OK Bruce

A kind of relief really - with new info coming in. I'll write a Af-Pak piece by late June.

I'm leaning towards the camp that Obama has adopted Af-Pak as his own project towards hardline foreign/defence policy. The US military, a huge national juggernaut, is an essential constituency in itself for any President.

Pak is always a nuclear risk - that risk is a highly subjective assessment beyond Australian int capabilities - so in some ways what else is new about the muddling Af-Pak region?

I'm saying this is really hard - you have a better local handle - agreement or even disagreement on this this war that is killing many, including Aussies, can only help.

Regards

Pete

Yep, agree Pete. Where are we at? No debate on proposed defence acquisitions,no debate on water, a climate change debate driven by the coal industry,not even a debate about the importance or otherwise of sponser driven sport and the abuse it engenders.
All the best
Bruce

rpg, while Calley was certainly scapegoated to a large degree, his use of the Nuremburg defence is an appalling piece of self-justification.

Soldiers are only required to follow *lawful orders*.

If US soldier deserves sympathy for My Lai, it's someone like Hugh Thompson, who was mercilessly villified for years for trying to do the right thing.

The problem should not be considered a religious one because Al Qaeda disobeys many Islamic tenets.Why the war is difficult for Australia and the USA is because they do not realize that terrorists have huge weaknesses and can be defeated easily.Instead they make terrorists heroes by calling them jihadists and Mujahideen.This is strange and suggestions infiltration and compromise.View details in my blog,http://satanistterrorist.blogspot.com/.Thank you

The problem should not be considered a religious one because Al Qaeda disobeys many Islamic tenets.Why the war is difficult for Australia and the USA is because they do not realize that terrorists have huge weaknesses and can be defeated easily.Instead they make terrorists heroes by calling them jihadists and Mujahideen.This is strange and suggestions infiltration and compromise.View details in my blog,http://satanistterrorist.blogspot.com/.
Thank you