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Yep said that re Ebola to my wife just the other day. It really is almost a no win. And because these fanatics are now scatterred everywhere bombing one place just does nothing at all in my opinion.
Maybe America should really consider getting right out of these countries.
There is the argument that America has interests in the oil so they have no choice but to defend that.
All the more reason to stop relying on oil and focus on renewables such as wind and solar. It IS happening but IMO should be quicker.
Anyway yet another beheading has happened by these bastards again in this mornings papers. So tragic. IMO it's just a matter of time before something big happens here. Brace yourself I say.
"Editorial
These are the opening shots, but what will constitute victory? In announcing Australia will begin combat operations in Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Abbott declared the insurgents who call themselves Islamic State must be ''disrupted and degraded'', a mission lasting ''months rather than weeks''.
But the goal, and the time needed to achieve it, should be explained more carefully than by a series of repeated slogans. Otherwise, Australia risks holding an ambition in this conflict that is beyond the capacity of the force presently deployed - and that raises the concerning prospect of being drawn deeper into the fight.
This apprehension is the product of bitter experience. Targeting insurgents from the air is a devastating tactic, crushing enemy-held positions and equipment, and preventing troop build-ups to stage attacks. But early success from the air can quickly turn to frustration when the obvious targets on the ground are cleared and the enemy mingles into the crowds of cities. Already, after several weeks of US strikes, military commanders have warned Islamic State fighters in Iraq have become harder to locate.
Mr Abbott's hope is to bolster the Iraqi army, in part with the support of Australian special forces, and give it the chance to tackle the insurgency. He said on Friday the aim is to see Islamic State in retreat and for the Iraqi government to regain a ''modicum of control'' over the country. The Iraqi army has little record of success to suggest it is up to the task.
This is where the concern grows about the prospect of what is sometimes called ''mission creep''. The government has said Australia's special forces will be ready to ''advise and assist'' the Iraqi army, and that does not appear to preclude a role in combat. Should the Iraqi army suffer further defeats, or be unable to quell a vicious insurgency of the kind seen after the 2003 invasion, will the balance tilt to more assistance than advice? At what point does support require more boots on the ground? And what should be done in Syria, a vital theatre in the battle against Islamic State?
Only when the government can adequately explain the parameters of the mission will it be able to sustain public support for the military deployment. This is a US-led mission, but Mr Abbott has been unedifying with his eagerness to put Australia in the fight. There is no compelling need for Australia to play a combat role in this conflict where support, for Iraq and the US alliance, can be effectively demonstrated in other ways.
The initial return to Iraq in recent months was for a humanitarian cause, to relieve the plight of the Yazidi and Kurds. Australia's role then was not without risk but the task was well defined. All Mr Abbott can say about this wider combat role is ''we will be there for as long as is necessary, but no longer than we need to be''. That is a meaningless statement.
Sadly, some Australians have chosen to fight for Islamic State. But the misguided actions of a handful of citizens is not justification to engage in a foreign conflict.
Mr Abbott is right when he observes that only the Iraqis can defeat Islamic State in their homeland. He is also right that it is very difficult to eliminate an idea. The pernicious ideology that has given rise to the Islamists is fuelled by the perception of Western interference, real and imagined.
Australia should not avoid confronting this brutal movement, which has wrought such misery on civilians. But what is required are careful measures to escape the cycle of violence that has so long consumed the region."
The Age 4th Oct 2014
Maybe America should really consider getting right out of these countries.
There is the argument that America has interests in the oil so they have no choice but to defend that.
All the more reason to stop relying on oil and focus on renewables such as wind and solar. It IS happening but IMO should be quicker.
Anyway yet another beheading has happened by these bastards again in this mornings papers. So tragic. IMO it's just a matter of time before something big happens here. Brace yourself I say.
"Editorial
These are the opening shots, but what will constitute victory? In announcing Australia will begin combat operations in Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Abbott declared the insurgents who call themselves Islamic State must be ''disrupted and degraded'', a mission lasting ''months rather than weeks''.
But the goal, and the time needed to achieve it, should be explained more carefully than by a series of repeated slogans. Otherwise, Australia risks holding an ambition in this conflict that is beyond the capacity of the force presently deployed - and that raises the concerning prospect of being drawn deeper into the fight.
This apprehension is the product of bitter experience. Targeting insurgents from the air is a devastating tactic, crushing enemy-held positions and equipment, and preventing troop build-ups to stage attacks. But early success from the air can quickly turn to frustration when the obvious targets on the ground are cleared and the enemy mingles into the crowds of cities. Already, after several weeks of US strikes, military commanders have warned Islamic State fighters in Iraq have become harder to locate.
Mr Abbott's hope is to bolster the Iraqi army, in part with the support of Australian special forces, and give it the chance to tackle the insurgency. He said on Friday the aim is to see Islamic State in retreat and for the Iraqi government to regain a ''modicum of control'' over the country. The Iraqi army has little record of success to suggest it is up to the task.
This is where the concern grows about the prospect of what is sometimes called ''mission creep''. The government has said Australia's special forces will be ready to ''advise and assist'' the Iraqi army, and that does not appear to preclude a role in combat. Should the Iraqi army suffer further defeats, or be unable to quell a vicious insurgency of the kind seen after the 2003 invasion, will the balance tilt to more assistance than advice? At what point does support require more boots on the ground? And what should be done in Syria, a vital theatre in the battle against Islamic State?
Only when the government can adequately explain the parameters of the mission will it be able to sustain public support for the military deployment. This is a US-led mission, but Mr Abbott has been unedifying with his eagerness to put Australia in the fight. There is no compelling need for Australia to play a combat role in this conflict where support, for Iraq and the US alliance, can be effectively demonstrated in other ways.
The initial return to Iraq in recent months was for a humanitarian cause, to relieve the plight of the Yazidi and Kurds. Australia's role then was not without risk but the task was well defined. All Mr Abbott can say about this wider combat role is ''we will be there for as long as is necessary, but no longer than we need to be''. That is a meaningless statement.
Sadly, some Australians have chosen to fight for Islamic State. But the misguided actions of a handful of citizens is not justification to engage in a foreign conflict.
Mr Abbott is right when he observes that only the Iraqis can defeat Islamic State in their homeland. He is also right that it is very difficult to eliminate an idea. The pernicious ideology that has given rise to the Islamists is fuelled by the perception of Western interference, real and imagined.
Australia should not avoid confronting this brutal movement, which has wrought such misery on civilians. But what is required are careful measures to escape the cycle of violence that has so long consumed the region."
The Age 4th Oct 2014
