This morning I woke to the news that terrorists murdered 28 of my fellow Australians; their commercial airliner shot out of the sky by a soviet era SAM system. I use the term terrorist deliberately so that there is no ambiguity. Either the Ukrainian Government are terrorists or the Soviet Government, or their puppets (the so called separatists), are. There is no middle ground. I spent the rest of the day studiously suppressing what I thought – not anymore.
If I had my way, every C130 we have would be winging its way to the crash site chocka-block full of our battle-hardened SAS and Commando personnel to secure the site, and our fallen brethren, with orders to kill on sight anyone who tried to stop us.
Luckily, I’m not the one to make such decisions.
Unfortunately, I am forced to await the verdict of a yet to be constituted inquiry who will, in all probability, fudge the evidence and cloak the real perpetrators in a veil of obfuscation so as not to upset the delicate balance of international trade and diplomatic relations that business relies upon. What’s the point of having a government if it fails in it’s paramount duty: to protect, or at least demand justice for, its people. I wait with disappointment in my heart for the subsequent findings.
Phil.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I'm afraid much of what I've heard has already been, uh, obfuscated. I haven't seen a passenger / crew list, and, over the last slightly-more-than-a-day-now, I've heard that (1) twenty-three Americans were on board, (2) no Americans were on board, and (3) one American was on board. (Hardly relevant, nationalities.) It takes time for things to settle out---but this happened under circumstances likely to prevent a full settling out.
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
Wow, Grumpy old guy, please don't take this the wrong way, but you sound like an American.
Posted by Grumpy old guy (Member # 9922) on :
There is nothing more dangerous in the world than a pissed-off Australian. There's a reason why nearly everyone wants Australian soldiers in their war, no matter how small the numbers are on paper. And, Kathleen, I know exactly what you mean, so thanks.
Phil.
Posted by Crystal Stevens (Member # 8006) on :
I always said if there's one country where the people are very similar to Americans, it would be Australia .
Keep up the good fight, Phil. I'm with ya!
Posted by Grumpy old guy (Member # 9922) on :
I was just listening to the news and was shocked, and concerned, to learn that our Government will be deploying Federal Police and military personnel to Ukraine with authority to conduct operations granted by the Ukrainian Government prior to it dissolving itself. What’s even more concerning is that apparently the Dutch will also be deploying forces, composition unknown at this time, to that area as well.
I see two problems: The Dutch are still agonising over their decision to withdraw from Srebrenica that subsequently allowed the genocide to take place. Just what rules of engagement will they be operating under this time? I doubt they will be as inadequate in this instance. The second problem is us, the Australians. Our forces are highly trained and highly disciplined but, if push comes to shove, they don’t step back no matter the odds. Tobruk and Long Tan are not isolated instances. I see no good outcome from this decision by our Government, but then I am a pessimist.
Phil.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
It's a risk, all right...and it puts them, potentially, right in the middle of it all, in harm's way. I'd have to see the Rules of Engagement to know for sure.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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