https://www.news.com.au/technology/i...4f4cf888b89ab1

a very good reason has just been advanced for Australia and other foreign forces to leave Afghanistan. Soldiers cannot be trusted to act lawfully and these are not the first instances of war crimes being perpetrated in this long and bloody conflict. But we don't need to be there just leave them to the tender mercies of the Muslims, we have all heard what atrocities they are capable of

Free nations occupation forces are put in an untenable situation because they are held to the highest standards . When the Soviets were there I'm sure they did far worse .

not really, these actions are base, ugly and on a par with the soviets and unworthy of soldiers of a free society this will be our Mi Li

Mỹ Lai?

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not really, these actions are base, ugly and on a par with the soviets and unworthy of soldiers of a free society this will be our Mi Li

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I think you are unfamiliar with what the Soviets did in Afghanistan.

I was unfamiliar with what the soldiers of my nation did in Afghanistan; cutting off the hands of afghans, murdering prisoners, showing insensitivity to muslim funeral practices, violating corpses and I doubt the full list of atrocities has come to light. I also wonder to what extent other forces participated

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

Mỹ Lai?

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yes forgive my accent

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Originally Posted by paraclete

yes forgive my accent

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I love you anyway, 'clete!

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Originally Posted by paraclete

I was unfamiliar with what the soldiers of my nation did in Afghanistan; cutting off the hands of afghans, murdering prisoners, showing insensitivity to muslim funeral practices, violating corpses and I doubt the full list of atrocities has come to light. I also wonder to what extent other forces participated

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Earth shattering to find out you're no better than the barbarians you make war with isn't it?

You are describing what soldiers have done for centuries. It's a hard thing to tell young men, "Go over there and kill human beings wearing different uniforms, try to stay alive yourself in hellacious situations, and act real nice while you are doing it." Not trying to excuse anything, but it's a hard situation for a 20 year old. I wonder how many 9/11's those guys prevented?

The situation was a little different the enemy wore no uniforms and these were elite soldiers, professionals, not raw recruits who had a particular, peculiar, culture. I don't think slitting the necks of youths prevents 9/11, but ensures it will happen again

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Originally Posted by paraclete

I don't think slitting the necks of youths prevents 9/11, but ensures it will happen again

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Without a doubt.

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I wonder how many 9/11's those guys prevented?

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By those guys, I didn't mean the Aussie special forces. I just mean the tens of thousands of good guys who risked their necks to defend us. It needs to be acknowledged.

you mean it hasn't been? defend you from what? a few troubled towelheads thousands of miles away. Overkill if you ask me!

I agree JL, would we rather fight the enemy here, or somewhere else? The weak afghan government has harbored many terrorist organizations including Bin Laden, and now ISIS so let them dodge the bombs and bullets rather than have time to plan another attack.

Atrocities and bad behavior are the realities of the horrors of war to be dealt with by the committing country or COUNTRIES.

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Originally Posted by talaniman

I agree JL, would we rather fight the enemy here, or somewhere else? The weak afghan government has harbored many terrorist organizations including Bin Laden, and now ISIS so let them dodge the bombs and bullets rather than have time to plan another attack.

Atrocities and bad behavior are the realities of the horrors of war to be dealt with by the committing country or COUNTRIES.

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Twenty years is a long time Tal and it is almost that for the war you are referring to. Making continual war on a backward country smacks of war crimes. Afghanistan has no ability to defend itself against you with a proportional response or any realistic response for that matter. so you don't like their religion and form of government, get over it. We wouldn't want them to be a failed democracy on the US model, now would we?

Afghanistan didn't attack america, Al Qaeda did

We aren't at war with Afghanistan, and are aligned with Kabul which I suppose passes as their version of democracy, but with the tribal Taliban who are aligned and give safe harbor to other terrorist groups as mentioned above. Coalition democracies including YOU are there with us hopefully brokering a peace, and training afghans to defend themselves against their enemies the Taliban and company.

You have to deal with your own rotten apples like everybody else. Or go home and let the Taliban have their way. Hopefully your "professionals" can figure it out for you.

Good luck thinking you're safer ignoring the nuts of the world with no uniforms Clete, and we thought we were too, but 9/11 proved us wrong.

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Originally Posted by talaniman

We aren't at war with Afghanistan, and are aligned with Kabul which I suppose passes as their version of democracy, but with the tribal Taliban who are aligned and give safe harbor to other terrorist groups as mentioned above. Coalition democracies including YOU are there with us hopefully brokering a peace, and training afghans to defend themselves against their enemies the Taliban and company.

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Yes so the story goes but the reality is something different, some pursue a policy of pacification by force, which gets you exactly nowhere. Do Afghans use drones, I wonder, piloted by boys thousands of miles away, and which are used to attack gatherings for weddings and funerals

Who said wars are pretty? They've never been!

Yes Tal and there have been many unnecessary wars. The war in Afghanistan has been carried on too long. the Taliban cannot be eliminated or even pacified. the presence of foreign troops is an effront to them that cannot be ignored and there is a long history of the place being the graveyard of invading forces. Al Qaeda has been eliminated, time to go home

I would agree that the Taliban cannot be eliminated or pacified, but they can certainly be subjected to attrition, and they can be forced to exist in a state of confusion and fear brought on by the actions of our, and other, militaries. There has not been another 9/11 for about 20 years, and our actions in Afghanistan have something to do with that, so I call it a win.