The emblematic Red Poppy that once graced the hillsides of Flanders, is to once again be honored, on the 11th Nov 2011, as the Day of Remembrance. Poppy ( not to be confused with Afghan variety Opium seed. ) Armistice & Veteran's Day - signifies very little has changed over the millennium.

We are still at War !

Mercurial, Obama ( Dec.2009 ) rhetorically declared, all US troops would be withdrawn by 2014 !
Paradoxically, and in the same breath, Bagram & Kandaha AFB, are being expanded fivefold, to house the greatest Military War Machine, history has ever known ! Bigger then Diego Garcia & Ben Hur combined ! Presently 150,000 troops from 48 Countries are involved in NATO-ISAF. Embedded, are 195,000 Afghan National Army servicemen and 125,000 Afghan National Policemen.

Noticeably, we celebrate TEN years, 2 Presidents, 4 Defence Ministers,and 10 US Generals later. The Afghan War costing $ 1.2 B a Day, with civilian deaths exacerbating daily, at an alarming rate. The coalition of the willing, is looking decidedly more like the " killing fields of Pol Pot's Kampuchea ".

The grim reality - this interminable, asymptomatic, and unwinnable War, is replicating what History has decreed : " the grave yard of Empires ".( Alexander, Mongol, British, Soviets etc ) Quixotically, with a burgeoning US National debt crisis of $14.7 T,and the greenback in free-fall, why lose sleep over a lost cause and trifling skirmish ? Indeed.

The ADF is fully committed to the Mentoring Program, which has to date, cost four Australian lives, and seven mortally wounded. This cynical training of the ANA, has been an unmitigated disaster and abysmal failure, from Day one. 300,000 strong, only 1:5 are literate. Majority are hardwired to systemic corruption,

cont..

corruption, desertions, drugs, bribery, tribal pay-backs, etc. In short, this basket-case, exercise, proves conclusively, it's an unmitigated, poxy-moronic, hair-brained schmozzle that will inevitably lead to more grief and pain. Over this perdition,over 40 Military lives, among 20 ISAF Countries, have needlessly been sacrificed.

Palpably,Kazai's praetorian body guard are all ( Blackwater Inc ) Foreigners.

Afghans follow simple axiomatic truths and values:
. Family
. Tribe
. Honor
. culture & Country
One has to understand the Psych before the physiological. Importantly, why are we there ?
OECD, rates Afghanistan, as one of the poorest e.g 91st in the World.$ 29.8 B GDP. $1000, per Capita. 36 % unemployed, and suffering extraneous impoverishment. Depends on Foreign Aid, petroleum, etc and the Opium Trade. 3.3 million Afghan's produce over $ 3.B worth of Opium ( CIA Fact files ) which kills and maims 100,000 world-wide. Particularly vulnerable are the Soviets, who share borders. Putin claims it's become a pandemic. Replacing vodka, as the staple diet of the Nation.

Finally, in the modicum of hindsight, our 1550 servicemen & women, are highly unlikely to be recalled in the short term. Defence Minister Smith, made it quite clear in NO uncertain terms. We are there for the long haul.

Yet, another Ministerial obscuration and more chicanery.

More's the pity.

"When Remembrance Day comes around next week many of us will" remember Ned Kelly and/or the sacking of Whitlam?

Australians barely bother with this day, preferring the Great Pissup of ANZAC Day.

Why do people join the forces, is the real mystery to me.

If it's 'for a job' then we need to re examine the role of work urgently.

War, particularly for the USA, is a good business and their nation would be financially crippled without it everywhere.

We should pull our soldiers out of Afghanistan and keep them out of any future wars over there.

If we went to war to make Afghanistan a democratic nation that was a clone of the West, why, there's no end of nation states that deserve an invasion, not the least China, Burma, Nth Korea, Mexico, and just about every nation in Africa.

An argument could be made that the USA needs a democracy injection, but no one wants to look at that.