So Kathy what would you have the US and Australia and others do? Withdraw at once and leave the place to the Taliban, warlords and assorted extremists? Your innocent families will scream even louder then. If you have a solution which does not involve yet more suffering for the Afghan people then lets hear it.

More aid I hear you say? the trouble is that a great deal has gone into the place already (aside from the military presence). If you will recall Australian troops have been building infrastructure in one province, but that is only a small part of the effort. However, to judge from you piece grinding poverty is still the norm. What guarantees can you present that further aid will not simply be taken by the warlords and Taliban once the soldiers pull out? will the main industry become opium crop growing (as I believe it is already)?

As for the US involvement I was under the impression that there was a timetable for withdrawal, as there is for the Aus forces. If so what is it?

Fewer heartfelt pleas and more information would be good.

Their screams aren't being heard because of the bombs and the Apache helicopters and drones and tanks.

Afghanistan is another botched effort by Western Imperial Powers led by the U.S. They came, they destroyed, then they hightailed it out of there as they usually do (except for their ubiquitous military bases).

How much longer are we going to follow the U.S. in its murderous attempt to dominate the whole world?

We only made one serious mistake in Afghanistan; that was to leave prematurely, with the"job only half done; and then came back, with insufficient numbers to try and finish the"job".
I'm glad we are going and leaving the Afghan people to reinstate their own primitive customs, if that's what they want? We're told we don't understand Afghanistan, with its deeply entrenched centuries long murderous tribal conflict, heroin addiction and women with no more rights than herded cattle.
I would have advocated the use of tactical nuclear weapons. No not on entirely innocent civilians; just the very porous border; and entirely uninhabited mountainous country; that allows murderous Taliban extremists to come in, wreck havoc and murderous mayhem; then scuttle back over a protective border.
I would not allow them to continue to do that with absolute impunity; and finally have them understand, just what the west will contemplate; to end the terror campaign that started with the entirely unjustifiable toppling of the twin towers or the murderous bloodthirsty killing for its own sake, war on non-combatant civilians. Scream away, but at the real culprits, the extremist Taliban, who made the war the literal reality it is today! Rhrosty.

How much longer are we going to follow the U.S. in its murderous attempt to dominate the whole world?
David G,
For as long as it takes for the likes of you to wake up I guess.

Another anti-American article that makes no attempt to provide any solution to the problem of human rights in Afghanistan.
So I'll ask you, Ms Kelly, the question I asked Tranter and her supporters several times (which remained unanswered), what is your solution to the human rights abuses in Afghanistan?

(which remained unanswered)
Aristocrat,
That is the nature of Academia. Keep telling us how not good things are yet never once offering solutions. I suppose that's what attracts them to the left where they can go on producing zilch yet still get well paid positions & feel warm'n fuzzy amid the mutual self admiration circle. I think useless parasites would be a more apt name instead of academic.