I quite agree with the main stay of thinking here. The US has a history of picking fights for its war machine, and even with us being friends, its time our lads came home. We have helped you US, we have always been there for you, now its time you stood in that country your trying to fix.....and Iam being so coy. Now! Australian's are good warriors, and this is why peace is the place where we live. I think, if something comes up our beaches, we'll blow its head off:) with foul intent of course:) The 23 year old that just died, and of course others.....was just a waste in my opinion, and we seem to be killing off our best for some reason, and we import more other people from over-sea's to fill the IQ gaps........does something seem strange there, or is it just me.

LEA

We are propping up the "corrupt" Karzai governemnt in Kabul, Kellie, because the alternative is a lot worse. Either we create a strong, pro western government in Afghanistan, or we surrender the place to people who really do want to kill you, your kids, your parents, and every other westerner, because we do not worship their God.

Just for your information, Kellie, there is nothing that professional soldiers like more than a "nice" little war where they can finally get to do what they have been so highly trained for. Afghanistan fits that bill nicely. Allied casualities have been trifling, while enemy casualities have been heavy. Being a member of Al Qaida or the Taliban is not conducive to either longevity or good health.

European armies which have not heard an angry shot in 70 years have all got contingents in Afghanistan, and competetition to serve their is fierce. Even the bloody Canadians are in it and their soldiers are doing a great job. The Deutchies have been polishing up their panzers and are having a great old time. There is nothing like a good war to bring out the best in the Germans.

Only this month we got some runs on the board. Osama is dead, and so is that slimebag who masterminded the Killings in India. Another top Talib commander got squished by a Predator drone just a few days ago.

I heard that outdoor barbecues are not popular with the Talibs.

What sets this war apart from every other, is that for the first time in the history of armed conflict, the Good Guys are either
routinely killing off the enemy leaders or scaring the ever loving sheet out of them. Nothing ruins your day more than having your friends vapourised right in front of you as if they were hit by the hammer of Thor.

Personally, Kellie, I think that terrorising terrorists is a great idea.

This is an unpopular posting.
When the US was hit by an attack, responsibility for which was claimed by someone in Afghanistan, with which the US did not have an extradition treaty, and who boasted of planning further attacks, it's within international law for the US' to attempt to capture or kill that person.
If the US does make the attempt, and disrupts the host country's government, and particularly its ability to provide security for its citizens, international law requires the US to provide that security, or organise others to do so.
Those are the legal reasons the US is in Afghanistan. Doubtless the less honourable reasons are also true - opening the Afghan economy to capitalism, and senior soldiers wanting a little war that doesn't threaten them very much. Australia is only there for the endless paying of our so-called insurance policy - ANZUS, which, of course, is nothing of the sort.
The Taliban, and the many others like them, including large elements of Pakistan's ISI, would like to return Afghanistan to their inter-war period of the 1990s, in which the Taliban attempted to re-make Afghanistan along the lines of their version of Islam, becoming something like Saudi Arabia without the oil, and Syria without the influence on its neighbours.
If this were to happen, it should only do so with the consent of the majority of the Afghan people. It will certainly happen if the foreign troops leave now, and it will happen over the dead bodies of any Afghanis who don't want it to happen.