Wilkie on target

Not especially bright on fighting non-state actors.

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.

Gillard and Abbott not credible with Operation:USELESS DIRT

The reference to Vietnam is apt.

This government (and Defence) lack of understanding of non-state warfare is telling.

Yet, there is no valid reason; no valid mission that the ADF can perform in Operation:USELESS DIRT,  that contributes anything to the defence of the nation, or NATO countries.

Gillard:

A visibly emotional Ms Gillard pledged Australia cannot have its war aims dictated by ''even the most grievous of losses'' after the worst bloodshed for Australians in combat in decades.
"We are making progress. I can tell you that, I've seen it with my own eyes when I have visited Afghanistan,'' she said.

Not credible. Well, credible as a chicken-hawk or as a sign of gross ignorance. I forget. What Regiment did she serve in?

What progress? The security environment there is a house of cards that will fall once military forces leave. And after we leave, it still will not have an effect on our national security. Well, if we had a strong leader that could do more than spell "national security".

Abbott:

"They died in the service of our country, trying to make the world a better place and our country will draw strength from their service and memory."

If those are the only reasons to have the ADF in Operation:USELESS DIRT, they are damn bad ones. I would rather the enemy die in the service of their country. Oh, wait. They don't have one. And, what better place Mr. Abbott? We already have plenty of examples from history. Some of the ops our brave soldiers died for in the past were a lost cause, operationally stupid or both.

Just like today.

No thanks, Mrs. Gillard. No thanks Mr. Abbott.

Strong leadership requires getting out now rather than later. THAT would impress the voting public and show an example of common sense.

Lyndon Baines Gillard

Lyndon Baines Gillard's response to the latest loss of a brave Australian soldier in Operation: USELESS Dirt (OUD) is nothing less than despicable.

Ms Gillard says Australia remains committed to continuing the mission in the war-torn country despite the latest death.

"For many Australians when they hear this news, they will ask themselves again: why are we in Afghanistan, why do we continue to fight there, why do we continue to see these losses in Afghanistan?"

"We went there to make sure that Afghanistan would not continue to be a safe haven for terrorists.

"That continues to be our mission which has a defined purpose and a defined timeline.

"So we will continue our mission in Afghanistan even as we grieve this loss," Ms Gillard said.

OUD provides no valid defensive value to Australia. Afghanistan is a tribal culture that cannot be changed. It is not our business to attempt such a thing.

A culture that thinks this is normal behaviour. A culture that has no ability to operate in a military fashion lusted after by the chicken hawks that got us in there and keep us there.

What is more of a security threat to Australia? Afghanistan, or letting half-a-dozen boats land in Australia...per week?

Absurd.

2014? Now is just as good a time as any. Waiting until 2014 will not change a thing. What is just as bad is that the opposition party has no practical words about Afghanistan either.

The only strategic sense on OUD comes from (wait for it)...

The Greens.