Australia’s refugee problem has attracted global attention. This from the New York Times.
Afghan dog pen demeans us and emboldens the insurgents
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What is worse than today’s shocking revelations in The Australian that our troops kept four suspected militants in a dog pen overnight is Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon’s justification of this breach of the Geneva Convention. It did not occur to any of the soldiers involved to think of the human rights and dignity of the 70 year old “suspect” held in the pen who was released the next day. It does not occur to Joel Fitzgibbon that our international reputation and the safety of our own troops in Afghanistan and other tragic theatres of war would be better served with an apology, an admission of error and a memo to all soldiers to treat “suspects” and captives in a humane manner. One might add, the same manner that we would like to be treated! And what are we doing in Afghanistan anyway? Did we not learn the expensive lessons that have been learnt by every nation that has invaded Afghanistan and lost throughout history, the last of which being the Soviets whom we, in the West helped to defeat in Afghanistan? Do we need to add our name to the list of failed invaders of Afghanistan? It would seem, not only failed invaders, but ones that show gross disrespect for human dignity and readily defend breaches of the Geneva Convention. We are in Afghanistan and in Iraq on a resource grab, in doing so, we should not lose sight that our invasion is affecting the lives, or in some cases, ending the lives of human beings and depriving others of their liberty. In his thoroughly referenced book Afghanistan, the Genesis of the Final Crusade, Abid Ullah Jan adds an element of appeasement to the far right Christian fundamentalists who continue to justify and celebrate the bloodied invasions of the neocons. We have already lost two of our sons in Afghanistan, the last things that our fighting men and women need is to aggravate the Afghan population and create more propaganda against them. With the coalition tolls increasing in recent months, this ministerial justification of on-the-ground inhumanity will serve to embolden the insurgency and convince more and more ordinary Afghans to view our presence as nothing short of occupation with all the inhumanities that are generally associated with occupations. We need our government to reflect on its position in this small global village, we cannot pretend to be the good cops when we brazenly breach the international conventions, we cannot pretend to be bringing freedom if we are taking away people’s lives and dignity and abusing their basic human rights. With such a ridiculous attitude, we should consider whether Mr. Fitzgibbon is the right person to be holding the post of minister of defence. |
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13 Comments
It could have been worse for the prisoners - the Aussies could have treated them the same way the Taliban treat their women.
Disappointing from Kaysar Trad, who often makes good sense. The incident that so inflames his sensibilities took place in an operational area where Australian troops face opponents armed with lethal weaponry and few scruples about when or where or how to use them. It wasn’t a stoush outside a pub on a Saturday night. There were no police paddy-wagons around in which to house detainees decorously or transport them to the watchhouse. There was no duty magistrate available to bail the suspects. Get real. We can be sure Australian forces operate with a great deal more sensitivity than many, but they are there to do a job - and if that means detaining people overnight in culturally insensitive conditions, tough sh-t. Everyone should remember all the lessons that Afghanistan has taught “invaders” over the centuries. The chief one is never trust an Afghan to abide by the rules of war.
Incidentally who,apart from Keysar Trad says dogs are unclean. Afghan Hounds are presumably from Afghanistan so Afghans bred them ,and use them for hunting. Doesn’t sound as if the Afghan regard them as unclean.
Considering that an alternate approach could have been “take no prisoners,” and the SAS have a reputation for being very efficient at what they do, it could have been considerably worse for the detainees than dog cages.
More free propaganda given to the Taliban. However the average reader will be well aware that a kennel large enough for Afghan Hounds is comfortable enough to hold captured terrorists. And it is only against the Geneva convention if the SAS neglected to feed them Pal or Chum.
I had the hyperlink about the Afghan resources in the original article but the editors removed it. Go to http://www.newhumanist.com/oil.html to get more information.
I am really impressed with the comments on this article, obviously the minister, who had somewhat backtracked today (blaming the troops for not knowing what a dog kennel/pen is http://www.theage.com.au/national/minister-denies-taliban-held-in-dog-kennels-20080902-481h.html?page=-1) knew exactly to whom he was pandering.
If our troops called them dog pens and used them to hold human beings, then there is a serious problem for which the minister must apologise.
Question: When is a dog pen not a dog kennel?
Answer: When the minister is embarrassed into changing its label.
Our misadventurous invasion of Afghanistan includes a number of reasons, our continued stay in there is to get a share of certain resources, just like our continued participation in Iraq. Our government also only withdrew a little over one third of our troops from Iraq leaving a thousand troops there (refer: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/02/australia.iraq/), so we are in both countries and we are better off remaining in neither of the two.
Venise, I requested evidence. This is one of those funny situations when someone (i.e. me) requests information they haven’t already got. Gee, how arrogant is that?
The notion that we are in Afghanistan on a ‘resource grab’ is genuine news to me. It’s an extraordinary claim, but I’m not even after extraordinary evidence - just any at all.
Woofwoof………..arf…woof….grrrr…wofwoof
So reviewing the comments placed so far it seems clear that the consensus is; if you live in Afghanistan and get detained by our SAS you are guilty of being Taliban. So if by inference this means all Afghans are Taliban, what exactly are we doing in Afghanistan in the first place? If we hate them all so much that they deserve no rights why are we wasting tax payer’s money fighting a war against a country that hasn’t attacked us and a people who don’t want to adopt our values?
“We are in Afghanistan on a resource grab”? I’d support that assertion with some evidence (like ‘what resources’, would be a good start) very quickly, if I were you. Otherwise, say goodbye to whatever credibility you had.
Mark Duffett,
I hope your information is better than your arrogance. For the past 50 years there’s been more than a hint that great mineral wealth; possibly oil, will be found in Afghanistan. The rumours are far from being at just bazaar level. Not unlike the rumours that used to circulate that Australia may prove to have oil. Until the first strike at a place called Moonie in QLD.
Before passing judgement one way or the other more facts are needed. For example what was the alternative? This may have been the only secure building available. If this is the case the alternative might have been chains overnight. Now that would really put the cat among the pigeons..
Keyser Trad - what sort of accomodation do you want our soldiers in the field to organise exactly? Perhaps you can also comment on the accomodations provided to unexpected guests by the Taliban - cat got your tounge?