I'm a bit over the feigned shock espoused by dear leader and his cronies, and the commentariat as well. It is as though they are completely enamoured by the ANZAC fable and need to justify their $500M splurge on it's gold plating. Our soldiers have always been good blokes who loved the locals wherever they went, they never called them unkind names like Gyppos or Gooks. Then along came these awful bastards who have besmirched our legend. Andrew (crusader rabbit) Hastie was quick to distance himself from any odium, the nimby dickhead.
Looking around at Australia's 'Moral Authority' not just in terms of combat power but in all areas I can not help but see us as diminished. A moving piece, and though 'not as many Lolz' as you put it I did laugh at the "whether I’d like to go to Afghanistan. I honestly didn’t think I’d done that badly".
I blame John Howard. If he hadn't had such a hard-on for the SAS, our Afghan War contribution would've been, much more appropriately, mostly infantry. Less wear-and-tear on individual soldiers (because there are more of them to share it around), and a lot less secrecy.
Thanks John, maybe not lols throughout but I did nearly spray my ginger beer spider at Uber eats. On a serious note, thanks for the absolute clarity on Who made the black box.
Dame Queen Fiona says exactly what was in my mind as a fair comment: seriously good post an an extremely serious matter! (Her book or film title equally impressive.) John - thanks! The political thuggery which led to this total blot of the national escutcheon must be held to account first and foremost - from the craven little John Dubya Howard and that Downer man of the "nation-building Downers - all defender of massacres and land grabs in Australia's north at the end of the 19th century) and on through 'happy-to-bask-in-US-approval" ALP leaders - and the sudden cowardly unannounced visits to troops in Afghanistan - they knew that war was not a good war - or that it WAS a "good war" in the ironic sense of Studs Terkel when he wrote of the US and its uglinesses of WWII - and then back to the gun(g) ho surrounded by khaki photo op. bastards of the suppository era - the flailing arms of a so-called Oxford "blue" bully - then the lily-livered Malcolm and then the happy clapper Morrison aided by other uglies - and we all know who they are! Get these so-called leaders - (urgers from the back stalls is a better description) into the docks and gaol cells - then some serious compensation (and representation at the highest levels) for the Afghani families who still suffer from the effects of the murderers unleashed at the express behest of Howard. Morrison and his on-water-matters secrecy - no, no more secrecy. I have had both US and UK cousins serving their countries in Iraq and Afghanistan - and Syria too (high in the sky "service" disconnect to the people far below being bombed and slain - mostly the innocent - and when even those we are told are "Taliban" or whatever the term is which is meant to tell us they are the enemy - is falsely implying that to fight against invader forces in one's own country is wrong - honestly??!! Like Indigenous peoples here - the frontier wars against the British invaders - made to pay for their legitimate right to defend their own countries - and still it is being blown up (Juukan Gorge) or bull-dozed (Birthing trees - western Victoria/grinding groove stones by Shenhua in the NSW Liverpool Plains/Adani in central Qld) and kids at ever increasong number are being taken from families! Oh - and put that ugly self-server Brendan Nelson into the dock, too! Defender of the Indefensible!
I know I am a bit late with the comment but I have finally been able to shell out the subscription and would like to ad my 5 cents worth and ad some perspective. Given the shellacking we give the Chinese and the Russians and the despots in Africa/South America and the Arab countries, the Chinese have worked out Smoko's (and the entire nation's )weakness around the ANZAC myth and to quote Sun Tzu "If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him".
They will probably try to draw attention to the Brereton Report among the educated part of the population to ensure we sell less wine, beef, lobsters and wood. They will fart arse around with the coal for a bit but they need our iron ore so Gina, Clive and Twiggy don't have to worry.
The thing is our response is going to be an interesting spectacle. Unlike the US and the UK we have been open (OK we have been forced to be open due to ABC and Nine Journalists getting the story out). On one extreme we will strip members of the task force of the Meritorious Unit Citation and court martial and sack and imprison the main players (if rumours are correct then a VC winner may also become the first VC winner to be stripped of his decoration - an unwanted Australian First up there with Pell being the highest Catholic official to go to prison for Child Sex abuse. On the other we will sack a lot of junior NCOs and private soldiers and imprison a few and if the Afghans families are lucky we might dish out some cash.
There are people who want more - some want the SAS and the Commando Regiment to be disbanded completely but we would need to raise a regiment to replace them and where are they going to get people with the skill level and expertise? On the other hand Sky News and the Murdoch establishment are getting ready to fight for the Meritorious Unit Citation to stay and no doubt will be using China's feigned outrage to begin burying the story in our own outrage over the trade issue.
Our response will be watched on one level it is going to be hard to take back the Meritorious Unit Citation from widows and children of veterans (one father of one of the dead commandos said the citation is on his sons headstone) and does anyone want to go to someone's widow or child and ask for the citation back? We also run the risk of the Chinese and probably the Russians and others pointing the finger and claiming we are too lenient.
Compared to the UK's approach to war crimes in Northern Ireland we appear to be taking the right approach by actually starting to do something now instead of what the UK had done with Paratroopers accused of murder on Bloody Sunday by resisting and then reluctantly hauling up before the courts decades after the event.
Can't help thinking you missed one there JB. Might have been Graham Greeneingham. I was in Afghanistan in 1977, pre-Russian overreach, and mixed with the folks. Could have picked up a Kalachnikov from a one fingered vendor in Kabul as easily as a muzzle-loaded roulette rifle or a perfectly forged Walther PPK a la James Bond for $8.50. These folks are warriors. They fucked off Alexander the Great, three cracks by the British, three by the Soviets and assorted other wannabees, the least of which are America and NATO. And toady Austraya. Afghans will take it all and they will win. Those who refuse to learn from history will panic and kill...
I'm a bit over the feigned shock espoused by dear leader and his cronies, and the commentariat as well. It is as though they are completely enamoured by the ANZAC fable and need to justify their $500M splurge on it's gold plating. Our soldiers have always been good blokes who loved the locals wherever they went, they never called them unkind names like Gyppos or Gooks. Then along came these awful bastards who have besmirched our legend. Andrew (crusader rabbit) Hastie was quick to distance himself from any odium, the nimby dickhead.
A seriously good post on an extremely serious matter.
And I'm not being facetious when I suggest the title for your book on this appalling behaviour:
"The Thirty-nine Murders".
Looking around at Australia's 'Moral Authority' not just in terms of combat power but in all areas I can not help but see us as diminished. A moving piece, and though 'not as many Lolz' as you put it I did laugh at the "whether I’d like to go to Afghanistan. I honestly didn’t think I’d done that badly".
Exactly. We can't get mist-eyed about Anzac Cove & then pretend the bad stuff didn't happen
thanks John. good words today.
I blame John Howard. If he hadn't had such a hard-on for the SAS, our Afghan War contribution would've been, much more appropriately, mostly infantry. Less wear-and-tear on individual soldiers (because there are more of them to share it around), and a lot less secrecy.
Thanks John, maybe not lols throughout but I did nearly spray my ginger beer spider at Uber eats. On a serious note, thanks for the absolute clarity on Who made the black box.
Dame Queen Fiona says exactly what was in my mind as a fair comment: seriously good post an an extremely serious matter! (Her book or film title equally impressive.) John - thanks! The political thuggery which led to this total blot of the national escutcheon must be held to account first and foremost - from the craven little John Dubya Howard and that Downer man of the "nation-building Downers - all defender of massacres and land grabs in Australia's north at the end of the 19th century) and on through 'happy-to-bask-in-US-approval" ALP leaders - and the sudden cowardly unannounced visits to troops in Afghanistan - they knew that war was not a good war - or that it WAS a "good war" in the ironic sense of Studs Terkel when he wrote of the US and its uglinesses of WWII - and then back to the gun(g) ho surrounded by khaki photo op. bastards of the suppository era - the flailing arms of a so-called Oxford "blue" bully - then the lily-livered Malcolm and then the happy clapper Morrison aided by other uglies - and we all know who they are! Get these so-called leaders - (urgers from the back stalls is a better description) into the docks and gaol cells - then some serious compensation (and representation at the highest levels) for the Afghani families who still suffer from the effects of the murderers unleashed at the express behest of Howard. Morrison and his on-water-matters secrecy - no, no more secrecy. I have had both US and UK cousins serving their countries in Iraq and Afghanistan - and Syria too (high in the sky "service" disconnect to the people far below being bombed and slain - mostly the innocent - and when even those we are told are "Taliban" or whatever the term is which is meant to tell us they are the enemy - is falsely implying that to fight against invader forces in one's own country is wrong - honestly??!! Like Indigenous peoples here - the frontier wars against the British invaders - made to pay for their legitimate right to defend their own countries - and still it is being blown up (Juukan Gorge) or bull-dozed (Birthing trees - western Victoria/grinding groove stones by Shenhua in the NSW Liverpool Plains/Adani in central Qld) and kids at ever increasong number are being taken from families! Oh - and put that ugly self-server Brendan Nelson into the dock, too! Defender of the Indefensible!
Not as many lulz but still a good read.
I know I am a bit late with the comment but I have finally been able to shell out the subscription and would like to ad my 5 cents worth and ad some perspective. Given the shellacking we give the Chinese and the Russians and the despots in Africa/South America and the Arab countries, the Chinese have worked out Smoko's (and the entire nation's )weakness around the ANZAC myth and to quote Sun Tzu "If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him".
They will probably try to draw attention to the Brereton Report among the educated part of the population to ensure we sell less wine, beef, lobsters and wood. They will fart arse around with the coal for a bit but they need our iron ore so Gina, Clive and Twiggy don't have to worry.
The thing is our response is going to be an interesting spectacle. Unlike the US and the UK we have been open (OK we have been forced to be open due to ABC and Nine Journalists getting the story out). On one extreme we will strip members of the task force of the Meritorious Unit Citation and court martial and sack and imprison the main players (if rumours are correct then a VC winner may also become the first VC winner to be stripped of his decoration - an unwanted Australian First up there with Pell being the highest Catholic official to go to prison for Child Sex abuse. On the other we will sack a lot of junior NCOs and private soldiers and imprison a few and if the Afghans families are lucky we might dish out some cash.
There are people who want more - some want the SAS and the Commando Regiment to be disbanded completely but we would need to raise a regiment to replace them and where are they going to get people with the skill level and expertise? On the other hand Sky News and the Murdoch establishment are getting ready to fight for the Meritorious Unit Citation to stay and no doubt will be using China's feigned outrage to begin burying the story in our own outrage over the trade issue.
Our response will be watched on one level it is going to be hard to take back the Meritorious Unit Citation from widows and children of veterans (one father of one of the dead commandos said the citation is on his sons headstone) and does anyone want to go to someone's widow or child and ask for the citation back? We also run the risk of the Chinese and probably the Russians and others pointing the finger and claiming we are too lenient.
Compared to the UK's approach to war crimes in Northern Ireland we appear to be taking the right approach by actually starting to do something now instead of what the UK had done with Paratroopers accused of murder on Bloody Sunday by resisting and then reluctantly hauling up before the courts decades after the event.
Can't help thinking you missed one there JB. Might have been Graham Greeneingham. I was in Afghanistan in 1977, pre-Russian overreach, and mixed with the folks. Could have picked up a Kalachnikov from a one fingered vendor in Kabul as easily as a muzzle-loaded roulette rifle or a perfectly forged Walther PPK a la James Bond for $8.50. These folks are warriors. They fucked off Alexander the Great, three cracks by the British, three by the Soviets and assorted other wannabees, the least of which are America and NATO. And toady Austraya. Afghans will take it all and they will win. Those who refuse to learn from history will panic and kill...