Dear Paul1405,

Just flagging mate that I'm uncomfortable with the term 'Hatchet' Hastie. I don't think it reflects who you really are and is serves to assist dragging the debate into places where some on this thread are more than happy to see it.

To be clear I am not impressed by Hastie's conduct as a candidate. He seems to have very adopted an Abbott style of pugnacious which does him no favours. Perhaps it is the product of being thrown in the sharkpool of Australian politics but the considered calmness that one might expect of a former Australian Officer is missing. Perhaps it will come with a little more time.

Mike Kelly has been known to get himself in some hot water recently having to apologise for a rash tweet, but his record as a former soldier, including his unmasking of the AWB scandal and his reporting to the Australian authorities about the abuses in Abu Garhib, did not lead to him making the kind of self-serving statements that we are hearing from Hastie.

But be that as it may I don't think he warrants the moniker 'Hatchet'.

I do realise that this is coming from someone who can be as intemperate as anyone here so take it as a personal viewpoint.

Steeleredux,

What a lot of sanctimonious rubbish. I accept reasonable opinions from all quarters, but you are beyond the pale embedding yourself in the Left-crank gang.

Fear? You are the fearful one, more fearful of what foreigners think of Australia than you care about Australia itself. The rest of the world barely knows where Australia is, pal; those who do don't send much time thinking about us. Islamic terrorists and the local wannabes think that Australia is a pushover, thanks to bigmouths like you. Thankfully, even Labor wouldn't give any credence to your nonsense. I find you absolutely pathetic

Dear ttbn,

Let's see, I'm supposedly a pathetic crank because I believe in an Australia that should be able to stand tall among civilised nations while you are apparently the true patriot because you want to mince the bodies of Taliban fighters and feed them to the dogs?

Perhaps we acknowledge we have different value systems and leave it at that.

Hi SteeleRedux, yes I take that comment, re Mr Hastie, I will refrain from such derogatory comment again, but on the other hand, (sorry for the pun) Mr Hastie sees an advantage in peddling his war record as being a benefit to the people of Canning, and a vote winner for him. So if he cops some flack from some quarters over his touting of his record, then he can expect that as he was quick to use it, hoping to gain political advantage from it. Sorry for being so heavy handed on this one (there I go again).
My understanding speaking to a Muslim friend about it, only today, the removal of the hand had more to do with Islamic belief, and a violation of that belief, than anything to do with later ID.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-22/wa-state-liberal-conference-to-focus-on-canning-by-election/6716360

Reading today's SMH, Abbott's office pushed for Washington to request that Australia extend its air strikes from Iraq into Syria. Now Abbott is touting it as a Obama administration request, and is considering it, next week Abbott will give it the go ahead. The warmonger Abbott is such a hypocrite, as more civilians will die because of it.

Paul,

The SMH hates Abbott as much as you do, and is not necessarily believable. We should not be involved in Syria, but how would deaths to civilians by us be worse than the already considerable losses caused by Islamists? Their slaughter is OK?

Steeleredux,

OK. But I cannot say that I will never comment on your fifth-column opinions against Australia. I don't "want" people minced and fed to dogs: I said I didn't care. Unpleasant things occur in war, particularly those against fanatics, who are the cause of the current problem. And I take strong exception to anyone critcising their own country and troops when they are remarkedly silent on the daily atrocities of Islamists.