the war, he had not visited Afghanistan.
Continue reading "The growth industry of pollies in war zones" »
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Alejandra22Buchanan says:
A lot of specialists claim that personal loans aid people to live their own way, because they can feel free to buy necessary goods. Furthermore, different banks present collateral loan for young and old people. Read more »
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Daemon says:
@Ochrebunyip: My view was that he was lacking in credibility, but that was accompanied by a few other “lackings”: Lack of ability to actually manage the English language. Lack of ability to understand that the voters who put him and Labor into the current situation were actually very smart in… Read more »
It is fair to say that there is a growing sense of unease in Australia about our commitment in Afghanistan. Twenty-one Australian soldiers have now died.
The latest casualty, Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney, was laid to rest just nine days ago. Five hours after his burial his widow Beckie gave birth to their second child.
Beckie’s friend, Courier Mail journalist Jane Fynes-Clinton, wrote a heartfelt but forthright column about the broader meaning of this family’s private tragedy. She argued on behalf of her friend that Australia should honour Jared’s memory by staying the course in Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Whatever the wrongs, Blair is still right on Afghanistan" »
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Dan says:
Jim, the West did invade Afghanistan. That does not mean it was not warrented (although it had nothing to with human rights abuses), but it was absolutely an invasion. Jon, how Islamophobic are you? The Taliban are a pervertion of Islam! Islam is not the problem, extremism is! Just so… Read more »
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Gregg says:
I really doubt that we can put too much on what Blair claims now if he had known what the scene was all about but doesn’t really say what he would have backed, certainly not a ” You’re either with us or against us stance as GWB was looking for… Read more »
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