An Open Submission to Australian Parliament re Deadly and Tragic Misadventure in Afghanistan
Please remember, silencing the truth and murdering the free speech won’t help anyone.
Faruque Ahmed
Moderator
Free Australia Now, Mobile: 041 091 4118
Phillip Coorey CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
October 1, 2010
CRACKS are appearing in the bipartisan approach to the war in Afghanistan, with the Prime Minister demanding that Tony Abbott clarify opposition calls for greater involvement.
The exchange came as the Tasmanian independent, Andrew Wilkie, a former soldier and intelligence officer, used his maiden speech to Parliament to decry the war as it headed towards ''inevitable disaster'' and demand the withdrawal of all foreign troops.
Australia has lost 21 men in Afghanistan; five in just over two months.
On Wednesday, the opposition defence spokesman, David Johnston, responded to complaints from soldiers on the ground and said Australia needed more men and equipment.
He proposed ''constructive discussions'' aimed at sending 360 more personnel, to add to the 1550 already there, as well as sending Tiger helicopters, Abrams tanks, mortars and artillery.
Parliament will debate the war before the end of this year.
Julia Gillard said yesterday the current commitment was based on advice from the Chief of the Defence Force, Angus Houston. She said she was ''optimistic'' the bipartisan approach to the war would continue, but if the opposition wanted to break ranks, Mr Abbott should say so himself, and not leave it to his shadow ministers.
''On an issue like this, of such utmost seriousness, really it is important that the Leader of the Opposition clarify what is the formal position of the opposition on this question,'' she said.
The Defence Minister, Stephen Smith, told Parliament that Air Chief Marshal Houston had assured him again yesterday that 1550 soldiers was ''sufficient and appropriate''.
He said Senator Johnston's suggestion would require between 450 and 600 extra personnel and this should be discussed during the parliamentary debate. But it should be remembered Australia was not alone in Afghanistan and had air, artillery and other support.
Last week Mr Smith visited the Australian base at Tarin Kowt, where soldiers asked him for more help because they said they were stretched too thin.
Separately, a trooper claimed in an email that the latest casualty, Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney, would not have died had there been adequate artillery and air support.
In April, Mr Abbott used his inaugural foreign policy address to the Lowy Institute to suggest Australia consider taking control of Oruzgan province when the Dutch left in August. This would require a total force of about 6000.
Mr. Wilkie told Parliament yesterday that any chance of success in Afghanistan was blown in 2002 when the US concentrated its efforts on Iraq.
Terrorism had since morphed into a global threat and ''that we must stay in Afghanistan to protect Australia from terrorism is a great lie peddled by both the government and the opposition''.
The excuse that Australia's presence in Afghanistan was a measure of the strength of the US alliance was ''misplaced sentiment'', he said.
Mr Wilkie said stabilising the country was becoming ''increasingly unachievable because foreign troops which anchor such a solution are now seen by many Afghans as the problem''.
In 2003 Mr Wilkie blew the whistle on intelligence used to justify war in Iraq.
Faruque Ahmed
Moderator
Free Australia Now, Mobile: 041 091 4118
Lieutenant General Mark Evans defends the Army against claims it is failing Australian troops in Afghanistan. Picture: Gary Ramage Source: The Australian
Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney, pictured with his wife Beckie and daughter Annabell, was killed in Afghanistan Source: Supplied
A soldier claims Lance Corporal MacKinney would be alive if the army provided better support Source: Supplied
- Digger hits out at lack of military support
- "Army let us down" says soldier in email
- Troops "exposed to unnecessary risks"
- Join us over on Facebook | Twitter
AN email from a soldier who criticised the army over a deadly battle will be part of an investigation, Defence Minister Stephen Smith says.
Digger Jared MacKinney died in the battle on August 24.
Another soldier who cannot be named told a friend in an email that it was a miracle that more Australians didn't die in the battle.
"The army has let us down mate and I am disgusted," he said.
Mr Smith told reporters after visiting HMAS Stirling south of Perth that force protection was a "serious matter" for the army and the government.
"The views of soldiers on the ground has always been taken into account so far as force protection measures in Afghanistan is concerned," he said.
"The issues that are raised in the email will be considered in the course of Defence's investigation of this matter."
Related Coverage
Intelligence
Defence has rejected claims its soldiers in Afghanistan do not have enough support.
Defence rejects leaked email claims
Defence has rejected claims its soldiers in Afghanistan do not have enough support.
Mr Smith said the email and media attention was a "terrible and tragic reminder" for the soldier's family.
Mr Smith said Australia's objective for Afghanistan remained unchanged.
He did not expect the soldier to face repercussions for the explosive email, which was sent to a mate in Australia and obtained by News Ltd.
Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Mark Evans earlier disputed the email at a news conference in Canberra.
"We are now starting to operate in areas we have not been to in the past," Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Mark Evans, said.
"The stage is now set for us to mentor the 4th (Afghan) brigade."
General Evans said claims Australians soldiers involved in one particular Afghan battle, which killed Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney, did not have adequate support were wrong, ill-informed and not helpful.
"It has caused some consternation with the unit and has undermined the excellent work being done at the tactical level by our troops," he said after detailing the battle.
He said Lance Corporal MacKinney was killed in the first hour of a three-hour firefight.
Different stories coming from the roughly 40 diggers involved in the so-called Battle of Derapat were to be expected.
"Everybody will have their own perspective," General Evans said.
He also denied reports the soldiers were low on ammunition but said there may have been resupplies during the firefight.
"We are doing an extremely good job," he said.
The Australian and Afghan National Army soldiers were expecting to be hit as they patrolled the green zone at Deh Rawood, 60km west of Tarin Kowt, on August 24.
In the email, the soldier accused the Australian Army of letting the troops down and exposing them to unnecessary risks.
"That contact would have been over before Jared died if they gave us f------ mortars," he said.
Lance Corporal MacKinney's widow, Becky, gave birth to their second child, a son, Noah, just five hours after his funeral service in Brisbane on September 10.
The soldier said in his email that his section had been in a contact 100m from the same spot two days earlier and reports from sappers clearing bombs on the morning of the battle had said civilians were fleeing the valley.
"That told us it was going to be on," he said.
The patrol's first big surprise was the size of the enemy force. No intelligence reports had prepared the two sections of about 24 men for a confrontation with up to 100 enemy attacking from multiple firing positions as close as 80m.
"We were at times pinned down by a massive rate of fire but we stuck to it," the soldier said.
The second shock for the Diggers, forced to withdraw as they started to run low on ammunition, was the complete lack of fire support from artillery, mortars or aircraft.
"We are not f------ happy, but then again the BG (Battle Group) f---- up the intelligence report because a certain Major writes it from the signal log book (radio log of conversation) instead of getting contact reports, patrol reports and a patrol debrief," the soldier said. "The army has let us down, mate, and I am f------ disgusted."
The soldier, from Brisbane's 6th Battalion, said an unmanned spy plane flew above the battlefield pin-pointing enemy positions throughout the three-hour battle, but effective fire support still failed to materialise.
He also revealed Lance-Cpl MacKinney died almost half an hour into the battle.
"Jared got hit and the boys were working on him but he would have been gone already," he said.
"They were copping rounds the whole time, all the way through to carrying him on the stretcher and loading him on the AME (Aero Medical Evacuation chopper)."
The soldier's email has been circulated to senior officers, including Defence Chief Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston.
His plea is supported by retired counter-insurgency expert, Major General Jim Molan.
"We must never incur casualties because the support for our soldiers was not fast enough, not accurate enough or not able to be used because of restrictive rules of engagement," General Molan said.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/diggers-email-from-frontline-says-australian-army-let-troops-down-in-afghanistan/story-e6frfkvr-1225927066209#ixzz10B70Ashp
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USA Must Quit Afghanistan Now
Salman Rushdie, Bin Laden, Ershad Manji, Ayaan Hirshi Ali, Norma Khouri, 50% Mosque Spaces For Women, Tanvir Ahmed, 72 Virgins to Nothing, Muslim Women Priests, Actual Australian Muslim Virgin, Meal Ticket in Germany, Monica Ali, Burqa, Bushfire, Dog, … all are carefully crafted and nurtured "accelerants" to create bushfires around the world between various sex, race, religion and people. Corporate governments of USA and Europe used to aid and abet religious extremists to counter nationalist secular movements around the world!
The Taliban and al-Qaida are a few groups biting them back and they do not have any relationship between any race and religion.
On September 27, 2001, the FBI released photos of the 19 hijackers, along with information about the possible nationalities and aliases of many.[85] Fifteen of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt (Atta), and one from Lebanon.[86]
15 of the alleged 19 “hijackers” were from US backed Saudi Arabia and none from Afghanistan!
On October 7, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan offered to "detain bin Laden and try him under Islamic law" if the United States made a formal request and presented the Taliban with evidence. The U.S. rejected this offer as insufficient.[41]
On October 14 the Taliban offered to discuss handing over Osama bin Laden to a neutral country in return for a bombing halt, but only if the Taliban were given evidence of Bin Laden's involvement.[46] The U.S. rejected this offer as a public relations ploy and continued military operations.
However, ten years of maiming and murdering innocent civilians, destroying nature and environment due to congenital prejudice and bigotry of the Zionised and robotic Americans, today, almost everyone have turned against them!
Therefore, the Americans must quit Afghanistan with proper apology and compensation without any delay whatsoever.
The abject failure of USA in Afghanistan from the beginning to end are due to a series of monumental failures of US strategies, tactics and arrogance impregnated with prejudice and bigotry. No one can blame any race or religion for their own wrong deeds!
Faruque Ahmed Moderator Free Australia Now, Mobile: 041 091 4118 Saturday, May 29, 2010
US admits blame for civilian death US admits blame for civilian deaths
A US drone attack which left 23 Afghan civilians dead when they were mistaken for Taliban fighters occurred due to the "unprofessional" approach of the soldiers involved, an internal military report has found. The civilians died on February 21 in Uruzgan province when three vehicles were hit by Hellfire missiles fired from a drone on the orders of a special forces commander on the ground. The report into the incident, released on Saturday, concluded that remote drone pilots, operating from Nevada, USA, provided "inaccurate and unprofessional reporting ... which deprived the ground force commander of vital information". "The strike occurred because the ground force commander lacked a clear understanding of who was in the vehicles, the location, direction of travel and likely course of action of the vehicles," the report said. "Information that the convoy was anything other than an attacking force was ignored or downplayed by the Predator crew." Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from Kabul, said people across the country were extremely angry at civilian deaths caused by foreign forces. "I don’t know how much this information, three months after the event, will help," she said. "Certainly people will be glad to have an admission of guilt, but these things happen again and again. On a national scale, I don't know how much of an impact it will have." Children ignored The report paints a damning picture of miscommunication in the hours leading up to the strike, compounded by "poorly functioning" command posts that "failed to properly analyse the situation". The investigation reveals how the drone operators saw children near the convoy, but went ahead with the strike regardless. "Two children were spotted near the vehicles, but inaccurate reporting from the crew of the unmanned Predator aircraft to the forces on the ground led the Operational Detachment Alpha [the special forces unit] to believe that the vehicles contained only armed military age males." The US military said that it was planning to improve its training to avoid further civilian deaths in the country. Four officers had been reprimaded as a result of the findings. "We must always be honest with ourselves about what we do well and what we can do better," General Stanley McCrystal, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement released with the report. Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, described the incident as "deeply regrettable" and said that he believed that the investigation had been "exhaustive." "I am also confident that appropriate actions are being taken with regard to those involved in the incident, and most importantly, to ensure measures are taken to prevent such accidents from happening again," he said in a statement. The US military has come under intense criticism over civilian deaths in Afghanistan and has repeatedly pledged to do all it can to avoid such incidents. |
Source: https://sites.google.com/site/crimesexposed/usa-must-quit-afghanistan-now
Yahoo Questions and Answers
In any civilized society each and everyone is innocent until and unless proven guilty or otherwise.
Now, could you kindly let me knew, which court, judge or jury have convicted Osama bin Laden of any crime; let alone terrorism?
Please do not bog down about the so called confession as we have many innocents in the US prison due to "confession" and many of them were cleared by the higher technology and courts.
Most importantly, the brilliant CIA and FBI were so desperate about Osama bin laden! It is not funny!! They have to doctor a photograph of a Spanish politician to make it look like bin Laden!!!
It is sickening.
On the other hand, the case against CIA, FBI and Israel are overwhelming. Many 9/11 Investigations and Reports are smelly.
So, at the end do not forget the word, "beyond reasonable doubt". I say so while I do not like people like bin Laden.
| Source: http://australianmosqueattack.blogspot.com/2010/05/osama-bin-laden-guilty-or-innocent.html
Burqa and Enemy
Bin Laden used t be `morally equivalent of American founding fathers'! Osama used to be the pin up boy of the corporate governments!! Secular and nationalists movements around the world used to be enemies of USA and religious extremists were invented and funded by USA, UK and other entities. One day, the American Terrorist Leader Bush was playing with Billy the goat and we found out about the so called 9/11. All planes of USA were grounded except those ones escorting the precious Bin Laden clans to safe heavens! Steel structured concrete buildings of Twin Towers melted like volcanic lava. Yet, the passport of the ring leader Mohammad Atta flew into the FBI desk! Anyway, none of those so called hijackers were originated from Afghanistan. Yet, Afghanistan was attacked and ruined due to pipe line dream and opium trade. Iraq had nothing to do with Bin Laden or 9/11! Yet, the Illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq is well-known as Iraq: A War For Israel and Iraq pullout would hurt Israel but totally ignored by the compliant media and establishments. In short they are running a crusade! They are using Bin Laden as a reason. Their modern day Inquisition, Conquistador and Crusade are much more brutal and vitriolic than old ones! Therefore it becomes a must to ask the following questions: 1. Who have elected Osama bin Laden as the leader of the Muslim world? 2. Since when and under what authority Osama bin Laden became spokes person or the undisputed leader of the Muslim and Arab world? 3. Since when and under what authority Osama bin Laden became `Pope' of the Arab and Muslim world? 4. Why Muslims and Arabs have to be guilty of alleged crimes of Osama bin Laden? 5. Who are behind these deadly games and why? Source: http://nswtaxiroyalcommission.blogspot.com/2010/05/osama-bin-laden-to-slaughter-arabs-and.html |
Afghanistan! A Graveyard of Western Prejudice and Bigotry?
“Afghanistan! A Graveyard of Western Prejudice and Bigotry?” is a public Blog and Site. Anyone is free to post a response with civility. Insanity and profanity won’t assist anyone. More than 10 years old American terrorism failed to destroy human spirit in Afghanistan and around the world. Covenant of Omar Can Bring Peace in Palestine, Osama bin Laden! Guilty or Innocent?, (who invented) Osama bin Laden to Slaughter the Arabs and Muslims, Afghanistan! Another Ancient Crusade of Our Time! and USA Must Quit Afghanistan Now are for your consideration. Why Do The Palestinians Commit Suicide? and Do You Like to Burn Your Wife Alive? can be used in this debate with objectivity. Salman Rushdie, Bin Laden, Ershad Manji, Ayaan Hirshi Ali, Norma Khouri, 50% Mosque Spaces For Women, Tanvir Ahmed, 72 Virgins to Nothing, Muslim Women Priests, Actual Australian Muslim Virgin, Meal Ticket in Germany, Monica Ali, Burqa, Bushfire, Dog, … all are carefully crafted and nurtured "accelerants" to create bushfires around the world between various sex, race, religion and people. Corporate governments of USA and Europe used to aid and abet religious extremists to counter nationalist secular movements around the world! So, please remove race and religion from this equation and deal with it accordingly. Gold mine in Afghanistan? Wednesday, 16 June, 2010 8:44 PM From: "Khondkar Saleque" There will be no peace in any Islamic country till in the name of religion people do not stop creating divides among themselves. If you talk about reforms they will call you murtads. You Mr Masud I understand you have read and analyzed Quaran , Bible . Can you tell me where it says you will go to heaven if you kill a non believer. What the hell is Talibans are doing? I have some firs thand experience. Talibans are killing more Afghans than foreign troops./ Their actions justifies presence of foreign troops. You wont believe how innocent and helpless are common Afghans. In my next assignment I will work with Afghan Energy Ministry to assist them in developing mineral resources. I will keep you posted. Think of ourselves. In Bangladesh there is no Taliban no US force or NATO force. But our condition is no better because we have too many hypocrites, religious fanatics living abroad like us. SS On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 8:32 PM, Masud Isa <masudisa@yahoo.com> wrote: This is dangerous. If the Talibans get hold of it, they will wage a thousand years war. A peaceful and Talibans and fundamentalist free Afghanistan will be able to reap the benefit of resources that Afghanistan has. These evil forces of darkness are a curse to humanity and progress who kill people in the name of Allah - as faith without compassion turns a man into a blood thirsty beast. From: Ertaz Chowdhury <ertaz1@hotmail.com>
Subject: Gold mine in Afghanistan?
Received: Wednesday, 16 June, 2010, 8:01 PM
Assalamu'alaykum,
You all know that since his campaign days Barack Obama was talking about Afghanistan. He also talked about surging US troops in the country. It's been found out that Afghanistan has more than a trillion dollars worth of Minerals including gold. May be that is the reason for its troop surge in Afghanistan.
TV channel RT reported the story regarding mining prospect in Afghanistan. | Source: https://sites.google.com/site/crimesexposed/afghanistan-a-graveyard-of-western-prejudice-and-bigotry |
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Afghanistan! Another Ancient Crusade of Our Time!
Are you going to plant some gum trees, insert a few koalas and kangaroos to change the landscape of Afghanistan? Or do you like to change their culture or religion? Remember, the hopeless South Korean missionaries went to the war ravaged country to spread the ‘good news’ beside many zealots with their zealotry! Ten years of genocide and destruction to export democracy and free speech (by murdering democracy and free speech) are paramount failure. Hyper powered super power America have been fighting Israel Centric Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Pakistan, … . Do you think the Dutch or anybody else for that matter has to fight for racist and fascist Israel and Christo-Fanatics? “…. some guys were vandalizing mosques,” Humphrey says. “Spray-painting ’em with crosses.” “Jesus killed Mohammed,” one of the men told him. The soldiers guffawed. JESUS KILLED MOHAMMED was about to cruise into the Iraqi night. “…… ambassadors for Christ in uniform,” according to Officers’ Christian Fellowship; “government paid missionaries,” according to Campus Crusade’s Military Ministry”. ” which is not to help this country to win a war on terror".“It’s satanic,” called out a member of the audience.
Faruque Ahmed Moderator Sydney Taxi Corruption and Expert News behind the News Mobile: 041 091 4118
Dutch in crisis over Afghanistan role February 21, 2010 THE Dutch government collapsed yesterday after members of the coalition government disagreed on a NATO request to extend the Netherlands' Afghanistan military mission. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced that the PvdA [Labour Party], the second largest party in his three-party alliance, was quitting. He made the announcement after the cabinet held more than 16 hours of talks in The Hague in a bid to settle the dispute between the PvdA and Mr Balkenende's Christian Democratic Appeal, the senior partner in the coalition. In the latest in a string of political rows, deputy Prime Minister Wouter Bos invoked the ire of his cabinet colleagues by stating last week that his PvdA would not support extending the Dutch deployment in Afghanistan beyond 2010. Political analysts said early elections appeared inevitable. Mr Balkenende said his Christian Democratic Alliance would continue in office together with the small Christian Union, and would ''make available'' Labour's cabinet seats. He did not spell out his intentions. The head of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, had asked the Netherlands this month to take on a new training role and remain in Afghanistan until August 2011, a year later than originally planned. Mr Bos's comments prompted Mr Balkenende to reply that the matter was still under discussion, while the Christian Union chided Mr Bos for speaking out of turn. The public fight resulted in a snap parliamentary debate on Thursday, during which Mr Bos was accused of using the issue for political gain as polls show his party lagging in the run-up to local government elections on March 3. The deployment of Dutch troops in Afghanistan has been an unpopular move with voters from the outset. ''As the leader of the cabinet, I came to the conclusion that there is no common road for the CDA, PvdA and the Christian Union to take into the future,'' Mr Balkenende said. ''For days we have seen that unity has been affected by statements that clash with recent cabinet decisions.'' This was Mr Balkenende's fourth government in a row in eight years. All have collapsed before their mandate expired. About 1950 Dutch troops are deployed in Afghanistan. |
Source: https://sites.google.com/site/crimesexposed/afghanistan-another-ancient-crusade-of-our-time
Afghanistan to Dickensian England! What Do You Think About It?
In Dickensian England people used to steal, rob and murder for survival. Some people used to sell their own bodies too.
In USA and NATO run Afghanistan kids can’t go to school today. They are also lacking employment opportunities and some of them are selling their own bodies too. Some western media outlets are making documentaries to expose these dreadful decays of the society to put down Afghan and Muslim society.
I am sure you can’t blame the Taliban for such a blatant failure.
One must wonder, is it a crime to be a poor? Or is it a crime to exploit poor and vulnerable?
What are the objective of USA and NATO in Afghanistan?
Are they going to plant some gum trees, insert a few koalas and kangaroos to change the landscape of Afghanistan?
Or do they like to change their culture or religion?
Remember, the hopeless South Korean missionaries went to the war ravaged country to spread the `good news' beside many zealots with their zealotry!
Ten years of genocide and destruction to export democracy and free speech (by murdering democracy and free speech) are paramount failure.
Come on reject robotic talk and find out the truth.
Source: https://sites.google.com/site/crimesexposed/afghanistan-to-dickensian-england-what-do-you-think-about-it
The Cabbie picked up the well built and possibly steroid rich soldier from the red-light district of Sydney’s Kings Cross. He must have good time with the fun girls of Kings X. Now he is going to the nearest army base worth of $120.00 taxi fare.
On the way discussion continued;
Cabbie: You must be soldier?
Soldier: Yup.
Cabbie: Afghanistan?
Soldier: You got it.
Cabbie: How is Afghanistan?
Soldier: Good.
Cabbie: What do you mean?
Soldier: You see, I paid all my bills, bought a brand new four wheel drive totally cash, I got no worry.
Cabbie: I see. Are you worried about the Talaban?
Soldier: We kick their arses, they don’t come near Australians; we beat them hard.
Cabbie: I thought the Americans are uncivilized and uncultured barbarians, they shoot anyone for any number of reasons. I never heard Australians are ugly like the Yanks!
Soldier: What?
Cabbie: How can you beat them? They are too many!?
Soldier: We got the bigger and better guns, tanks, helicopters and planes.
Cabbie: So you are winning the war. Yet, after almost eight years things are getting worse in Afghanistan!
Soldier: No mate, I am just doing a job and it is up to the government.
Cabbie: So, you are invading other peoples’ country, beating the people who did nothing against you or your country and you don’t worry about ‘karma’?
Soldier: No mate, we can do it, we Aussies are the best. Did you say ‘KARMA’ (with a scary voice)?
Cabbie: Here we go mate, we are at home.
Soldier: You have screwed me up buddy. Do you think I am guilty?
Source: https://sites.google.com/site/crimesexposed/afghanistan-is-good
