AUSSIE THOUGHTS,.. Diane T'blue: Our roll in Afghanistan is?.. what now.

Let me begin by saying that back in late 2001 I wanted nothing more than for us to go into that country and grab that @rsehole Bin Hidin' f'ker, hand him to the US and get even with that Taliban mob for hiding the weasel terrorist bastard, and wipe all those terror camps off the map and any bonus targets in the mix.
Every life is precious and even more so when I hear of an Australian casualty in the Muddle East, it just reinforces to me that maybe being over there for so long already and with no end in sight is wrong. I am all for wiping out those filthy bastards but I see no end in sight, and it seems to be a war that cannot be won, and......
What does winning mean anyway? forget the hearts and mind crap, we have been trying that well before we even set foot in the hell hole, the day afer September 11th 2001 we had do-gooders bleeting about forgiveness and reaching out so we have already bent over backwards with the hearts and mind school of thought, most do not want to listen and are unwilling to try another way.

Tick this box ....girls in schools!

We have given them a change of Govt, they have had elections numerous times already, there are schools that now teach girls and women in general are better of today than they ever have been before. We the West donate to this country and schools and hospitals are built, troops in many cases help with these projects and the day after projects are finished the skumbags come along and blow them up. I say bring our men and women home and leave these people to their own devices now, we cannot wipe their bums for them any longer, let them build their own hospitals and schools. Time for them to help themselves or revert back to what they were, simple.

Can't healthy Afghan males do this job?

If your definition of winning inspires visions of modern city style buildings similar to the Gold Coast and billboards that advertise Jack Daniels or G-string undies then I say, don't hold ya' breath mate!!. Afghanistan will always be a country that is a throw back to centuries past and let them remain that way for centuries to come. That is what cultures are all about, every country has one. We are mad to even try and change it.
I understand fully why we are there and I also understand that by being there it does nothing to stop asylum seekers from flocking to our shores, it also does very little to deter any terrorist activities as we know that wiping us out is an obsession with so many of them, and I thank God that we have taken the fight to them instead of them bringing it to us. We will never forget New York, Britain, Bali and Madrid to name a few.

Afghani,"asylum seekers" can go home and help out

              There are thousands of asylum seekers who come here to Australia from Afghanistan and they are mainly healthy males, why can't they been sent back and help with rebuilding and protecting their own country. We have over 1500 of our best men over there and they would be better appreciated here at home. Let our troops help defend our borders. We will need them more than ever soon if this current trend of asylum seekers from muslim countries continues, which it undoubtedly will.
My personal view is that even if we were to round up and lock up or dispose of all taliban/terrorists/insurgents/freedom fighters/skumbag mutherfucking arseholes there would always be one left and more would come from neighbouring countries. A country with a young and fast growing population, the low levels of education, illiterate and high numbers of unemployment will not change in our lifetimes. call back in another 1000yrs and ask again then!
               There are many ME countries that are cesspits and harbor terrorists and it would take eternity and beyond infinity to clean up the place. We have been builders and rebuilt the joint, over 1500 troops there patrolling dusty roads in backward country to help people who on the whole do not help themselves.
                 For every one precious Australian and Allied life lost in that hellhole I pray that the books will be balanced and that one of ours will equal 1000 of theirs. Also, can I ask any one who read this posting to close your eyes, give thanks for what you have and ask that everyone return safely from Afghanistan and that family of those deployed also get some prayers. They would be sick with worry constantly. We really should take stock and think long and hard about these men (and women too), these brothers, sons, husbands, fathers, uncles and friends who give of themselves, and sometimes they give the ultimate. Their life.

      God Bless Our Troops ..... God Bless Our Troops ..... God Bless Our Troops .....

What else can we do?,

we have done enough, really.

The ADF alongside the Dutch, have engaged in a wide range of reconstruction projects since 2006 through their Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), the Australian led Reconstruction Task Force (RTF), the Mentoring Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF) and more recently the Mentoring Task Force (MTF). Australia also allocates a significant contribution to the Afghan National Army Trust Fund to help raise, train and sustain Afghan forces to address their country’s own security challenges.
The Australian Government has also enlarged its diplomatic and development footprint in Afghanistan.
In 2010-11 AusAID will enlarge its footprint in Afghanistan, in part by increasing its civilian presence in Uruzgan. This, as part of an enhanced Australian Government presence in Afghanistan.
Since the commencement of ADF operations in Uruzgan Province in 2006 some have reported that the Province has experienced improved security, the establishment of basic services and economic lift, and these improvements are in large part attributed to the work of the ADF and the PRT.
The most noticeable improvements are in the more populous parts of Uruzgan, specifically Tirin Kowt, Chora and Deh Rawud. In other areas of the Province, improvements are more modest or less visible.
ADF operations through the RTF, the MRTF and MRT in Uruzgan have received positive feedback from local communities and reportedly achieved substantial reconstruction results.