How ironic for Julie Bishop to cite Harry Truman as a role model when talking about peace and reconciliation.

Truman should be remembered as the only world leader to ever unleash not one, but two atomic weapons on an already defeated nation, which more ironically had been secretly suing for peace since February 1945.

Truman dropped both bombs on 'targets' that had no military threat, they were civilian cities playing no role in the broader war theatre.

This, despite strong and open condemnation from military leaders including Marshall, Eisenhower, King and too many others to list here. Even Oppenheimer and Einstein warned Truman that it would unleash a cold war with Russia, which had ironically invaded Japan just a couple of days prior to the end of the war. I guess the decision to bomb was more about US hegemony and its then and continuing aggressive need to control the entire western sphere of the world.

How Julie can quote Truman when talking about Sri Lanka is beyond me, I guess it is here continuing lack of intelligence and a biased appreciation of history that rolls out these rants.

Geoff of Perth

Rant, vb. 1. to utter (something) in loud, violent, or bombastic tones. 2.~n. loud, declamatory, or extravagant speech, bombast.

Boomerang mud: “It’s the kind of mud you chuck that whirls around and just comes back and hits you in the face.” (Prime Minister Gillard, March 18th, 2012).

Alice

While one can and does agree with most of what Julie espouses, one prefers the Nelson Mandela, truth and reconciliation model or approach.
Sri Lanka really do need to forgive and put the past behind her!
But particularly the govt!
Who can now pursue and punish the Tamils at will, who were inherently, I believe, no worse or more blood thirsty, than the Senegalese?
[Simply persecuting a minority, will simply put the previous problems back in place, with far worse atrocities performed?]
However, had Harry Truman ever have been involved in any Sri Lanken outcome, he probably would have nuked the troublesome Tamils many years ago? [Hiroshima, Nagasaki?]
Would that have saved any lives? Who can say? Perhaps just the threat of such an event, would have put a firm and lasting negotiated peace in place?
Rhrosty.

A very informative account by Ms Bishop.

There are no grounds for rebuke for quoting Mr Truman. The Japs, not Mr Truman, caused all the war deaths including those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the despicable crime of aggression against China and then a slew of other countries including Australia and America.

However there are grounds to differ from Ms Bishop’s glossing over the crimes against the Tamils who fought for their right to self-determination in their Tamil Eelam homeland. The conflict grew out of injustice, not a mere “sense of injustice” as Ms Bishop, in diplomatic mode, calls it. It is important that the Tamils (now blocked at gunpoint from self-determination) not BE excluded from the mainstream economy - not just that they not FEEL excluded which is as far as Ms Bishop goes.

In this context, there are hard questions to be asked of the evasive Nicola Roxon about how Tamil refugees have come to be labelled a security risk by the Australian secret police. A risk to Australian security, or a risk to cosy government to government relations with the butchers in Colombo?

Geoff of Perth is very close to being an online stalker.
It does not matter what Julie Bishop writes, Geoff of Perth finds some reason to be highly critical and usually casts personal slurs and insults.
My advice to Geoff is that if he does not like what Julie Bishop writes. DON'T READ IT!
Alternatively, write an article yourself and show her how it should be done.
Come on Geoff, put together a few hundred words on Sri Lanka and give us an opportunity to comment about your abilities!
I am sure you will impress the world with your intellect and prose.

Well thank you all for your comments and feedback, it's very much appreciated.

I respond to Julie, firstly because she is the future potential Deputy Prime Minister, provided the Liberal front bench does not change between now and the coming 2013 election.

Julie has a very myopic view of history, current events and a personal intellect that, in my view, should see her relegated to the back bench at best.

Julie is just another mediocre politician sucking on the teat of hard working Australian taxpayers and as such, her views irk me because of her lack of reality, her continued support of Tony Abbott, who is hardly worth calling a politician, let alone a person of integrity.

My opinion is just that, my opinion and I am entitled to post whatever I think is my view on her posts.

This is also coming from someone who has predominantly voted Liberal for most of his life, now I just vote for whichever party has the most sensible, rational and progressive policies, we have yet to see any policy from the Libs, which these days, does not surprise me.

As to writing an article of my own, well perhaps I may just do that.