Murder and torture allegations against elite soldiers in Afghanistan have been described as more “evil” and “worse” than the atrocities at Abu Ghraib prison, prompting cries for urgent cultural change within the Australian army.
War crimes report details ‘evil’ acts by Australian soldiers
Four years into a constant stream of misconduct allegations, it’s hard to know how to process the latest revelations about the actions of Australia’s special forces in Afghanistan.
The reputation of Australia’s special forces is beyond repair — it’s time for them to be disbanded
A US marine says Australians were known to leave “fire and bodies” in their wake in Afghanistan Australian soldiers from 2nd Commando Regiment told the ABC the US Drug Enforcement Administration refused to work with the November platoon in Afghanistan It is unclear if the alleged killing is covered in the Inspector-General of the Australian Defense Force’s inquiry US marine says Australian special forces soldiers made ‘deliberate decision to break the rules of war’ – ABC News
Fake News Trump pulled out of Syria (ODT)
via U.S. Troops To Stay In Afghanistan Several More Years, Says General
America protects its drug business in Aghanistan which began in the 70s could one imagine the profits made over that period. budget The global monetary value of the heroin market is of the same order of magnitude as the defense budget of the USA $717 billion .
Needless to say, the Pentagon not to mention the CIA which launched the opium economy in Afghanistan in the late 1970s are intent upon protecting this multibillion dollar industry. The proceeds of the Afghan drug trade were initially used to finance the recruitment of Al Qaeda Mujahideen mercenaries to fight in the Soviet-Afghan war.
Trumps dream of a Nobel Prize blew up in his face again but in his eagerness to show what a failure he infact is he twittered the promise of a peace accord and it’s failure ought to be sufficient to gain him the recognition he craves. Promise of peace in Iran, Afghanistan Syria and Nth Korea along with their accompanying failures Trump believes should be enough to have him crowned and celebrated as a global Caesar rather than a screwed up Nero. Afterall the blame is not his. (ODT
But little was made of that at the time. The endgame of the talks seemed near, if not the timetable. Only then came Trump’s tweets on Saturday night disclosing that he had invited the Taliban and Ghani to Camp David — but called it off, citing the bombing.
The tweets took many in the administration by surprise; there was no reason for Trump to reveal what had happened, several officials said, especially since he has not given up on the idea of a negotiated settlement.
via How Donald Trump’s secret plan to meet the Taliban came together, and fell apart
It’s what the LNP did with the history of this nation they went to war the ALP took them out of Vietnam and the LNP kept helping in more Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, all losing ones. They needed a winning war and decided on calling Asylum seekers “illegals” saying ‘Nope to the Malaysian Solution and telling Australia that they were winning a just war against “deplorables”. A Democracy is diminished when it’s government has too many secrets and buys and lies their way into power without any reasoned policies just scare mongering on the undeclared donations of Palmer and Murdoch. (ODT)
I8 year loss language is being renegotiated to claim a 2019 WIN. After a loss on a wall language is being renegotiated to claim a 2019 WIN. The Art of the deal is changing the Language. POTUS no longer needs an Administration just a mega-media giant. News Corp and Sinclair have provided that.(ODT)
via After 18 Years of War, Taliban Has the Upper Hand in Afghanistan Peace Talks
Behind closed doors, the words “war crimes” are being used. Not only specific incidents, but the entire culture and command structure of Australia’s most renowned and trusted fighting force is now under scrutiny in a manner unprecedented in Australian military history.
via Abdul’s brother went out to buy flour. He never came home
The story didn’t say whether any of the reporters listening to General Dunford asked why it had taken more than 16 years for the world’s leading military power to come up with the “fundamentally different approach” that the general believes has put U.S. and Afghan forces on the path to success. (None of the changes he mentioned really sounded fundamental, either.) Still, it’s a question worth asking: If Americans are right in ceaselessly telling themselves that theirs is the most powerful country the world has ever seen and that their military is the “greatest fighting force ever,” as President Trump calls it, should it have been this hard and taken this long to find a way — if they really have — to defeat enemies whose war-making resources are a tiny fraction of ours?
via “Infinity War?” After 17 fruitless years in Afghanistan & elsewhere the US Military needs to Rethink
Sjursen says U.S. foreign policy “has been unmoored and drifting away from anything close to sober strategy for coming up on 17 years now. I think the post-9/11 wars have been an absolute tragedy, and probably the greatest foreign policy disaster since the Vietnam War. … I truly believe we are less safe because of American foreign policy and American militarism in the world since 9/11.”
via Maj. Danny Sjursen: U.S. Foreign Policy Doesn’t Make Us Safe (Audio)
Trump’s mercenary supporter Erik Prince has a self-serving proposal for Afghanistan. It must be condemned and rejected.
Women in Afghanistan now have their own television channel.Zan – or Women’s – TV began airing this month, with a staff of all female presenters and producers.
Source: First women’s TV channel launched in Afghanistan | Afghanistan News | Al Jazeera
Afghan officials receive 10,000 automatic rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition as a gift from Russia.
Defence department figures reveal ‘tactical payment scheme’ paid an average of $73 an incident for ‘collateral damage to property, injury or loss of life’
Source: Australia pays $207,000 compensation to 2,800 Afghans over six years | World news | The Guardian
