The war in Afghanistan. What are we fighting for and is the war winnable?
Add Your Comments
Currently 162 comments
AFGHANISTAN is a complex war in a fractured country with complex tribal loyalties, rugged terrain, and systematic corruption.
And against this backdrop Australian troops are in the middle of the deadliest year of fighting they've experienced in the nine years they've been there.
10 Australian soldiers have already been killed this year.
Our commitment is relatively small, 1550 personnel, but there are calls from within the military establishment to increase troop numbers to fill the void created by the Dutch withdrawal from the province of Oruzgan.
The Chief of the Australian defence force has said he expects Australia to be in Afghanistan for at least another four years but polls in this country indicate that support for the war is dropping.
There has been recent criticism from within the Defence Forces in Afghanistan that Australian troops aren't being properly supported in battle.
INSIGHT brings together veterans of the conflict, military experts, Afghans and Afghan Australians to talk about Australia's role in this war.
Meet the Guests
-
Andrew Wilkie
The new Independent MP from the southern Tasmanian seat of Denison spent 20 years in the army before entering politics, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He served in the same battalion as some of the Australian soldiers who have been killed in Afghanistan this year. After leaving the Army, Wilkie later served as an intelligence officer with the Office of National Assessments. He quit that role in 2003 to protest against the Howard government’s reasons for going to war in Iraq.
-
Jim Molan
Jim Molan retired from the Army in 2008 as a Major General, after a career of 40 years. As chief of operations of the multinational force in Iraq in 2004-05, he was the highest ranked Australian officer in Iraq. He worked with US forces to oversee around 300-thousand troops conducting the counter-insurgency operation there. A similar counter-insurgency plan is now being implemented in Afghanistan.
-
Mahboba Rawi
Mahboba Rawi came to Australia after fleeing Afghanistan as a teenage refugee on her own in the 1980’s. In 1998 she established an aid organisation in Australia called Mahboba’s Promise, to work with orphans and widows back in her home country. Since then the organisation has grown to now incorporate 3 orphanages, 2 clinics and 5 schools which provide education and support for thousands of women and children in Afghanistan. This year she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her services to international humanitarian aid in Afghanistan.
-
Saad Mohseni
Saad Mohseni heads up the Moby Media Group which delivers news and entertainment to the Afghan people via television and radio. Saad spent his formative years in Melbourne and returned to Afghanistan in 2001. His production of “Afghan Star” – the Afghan equivalent of Australian Idol - has been a huge hit. It was estimated that themost recent final attracted 90 per cent of the country's total estimated 20 million TV watchers.
-
Bree Till
Bree Till’s husband Brett was killed while serving in Afghanistan in March 2009. Brett was well-regarded and experienced bomb disposal expert serving with the crack Special Operations Task Group when he was killed. He leaves behind three children, Taleah, Jacob and Ziggy.
VideoNEW
Podcasts
Blogs
