The former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon, now government whip, said Australia was pursuing the right strategy. "Every one of these incidents causes me to rethink our strategy but every time I rethink it, I come out with the same conclusion, which is that we cannot allow everything we've done to be in vain."
The big difference from Vietnam that I forgot to mention earlier; Linebacker II. This was the December '72 bombing campaign against Hanoi and Haiphong Harbour which brought the North Vietnamese to the peace table. The VC were not pure non-state actors. Suddenly declaring Hanoi and Haiphong Harbour a permanent bombing range produced results. A corrupt South Vietnam or no, we later gave away that treaty by not bombing North Vietnam right where they live, again, when they went South. Thanks for nothing, President Ford.
That is the definition of troops dying in vain. 60K-plus in dead and missing.
Afghanistan? No real state. And, it isn't a real country as we understand it. It never will be. On top of that, it isn't worth the effort.
For Defence dilettantes like Fitgibbon and his kind, they have to understand that Afghanistan will roll over after the withdraw. And...all our troops, will have died in vain.
This could have been avoided in the beginning by not going there simply because of a dumb shift in U.S. strategy.
That, is the core stupidity of trying to nation-build a tribal society that has no concept of a central government. The idea was failed before it started.
Wilkie is right. Big-time. And I will take his statement further. By not exercising strong leadership and removing the ADF from Operation:USELESS DIRT as soon as she took power, Gillard does in fact have the blood of every Australian soldier lost in Afghanistan since she took power, on her hands.
The U.S. Afghanistan war started out as a pretty well run punitive expedition. Once Bush changed this into a nation-building exercise, that mission was doomed to fail. On top of that, Bush lost the plot:
“The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him.”
- G.W. Bush, 9/13/01
“I want justice…There’s an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, ‘Wanted: Dead or Alive,’”
- G.W. Bush, 9/17/01, UPI
“I don’t know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don’t care. It’s not that important. It’s not our priority.”
- G.W. Bush, 3/13/02
“I am truly not that concerned about him.”
- G.W. Bush, repsonding to a question about bin Laden’s whereabouts,
3/13/02 (The New American, 4/8/02)
I don't want to nation-build an unworkable quagmire. If the job is to fight an enemy, I want them destroyed. That can be done with minimal forces and no nation building.
And in the case of Afghanistan, the reason the U.S. went to war there, was to get Osama. He was the justification. Now he is dead. Mission complete.
The current Australian government "strategy" for Afghanistan is flawed. At least Wilke has a plan. A damn good one.
8 comments:
The man is incompetent.
Compare
http://preview.tinyurl.com/bu5mnjb
It's astonishing how people come to power without being competent enough to avoid one of the best-known logical fallacies.
Your link does not work
Except it 's not a link, but an URL.
Simply copy&paste to the browser address bar.
No it does not.
regards
http://tinyurl.com/8euwucr
Every time I see Andrew Wilkie on television or hear him on the radio, (apart from being reminded that he is a current day example of the pursed lipped wowser of Australian folklore), I find myself wondering if, one day, we in the public might get to hear from one of the soldiers he assures us he once enjoyed "leading".
Given that the average Australian infantryman has the most highly developed bullshittometer known to man, I would be interested to hear how he was regarded at the time by those troops he led. I have a very strong suspicion that it would be about the same as he is regarded by 85 to 89% of Australians today (i.e., those who don't vote for the Greens).
Having said all that, on the question of Afghanistan, it may be a bit of a worry, but I find myself agreeing with the man. All we're buying with our young soldiers' blood is time. Following the Vietnam script almost to the letter, 12 to 18 months after the West declares "victory" and leaves the Godforsaken place, the Taliban will be in control and the current government and those who supported it will be presenting themselves at our borders begging for refuge.
Whichever Anonymous; I agree, having done Vietnam stints in 1968, 1969, 1971.
I think a lot are leaving early
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