The charging of Australian soldiers with manslaughter in the middle of a war just shows what a pathetic country we are. It's OK for a terrorist to surround himself with women and children so that he can kill our soldiers more easily but, if those soldiers fire back and accidentally kill civilians, they will be charged.

We should all hang our heads in shame that we have allowed our rotten politicians to involve our country in Afghanistan. It's the job of our troops to protect our country from terrorism and other threats here, at home - not to be killed and abused by their own country in a crap house like Afghanistan which will be just the same in a 100 years time.

Leigh, what you say is true.
If our soldiers who are fighting in a thankless war and are going to be thanked for doing their job from the Austalian Government by charging them for killing civilians when the Taliban are fighting from within the ranks of the civilians, then the Australian public must request our soldiers be brought home. Nobody wants to see civilians accidently killed, but who would want to be a soldier put in this kind of dreadful predicament. I say bring them home.

Yes, bring them home, hear hear. Shooting babies, children and teenagers - what an utter disgrace to Australia's name. Get them out now!

I would suggest Peter Hume that you try and look at the type of war our soldiers are fighting. It is terrible that innocent children and women are being killed. But, if the Taliban are fighting from whithin the homes of these innocent civilians, it makes this war an unwinnable war and if our soldiers are only there to pick up the pieces after the Taliban, this work should be left to civilians not soldiers. Lets hope we don't go down the same path our returning soldiers experienced during and after the Vietnam war.

I also agree with Leigh completely.

In an earlier post on another topic I lauded Hume with a "Hurrah!" but he has sadly earned nothing but "Boo..ooo" for this post.
Has anyone thought the implications over carefully.

It is a well-established fact that standard Taliban tactics is hiding behind women and children. They have no regard for women whom they despise and treat as slaves. Children are denied education and loving nurturing. It is therefore easy for them to adopt these tactics.
Well, on the night in question you have australian commandos advancing on forward enemy territory when from within a house someone opens fire on them, obviously with intentions to kill them. Taken by surprise the commandos return enemy fire as they are taught to. Not only this but every one when surprised sudenly reacts involuntarily in fright with appropriate defensive action. It is reflex action. The children are killed as is the coward. And wretched Hume supports the Taliban action. It is unbelieveable. It is despicable and to be deplored and roundly condemned. He would be quite happy for the Aussie soldiers to be returned to their loved ones in flag-drped coffins. What would Hume have done if he was in their place?

socratease

We should not be in Afghanistan.The war on terror is a lie.It is all about oil,resources,drugs and selling arms for profit.

Yes, Arjay, America bad, everybody else good.

Every US involvement overseas = oil. Pretty simple, really.

There is no such thing as al Qa'ida.

There is no threat to anyone from the Taliban.

There are no Islamic fundamentalist groups anywhere, seeking to bring back the Caliphate.

Groups seeking to bring back the Caliphate are harmless and anyway are anti-US.

There are no fundamentalist groups of any sort, except those manufactured by the US and therefore bad [Hey, you got that right!]. Therefore all other fundamentalist groups: Hindu, Islamist, Buddhist, are good.

Human rights is a bourgeois concept manipulated by the US.

No human rights would be abused by the Taliban, Iran or any other fundamentalist group, which don't exist.

The Mafia doesn't exist. Except to assassinate JFK.

Yes it's all really quite easy: there is A and B, nothing else. Either/or. Black or white. Bad US puppeteer, everybody else puppets - or anti-US, therefore good.

Well, it saves a hell of a lot of thinking, and making fine judgments. Yes, Arjay, the US is in the wrong on many occasions (Iraq, Israel) but not always, and trying to tell the difference is the hard bit. But Manichaean dichotomies make it all so much simpler, don't they ?

Joe

Joe,you are pushing the proverbial up hill.Most of the planet knows the truth.It is just ignorant Westerners and their media con men that keeps them ignorant.

Prior 911 the Taliban had stopped the production of poppy plants,hence the world wide heroine drought.Now the USA is there,it supplies 90% of the world heroine @ $40 billion profit.Hamid Karzi uwsed to be on the payroll of UNOCAL oil which is putting a pipline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan,Pakistan to the Capsian Sea.Now we hear that Afghanistan has $trillions in resources ie lithium for batteries.

Iraq was a lie,like Vietnam.It is all about war for profit and power.

God morning Arjay,

<<Iraq was a lie,like Vietnam.It is all about war for profit and power.>>

Yes.

The war in Iraq had nothing to do with terrorism: don't believe Bush's propaganda, Arjay. Or the Taliban's propaganda about the heroin trade. It's a complicated world, mate.

Check out your Google Maps: the gas pipelines from Turkmenistan would go both ways, west across the Caspian Sea to Europe, and east across Afghanistan to China and Pakistan. And I think it may be Chinese companies which are investing in Afghanistan's rare earths. Certainly they are investing to mine Afghanistan's coal deposits. We live in a multilateral-capitalist world now, Arjay. They're all b@stards now.

Joe

Well put Joe

So Loudmouth,anything goes.The USA,Europe,Israel can now become like the Nazis and bring in a new era of oppression?

Non sequitur, Arjay.

In fact, I'm trying to understand what you are referring to. But let me guess: foreign investment in any country of any company based in another country, including Chinese investment in Africa, Gulf States investment in Australia, Russian investment in Vietnam - is that what you are getting at ?

Or are you referring to US policy in the Middle East ? Yes, if the Palestinian situation could be resolved (my preference is for a single, secular, democratic state), then many of the threats to world peace might be reduced. The democratic forces in Iran may be strengthened as the rationale of the ayatollahs would be dissipated. Of course, pigs might fly first, since not many of the many sides in the Israel-Palestine dispute, inside and outside of Palestine, are willing to make any concessions.

Meanwhile, independently of the US puppet-masters, people devise their own crackpot ideologies, including fundamentalisms of all sorts, based either on the racial superiority of their group A to groups B and C, or of their Book to all other Books, or of the need to put their Book into literal practice and exterminate all non-believers in order to impose the Word of their God all over the earth. Or else group X believes that it has an innate right to rule as it once did (according to its own myths) in 1252 AD or 3459 BC or whenever over the territories of its lesser neighbours. As, for example, China is now doing in relation to the oil-rich South China Sea and Sudan, and Russia is threatening to do in relation to the oil-rich Caucasus and central Asia. And yes, the US everywhere, as one of many exploiters.

As I said before, they are all b@stards now, all interested in other people's oil and gas and iron and coal and rare earths. No country is somehow morally privileged to keep out of the game, they are all prepared to get their hands dirty. Life in the 21st century, Arjay. I don't make the rules and I don't like them either.

Joe

Loudmouth the USA is currently the most powerful military force on the planet by far.The USA people unfortunately are not in charge of their country.It is the military industrial complex ie a cabal of global corporates who really control the USA and they want it all.

While China,Russia,or Middle Eastern countries have totaliarian regiemes,it does not give us the right to invade their countries and steal their energy/resources

Oh dear, Arjay,

<<While China,Russia,or Middle Eastern countries have totaliarian regiemes,it does not give us the right to invade their countries and steal their energy/resources>>

I think that you may be misunderstanding what I am trying to say: that

(a) the US is not the only power/exploiter on the planet, and

(b) I am not saying that the US is invading China, Russia etc., that conversely, these countries are quite capable and intent on invading/controlling/exploiting whatever other countries and their resources that they can get their hands on, just like the US. None of them have some right to 'steal' other countries energy/resources. But the US is one of many, it is not the only exploiter, and not necessarily the biggest either.

I'm suggesting, Arjay, that it is a very complex world, much more than a simple US-bad/all others-good world. Many, many countries, movements and groupings have their own dynamics, their own conpulsions, regardless of Halliburton or the Carlisle Group or the CIA - they have their own axes to grind, their own idiotic preoccupations against their evil Callathumpian or Baratarian or Brobdignagian neighbours, their historic enemies. The world doesn't dance to US tunes all the time, or react ONLY against US tunes all the time. The US is a major player, but it's not the only player.

But surely you already know that ?

Joe

Loudmouth,of course Iran and China etc have much left to be desired in terms of human rights issues,however since 911, the USA and the West are approaching decadence and human rights incursions far beyond that of our perceived enemies.

The war in Afghanistan is a lie,just like Iraq.I can prove it.Would you like to put all your assets on bet, to disprove the reality?

Hi Arjay,

<<The war in Afghanistan is a lie,just like Iraq.I can prove it.>>

Go for it. 'Prove' is a hell of a task, I wish you well.