Australians in Afghanistan

[davidbfpo]

A BBC News report:

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says Australia will withdraw its troops from Afghanistan earlier than planned... troops would begin pulling out this year and most would be home by the end of 2013 - an election year in Australia...Australia has some 1,550 troops serving in Afghanistan, mainly in the Uruzgan region....withdrawal would begin once Afghans took on responsibility for security in Uruzgan province...

Ms Gillard's minority administration has been slipping in popularity and some observers say Labor could be heading for defeat at the polls.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17737592

If Australia one of the US's leading allies decides to exit a year early, one wonders what the impact will be on other ISAF contributors.

I await the observations of the one Australian think tank I monitor, the Lowy Institute.

[Bob's World]

This is not surprising. The Aussies have been and will continue to be a tremendous ally for America, but they have more than done their duty to that relationship in Afghanistan.

My take is that for many countries, particularly NATO countries, they saw little to no national interest in operations in Afghanistan as defined for everyone by the US, but absolutely had a powerful interest in maintaining positive relations with the US. We have all at sometime in our lives joined a friend on a misguided adventure simply because of our valued for the friendship, rather than our belief in the cause we were embarking upon. This is little different for many I suspect.

It is clear the US is walking away from this adventure, so it stands to reason that many allies will beat us to the door. The US can only thank the Aussies for their loyalty and their service. Tremendous mates all.

[J Wolfsberger]

"Ms Gillard's minority administration has been slipping in popularity and some observers say Labor could be heading for defeat at the polls."

Labor has suffered crushing defeats in state elections (e.g. it is no longer certified as a political party in Queensland). "Slipping at the polls" and "heading for defeat" are understating Gillard's problems.

This was likely done in an effort to reverse the collapse, but I doubt it will have any effect.

[JMA]

From the Kings of War blog we get this article:

The (Colour Sergeant) Bourne Legacy: Soldierly Discipline

Starts with:

An excerpt from one Australian officer’s end of tour report as the CO of a Mentoring Task Force in Afghanistan laments what he sees as a pitiful level of ill-discipline amongst soldiers, their NCOs, and junior officers. The document, of course, is based on one person’s observations and opinions, but it is revealing nevertheless. And while it focuses on the current state of Australian soldiery, it would not be too far off the mark in describing the behaviour and mindset from other ABCA nations.

[socal1200r]

It's been said before, the U.S. hasn't been in Afghanistan for 10 years, we've been there for 1 year, 10 times in a row...

And I gotta ask this of George Singleton, who posted:

"In Afghanistan specifically a huge number of Pashtuns, and other ethnic groups of smaller numbers, are totally and literally illiterate."

"Literally illiterate" gave me a chuckle...so that would imply that they're "figuratively literate" then? lol...

I read thru that article that was at the beginning of this post, and if they don't understand if their main mission is COIN or CT, then they're in a world of hurt as far as organizing, training, and equipping their troops for mission success. I hate to say this, but I think VP Joe Biden got it right when he said that our focus in Afghanistan should be on CT, not COIN. CT doesn't require anywhere near the amount of resources or risk that COIN does.

[JMA]

From the Kings of War blog we get this article:

The (Colour Sergeant) Bourne Legacy: Soldierly Discipline

Starts with:

I am somewhat surprised that there was no response to the Kings of War blog entry.

This has been followed up with a response by the author to the comments made following his first entry.

Bourne (Again) Criticisms? A Review of the Commentary

[JMA]

A year or two ago I posted a link to a news story relating to 'problems' Australian forces were reportedly experiencing in Afghanistan. That post of mine was almost instantly deleted by some heavy handed moderator.

The article related to (IIRC) the frustration of Australian infantry deployed in Afghanistan in a non-offensive role which had led, it was reported, to increased drug abuse and even incidences of 'selling sex' (male or female was not specified) among Australian soldiers in theatre.

It appears that the previous two articles I posted links to deal with what should now be confirmed as serious issues among Australian troops.

Parallel to this is the ongoing sex and abuse scandals which never seem to go-away. The latest being:

Australian military abuse detailed in damning report

This follows after the previous report:

Sex scandal hits Australian military

Not picking on the Australian military but by way of an example how does one deal with a military which seems to be in a tail spin? Merely firing the generals may not be enough if the system is rotten to the core.

[Mark O'Neill]

A year or two ago I posted a link to a news story relating to 'problems' Australian forces were reportedly experiencing in Afghanistan. That post of mine was almost instantly deleted by some heavy handed moderator.

The article related to (IIRC) the frustration of Australian infantry deployed in Afghanistan in a non-offensive role which had led, it was reported, to increased drug abuse and even incidences of 'selling sex' (male or female was not specified) among Australian soldiers in theatre.

It appears that the previous two articles I posted links to deal with what should now be confirmed as serious issues among Australian troops.

Parallel to this is the ongoing sex and abuse scandals which never seem to go-away. The latest being:

Australian military abuse detailed in damning report

This follows after the previous report:

Sex scandal hits Australian military

Not picking on the Australian military but by way of an example how does one deal with a military which seems to be in a tail spin? Merely firing the generals may not be enough if the system is rotten to the core.

I am curious about the assertion of 'seems to be in a tail spin'. What specific objective evidence, within the context of the ADF's role and operational tasking, do you offer to support such hyperbole?