The latest WikiLeaks release has revealed Australia's pessimism over its engagement in Afghanistan and showing a lack of faith in Afghan police forces.
In a cable sent to Washington last November by the US embassy in Canberra it records Australia's special representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ric Smith - a former secretary of the Defence Department - delivering a critical assessment of the international community's Afghan strategy.
"Smith had just returned from a visit to Oruzgan and described the mission in Afghanistan and Afghan government presence as a 'wobbly three-legged stool'," the cable says.
Referring to Australia's plan to pour more money into training Afghan police - a task currently performed by more than two dozen Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers - Mr Smith warned it might involve "putting good money into a bad situation".
Another cable, from December last year, says "Smith questioned what the AFP would be able to accomplish given the `train wreck' that they had to be given to work with in the Afghan National Police".
Earlier the Whistleblowing website revealed Australia being pessimistic about its engagement in Afghanistan and the situation "scares the hell" out of Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd.
The secret cables, obtained by WikiLeaks and provided to The Age newspaper, show some of our top diplomats and officials hold serious concerns about the nine-year war that has claimed the lives of 21 Australian soldiers.
They also contain more embarrassing insights into Mr Rudd's conduct.
Mr Rudd is reported in the cables as describing the contribution of France and Germany to the fight against the Taliban as "organising folk dancing festivals" and saying the outlook in Afghanistan "scares the hell" out of him.
