MINISTER ON AFGHAN FACT FINDING TRIP?

Exclusive

Tim Holding - Brumby’s man turned PM Rudd’s international man of mystery?
VIC MINISTER WON’T CONFIRM OR DENY AFGHAN TRIP

By Sasha Uzunov
Copyright 2009

Mr Tim Holding, a Victorian State government minister who is a former Australian Army Reserve Special Forces soldier, will not confirm nor deny speculation about him undertaking a short fact finding mission to Afghanistan on behalf of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

A prominent strategic analyst, who has the close ear of governments, and speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he wanted to “float the idea of Mr Holding undertaking a fact finding mission to the Australian base in Tarin Kowt province [in Southern Afghanistan].”

“Mr Holding is an intelligent young politician with links to Special Forces. The Australian media underestimate his ability, which is why he would be ideal for the mission: he would slip under the media radar,” the strategic analyst said. “Mr Holding has not been informed of the proposed trip.”

The analyst said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was not happy with the flow of information about Afghanistan coming from the army chain of command and needed his own “eyes and ears” on the ground for a couple of weeks to assess the situation.

Mr Holding’s office was contacted a week ago to confirm or deny if Mr Holding knew the speculation about the Afghanistan trip. But no comment has been forthcoming.

Mr Holding served as a Signaller or communications expert with the elite Army Reserve Special Forces unit, 126 Commando Signals Squadron, then attached to 1 Commando Regiment, 2nd Company, at Fort Gellibrand, Williamstown, Melbourne, Victoria from 1991 to 1993.

Greg Sher the eighth and most recent Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan was also a member of 1 Commando Regiment (1 CDO Regt).

Mr Holding is the Minister for Finance, WorkCover and Transport Accident Commission, and Minister for Water, Minister for Tourism and Major Events in the John Brumby ALP state government.

A former Australian intelligence agent, with extensive Middle East experience, and also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he believed that Prime Minister Rudd would change Australia’s current military policy and commit a regular army infantry battalion (about 500 soldiers) to Afghanistan very soon.

Current military policy is for Australia’s Special Forces units, SASR and 4RAR (Commando) to do the frontline fighting in Afghanistan, which according to standard doctrine should be carried out by regular infantry.

SASR and 4RAR (Cdo)’s traditional roles include surveillance of the enemy, information gathering or carrying out raids against targets or securing entry and exits points for other army units.

SASR, 4RAR (Cdo) and 1 CDO Regt fall under the Australian Army's Special Operations Command (SOCOMD).

In contrast the Canadian army, after decades of peacekeeping, has regular infantry fighting the Taliban in the dangerous southern Afghanistan province of Kandahar. But over 100 Canadian soldiers have been killed.

(end)

- UPDATED - 3 February 2009

Link:

Paul Daley in the excellent article below tells of the Australian Defence Minister's frustration at not being able to go outside the wire in Afghanistan and have a look for himself

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/are-our-troops-really-helping-in-afghanistan-20090131-7ued.html?skin=text-only

Are our troops really helping in Afghanistan?

The Sunday Age

Date: February 1 2009

By Paul Daley
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Older Links:

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23995986-5000117,00.html

Herald Sun newspaper

New options to blunt Taliban
by Sasha Uzunov
July 10, 2008 12:00am
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2005 UZUNOV STORY ON THE OVER USE OF THE SAS (extract):

The Herald Sun newspaper
A grand political warrior

by Sasha Uzunov21 January 2005

...Some have criticised General (Peter) Cosgrove on his over reliance on the SAS to do the fighting in East Timor that would normally have been taken up by the regular infantry.But I think this criticism is unjustified.

Criticism should be aimed at the government of the day (Howard 1996-2007) and those at home squeamish about seeing a 19 year old lad away from home for the first time fighting a war. Better to send the SAS, whose identity cannot be revealed...

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VICTORIA CROSS - NEW ERA OF HEROES

photo: Defence Dept

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=8431&page=0

Friday, 23 January 2009

VC WINNER HERALDS NEW ERA OF HEROES

By Sasha Uzunov

The award of the highly prestigious Victoria Cross to SASR Trooper Mark Donaldson for outstanding bravery under fire in Afghanistan is not only significant because it is the first time in forty years since the Vietnam War but it heralds the end of one era and the beginning of another in Australian society.

“Trooper Donaldson's bravery will forever be engraved in Australian history,” the Prime Minister Mr Kevin Rudd said.

“Generations of schoolchildren will now know of the story of Trooper Mark Donaldson.”

Society now has heroes to look up to who are not media creations. As more and more heroes emerge from Australia’s war in Afghanistan the need for the media tough guy surrogate hero is probably finished.

Those who are highly paid observers or futurologists such as the well respected Bernard Salt should be taking note of this trend and passing it on to those powerful people who shape our media agenda such as news bosses John Westacott of the Nine Network and his Seven Network counterpart Peter Meakin.

The 1960s were a turbulent time in Australia’s history with Vietnam seen as a controversial war and a conservative society undergoing dramatic change. The notion of strong young men undergoing military service as a rite of passage was seen as anachronistic and this view probably lasted until the 1980s. Moreover, some within Australian society felt strongly that Australia and America were simply wrong to get involved in Vietnam.

Author Michael Caulfield, in his excellent book “The Vietnam Years” from the jungle to the Australian suburbs,” wrote of the 1960s:

“What was ‘now’, what was ‘happening’, was the photograph of a long-haired dissenter, courageously resisting a phalanx of overweight cops as they dragged him away to jail. He looked vaguely like one of Christ‘s apostles, definitely ‘cool’, a modern icon.”

A clever newsman Gerald Stone, a former US Army artillery officer and famous war reporter in his own right, probably sensed an Australian society needing strong masculine heroes to fill the void. Stone recruited three journalists, Ray Martin, Ian Leslie and George Negus.

As canny Mark Day, a newspaperman of the old school, observed:

“I guess we can blame Gerald Stone and George Negus for the emergence of the celebrity journalist--at least in Australia. “Stone was executive producer of the Nine (TV network) clone of CBS’s 60 Minutes when it launched here in 1979 with the premise that the reporter was the story.

“George, along with Ray Martin and Ian Leslie were sent into war zones, deep jungles, and dark places in search of ripper yarns, and the cameras tracked them tracking down the story.

“George, coat slung over his shoulder, embraced this role with a particular gusto, adding his idiosyncratic commentary into which he wove his personal beliefs.

“It wasn’t long before George was a bigger celeb than any of the news makers he pursued, even after being savaged by the likes of Margaret Thatcher.”

George Negus was dubbed the Balmain Cowboy after a tough working class inner Sydney suburb because of his macho image, even though he never served in Vietnam but was a school teacher who dabbled in journalism and later became a press secretary to a politician.

But with the resurgence of the Anzac Legend and in particular a new respect for those who serve in uniform, where does that leave the war reporter in society’s eyes after having fulfilled the role of surrogate “warrior” stereotype during the 1970s and 80s?

Rival Australian television networks, in a game of one up-manship, have inadvertently brought the notion of the warrior as reporter to the surface. A famous case involved veteran Nine Network reporter Jim Waley, who coincidently did not serve in the military in Vietnam, wearing a flak jacket in Iraq in 2004 as opposed to his competitor Adrian Brown of the Seven Network who did not. Both were metres away from each other in Baghdad.

Trooper Donaldson’s award of the VC has now well and truly put an end to the era of the media tough guy as society’s hero.

(end)

BEATING THE TALIBAN?

Above: Wily Afghan General Abdul Rashid Dostum (left) pictured with Canadian journalist Scott Taylor in 2007. Dostum claims he can put together a 5,000 strong army and clean out the Taliban but is being stopped by NATO from doing so.

Australian freelance photo journalist Sasha Uzunov in local Afghan attire meets charismatic and unorthodox American woman Sarah Chayes who lives outside the wire in Kandahar, Afghanistan

On-Line Opinion - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=8328&page=0

Out-'talibaning' the Taliban:

can the US ‘win’ in Afghanistan?
By Sasha Uzunov - 30 December 2008


The late David “Hack” Hackworth, the most decorated American soldier from the Korean and Vietnam Wars and a respected military critic, once said that to beat the guerrilla or insurgent you have to “out-g the g” or out-guerrilla the guerrilla! That is you have to use his tactics against him.

The United States - and by extension the “Free World” including Australia - now finds itself poised for a make or break year 2009 in the Afghanistan War. The Taliban has become resurgent in more than 50 per cent of the country. Some are claiming more than 70 per cent.

But can the US really win the war in Afghanistan? It depends how you define winning. It has been easy for commentators to compare the Vietnam War and Afghanistan - with the focus on beating an elusive enemy that comes and goes: the Viet Cong in Vietnam and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

With any counter-insurgency war, the key to winning is a two-pronged attack - political and military. That is removing the support for the insurgent or guerrilla from the people. The most obvious way from a political angle is to provide the local people with clean running water, sanitation, health, jobs and education and combat corruption within the government.

The sad truth is that much of the western aid in Kandahar, the Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan, is not getting through. Canadian journalist Scott Taylor and I had the opportunity to see for ourselves, outside the wire in June 2008, that local schools did not have books or computers. Literacy is at the heart of weaning the locals from the need for the Taliban.

One brave woman, Sarah Chayse, a former American journalist, lives outside the comfortable NATO base or western style compounds in Kandahar. She has gained street credibility by running a simple soap factory that employs local men and woman. She is Afghanistan’s version of John Paul Vann, the famous American advisor from the Vietnam War. The Commander of Canadian Forces, Brigadier-General Denis Thompson even paid her visit while we were her guests earlier this year.

Moreover, at some point the Taliban will probably have to be brought to the negotiating table. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has left the door open for such a possibility.

Critics always point out that the US is not good at winning counter-insurgency war with Vietnam cited ad nauseam as the example; that US military doctrine is geared towards set piece battles with enormous fire power. The irony of all this is that US has the answers staring it right in the face. The Whitehouse and the Pentagon need only go back into the history pages, back into the time of the founding of the US in the late 18th century.

Rogers Rangers or Petraeus' Patriots

Rogers Rangers were a group of irregular colonial American soldiers recruited by the British in the late 1700s to fight the competing French Empire and Indians in North America. They were famous for using what has now become known as guerrilla tactics, ambushing, hit and run and so on. Later, some of these tactics were used by the Americans fighting for Independence against the British. Those ex-Rogers Rangers that remained loyal to the British Empire during the American War of Independence moved to Canada.

Both the United States and Canadian Armies claim the legacy of Rogers Rangers. The present day 1st Battalion, 119th Field Artillery (United States) and the Canadian The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) trace their roots back to Rogers Rangers.
Both countries are now fighting side by side in Afghanistan. The Canadians have taken many casualties, with a hundred soldiers killed already.

Perhaps the US military might want to re-create a 21st century version of Rogers’s Rangers and call it Petraeus’ Patriots, after the famous US Army General David Petraeus from the Iraq War known for thinking outside the box.

Another man who could help the US is an articulate and fighting Colonel, HR McMaster, who in 2005 was successful in counter-insurgency operations in Northern Iraq. I had the good fortune to meet Colonel McMaster in Tal Afar, Northern Iraq in 2005.

Perhaps promoting him to Brigadier-General and giving him a command in Afghanistan should be considered top priority by incoming US President Barak Obama

The US, Australia and Canada, have their Special Forces units operating in Afghanistan. The Commander of Australia’s Special Operations Command, Major General Tim McOwan has claimed during a recent media meet and greet and slide show in Canberra that the elite SASR (Special Air Service Regiment) and 4RAR (Commando) were beating the Taliban at its own game.

"In many instances your Special Forces soldiers are able to clandestinely capture these leaders without ever firing a shot. On one occasion the commandos infiltrated undetected into the heart of a Taliban safe haven to capture the Taliban leader Ahmad Shah in his bed," he said.

General McOwan has not revealed in great detail what tactics the SASR and Commandos are using but it does not take a genius to work out that the key to any operations is to remain unpredictable - the enemy not knowing where and when you will strike. Moreover, not leaving a signature, that is the enemy does not know how you will strike: will you enter (insert) the battle with helicopters, armoured vehicles or just walk in?

The Black Hawk down episode in Somalia in 1993 saw a band of militia with cheap but effective weapons, Kalashnikov assault rifles, RPG rocket launchers, bring down two very expensive American Black Hawk helicopters and inflict casualties on US Army Specials Forces (Green Berets, Delta Force and Rangers). The political result was President Clinton withdrew from the mission. The Somali militias had learnt when and where the US military would strike because it had become routine in its operations and left a “signature”.

In 2001 when the US invaded Afghanistan and successfully removed the Taliban from power, Green Berets joined forces with Northern Alliance rebels, namely ethnic Uzbek forces led by the wily General Abdul Rashid Dostum. One of the traditional ways they travelled into the battlefield was by horse because of the hostile terrain.

Irregular and radical tactics

As a suggestion, and if it has not been already been adopted, why not have a brigade or regiment (over 1,500 soldiers) of US Army Green Berets or Petraeus Patriots dressed as local Afghanis, full beards, using traditional weapons such Kalashnikovs and RPGs supplemented but not dominated by the high-tech gadgets that the US likes to use in warfare, hunt down the Taliban. Throw in some tracker dogs as well. We could have a contingent of Canadian Special Forces, JTF 2, along for the ride. They could be nicknamed Hilliers’ Harrassers, in honour of the hugely popular Canadian Defence Chief, General Ricky “The Big Cod” Hillier.

In 2,000 years no one, including the British or the Russians has been able to subdue Afghanistan. History is against the US. However, history can also find the answers.

Afghanistan is a nation made up of various ethnic groups, Pushtuns namely in the south, Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Hazaras, the descendents of the Mongols, and two strands of Islam, Sunni and Shiite. Trying to keep Afghanistan, like multi-ethnic Iraq, as a central state is downright crazy. Some kind of federation should be considered, devolving power as a safety mechanism.

Pushtuns have their kinsmen living in neighbouring northern Pakistan. It comes as no great surprise that the Taliban, which draws its support from the Pushtuns, has safe heavens across the border in Pakistan. To revisit the Vietnam War, the communist North Vietnam used neighbouring Cambodia as part of its Ho Chi Minh trail as a supply line to the Viet Cong (Communist insurgent forces) in the South.

The US now has to also cut off the “Osama bin Laden Pass” connecting Afghanistan and Pakistan.

A federal Afghanistan with the national army complemented by regional forces - and private armies run by warlords are a fact of life in Afghanistan today as they were centuries ago - would act as a counter to the Taliban.

In June 2008, Canadian journalist Scott Taylor and I were told by Dostum in Kabul, the Afghan capital that he could round up an army of 5,000 fighters and clean out the Taliban. Similarly, leader Pocha Khan Zadran said he could do the same in the East alongside the border with Pakistan.

Critics, pundits, defence experts, armchair generals, and the media constantly bombards us with the notion that we need to be able to think outside the box, and have a willingness to try something unorthodox. But it seems many of these groups are set in their ways.

(end)

Brisbane Courier Mail newspaper article, Australia

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24814541-27197,00.html

Holiday hypocrisy

by Sasha Uzunov
December 17, 2008 11:00pm

UNION protest at dropping the long weekend rankles with Vietnam War veterans stung by past anti-war action.

For some of Queensland's Vietnam veterans who watched this week as the Queensland Council of Unions jumped on the Anzac legend bandwagon to keep a public holiday next year, painful memories have been dredged up.

Anzac Day falls on a Saturday in 2009 and the Queensland Government will not be giving either the Friday before or Monday after in lieu of April 25 as a public holiday.

As one veteran quipped on a website: "After striking during the Vietnam War and withholding supplies destined for troops, the unions now want to benefit from their shame, I think not."
Keith Tennent, a Rockhampton veteran and editor of influential website,
www.theaussiedigger.com, added his thoughts on the issue by writing:

"Anzac Day is a day of solemn remembrance, not an excuse for a barbecue and a beer."

Not all trade unions are the same and cannot be blamed for the past actions of other unions. But you can understand Vietnam veterans' anger at the hypocrisy of those who opposed our involvement in the Vietnam War, and now all of a sudden are flag-waving super-patriots when it suits them.

Paul Ham, in his excellent book, Vietnam –The Australian War, reveals:

"In November 1969, the Sydney branch of the Waterside Workers Federation refused to load the Jeparit, the military supply ship that shuttled between Sydney and Vung Tau (Vietnam). This time the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions) did nothing to restrain them . . . vital supplies were delayed. The postal unions urged their members to take industrial action."

A staunch supporter of the massive national anti-Vietnam War moratorium protests in 1970 was the Queensland Trades and Labor Council.

Bob Hawke was the ACTU president at the time of the fierce opposition to the Vietnam War. That didn't stop him, as prime minister, from basking in the limelight at the welcome-home parade for Vietnam veterans in 1987.

Now, having said all that, I understand that allowing an Anzac Day long weekend for many would be great.

We are constantly bombarded, by social scientists and other experts, with the fact that we Australians work longer hours than ever before and are dedicated to our careers.

We are made to feel guilty about not spending quality time with our family or loved ones because of work. Marriages and relationships are put under strain.

Doctors and psychologists warn us constantly of stress that could damage our physical and mental health because of over-work in trying to keep up with mortgage repayments and paying the bills.

Time off would be great, but is it really so bad if we miss one public holiday on a rare occasion when it falls on a weekend. It's not the end of the world, but missing an arm or a leg because of a war wound is close.

The Queensland Council of Unions needs to put things into perspective.

If we want to pay our respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in war then let us honour April 25, Anzac Day, on whatever day it falls.

Sasha Uzunov is a journalist who has worked in Iraq and Afghanistan and a former Australian soldier who served two tours of duty in East Timor.

KOKODA HERO MONUMENT

DAREBIN CITY HEROES

Private Bruce Kingsbury VC - Kokoda WWII

Private Les Farren - Vietnam

KOKODA TRACK HERO --
PROPOSAL FOR KINGSBURY VC MONUMENT

Sasha Uzunov, a Reservoir freelance photo journalist and former Australian soldier who served in East Timor, says he wants to propose to Darebin City Council that they place a statue of one of Australia’s greatest World War II heroes Private Bruce Kingsbury VC at the Reservoir Cenotaph in Edwardes Street, Reservoir, Melbourne, Australia.

Sasha Uzunov spent 15 years campaigning for a memorial plaque for Victoria’s first National Serviceman (conscript) killed in Vietnam, Pte Leslie Farren of the northern Melbourne suburb Reservoir, (within Darebin City). Sasha was eventually successful and a plaque was placed at the Reservoir Cenotaph in 2006 amidst great fanfare by the Darebin Council and the media.

Private Kingsbury lived in the City of Darebin (covering the suburbs of Northcote, Thornbury, Preston, Reservoir, Regent and Kingsbury).


See link: below:

http://www.wikinorthia.net.au/index.php/Bruce_Kingsbury_(1918_–_1942)

Bruce Kingsbury VC (1918-42)

Bruce Kingsbury was born in Armadale in 1918. After working interstate for a while he joined his fathers real estate business in Northcote. Kingsbury lived in Gilbert Road in West Preston.


When the World War II broke out Kingsbury quickly enlisted. Sent to Palestine Kingsbury saw action in both Egypt and Syria. In 1942, Kingsbury’s unit, the 2/14th Battalion was posted to Port Moresby.

On 29th August 1942, the 2/14 was involved in heavy fighting on the Kokoda trail. Japanese attacks were successful in pushing back the Australians. With the Battalion Headquarters in danger of being overrun it was vital that a counter attack was made. Kingsbury’s unit had been severely handled by the Japanese so Kingsbury joined another platoon assigned to make the counter attack.

Charging the enemy, firing his machine gun from his hip, Kingsbury inflicted heavy causalities upon the Japanese defenders. Taken by surprise by his attack the Japanese defenders scattered and the Australians were able to regain a precious 100 yards of territory.

But the cost was high. Kingsbury was now about 15 yards in front of his colleagues. A Japanese sniper fired a single shot, killing Kingsbury, before fleeing into the jungle.

In sacrificing his life Kingsbury had saved the headquarters and prevented the Japanese from taking a decisive dominance in the battle for the Kokoda trail. Bruce Kingsbury is buried in the Kokoda War Cemetery.

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Mr Pete Crockett - Secretary of The Kingsbury Society is seeking to have created by renowned local sculptor, Peter Corlett, a full-sized bronze statue of Bruce Kingsbury, to cost approximately $100,000 and to be located in Melbourne's City of Darebin.

“Unfortunately we are many years away from reaching that target of funding,” Mr Crockett said.

“Darebin Council had rejected a proposal to place a life-sized statute of Kingsbury VC outside the Preston Town Hall on the corner of High Street and Gower Streets, Preston.”

The Reservoir Cenotaph would be an ideal place for the Kingsbury monument, Sasha Uzunov said. But we would need to get permission from the Reservoir RSL, which administers the site. Hopefully we can get DVA to fund the project.

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LINKS:

PETER CROCKETT - Secretary of The Kingsbury Society. To contact him call 0404 560 424
Email: bsk@alphalink.com.au


5RAR - Pte L.T. Farren memorial plaque / ceremony
http://www.5rar.asn.au/tributes/farren_plaque.htm

Leslie Thomas Farren. Killed in Action, 10 June 1966

A First Angry Shot Remembered (The Melbourne Herald Sun, page 20)

by Sasha UzunovAugust 24, 2006 12:00am

Bank teller Les Farren did not live to hear Prime Minister John Howard's apology for the reception his mates received from a disillusioned public when they returned home from Vietnam.

This little-known soldier from the Melbourne suburb of Reservoir was the first Victorian National Serviceman to die in that controversial war.

But he will be remembered when his 86-year-old mother, Lillian Farren, unveils a plaque on Monday at the Reservoir Cenotaph.Forty years after his death, Mrs Farren still grieves for her son.

"It was awful to see Les go and never see him again", said Mrs Farren. "This way he will be remembered."

Les was always in the shadow of another Melbourne suburbs boy when he went to Vietnam. The 1960s Australian pop legend, Normie Rowe, was one of his schoolmates at the Northcote High School before they were called up for Vietnam.

Les, two years older than Normie, was quietly spoken and looking forward to being an accountant in the suburbs.Normie, in the era of Beatlemania, was being mobbed by screaming hysterical teenage girls and had the music world at his feet.

But Vietnam changed their lives. Pte Leslie Thomas Farren was conscripted in 1965 and posted to 10 Platoon, Delta Company, 5th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, Infantry Corps.

He was also a keen amateur photographer and the only son of Thomas and Lillian Farren.On June 10, 1966, while on patrol in South Vietnam, Pte Farren was severely wounded by Viet Cong mortar fire.

He was 19 days short of his 21st birthday. Cpl Frank Donovan was the army medic who tried to help Les."Les Farren actually died in my arms from massive lower body wounds," said Cpl Donovan. The extent of his wounds and loss of blood made survival impossible.

Trooper Norman J. Rowe got the call up in 1968 and went to Vietnam in 1969 with A Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, Armoured Corps.He survived but it almost ended his musical career.

I took an interest in Les Farren after reading about him in a newspaper more than 15 years ago.

I was surprised no one had acknowledged his service. Les was one of the unsung people who do

their duty without fuss or fanfare.Len Barlow, secretary of the Victorian branch of the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia helped me to lobby Darebin Council for the commemorative plaque that will be unveiled by his mother.

To its credit, the council quickly approved the proposal. Les Farren has not been forgotten but it has taken too long to acknowledge his service.

Following the Prime Minister's words on Vietnam Veterans Day last Friday, the sacrifice of these veterans might now be better remembered.

Videos and photos of Private Leslie Farren (10 Platoon, D Company, 5 RAR) Memorial Plaque Ceremony First Victorian National Serviceman to be killed in Vietnam War on 10 June 1966. - MONDAY 28 August 2006, Reservoir Cenotaph, Reservoir, City of Darebin, Victoria.

Photographs of the Occasion

Mr Bob Elworthy, President of Australian Vietnam Veterans Association - Victorian Branch, chats to some 5RAR veterans at the Leslie Farren memorial plaque ceremony. VVAA - Vic Branch sponsored the plaque.

Mr Frank Donovan, then an Army Medic with 5RAR, who held Leslie Farren, as he died of his wounds, giving a speech. Next to him is Councillor Stanley Chiang, the Mayor of Darebin City Council, which lent his support behind the memorial.

Cr Stanley Chiang, lays a wreath at the Reservoir cenotaph

The last surviving next of kin, Mrs Lillian Farren, aged 86, unveils the plaque to her son. Cr Chiang is on hand to help.

The memorial plaque, kindly sponsored by the VVAA - Vic Branch, and with technical support from the Darebin City Council. The plaque inscription reads: "

In Memory of 3786921 Leslie Thomas Farren - First Victorian National Serviceman Killed in the Vietnam War, 10 June 1966. Sponsored by: VVAA - Vic Branch 28 August 2006

Sasha Uzunov, freelance photo journalist and East Timor veteran, who proposed the plaque.

Generals and Diggers saved the day in Timor

The fighting quality of the Aussie digger that saved the day in East Timor not Desk Warriors.

Private Carl "The Enforcer" Lloyd, Alpha Company, 4RAR, East Timor, 2001.

Photo by Sasha Uzunov.

On Line Opinion - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate.

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=8179&page=0


GENERALS AND DIGGERS SAVED THE DAY IN TIMOR

by Sasha Uzunov

Influential Defence expert and former Fairfax journalist, Hugh White, has revealed that Australia’s involvement in East Timor succeeded because of the Indonesian military’s (TNI) reluctance to fight a full scale war; this is partly true.


"Interfet succeeded as well as it did largely because Habibie and the TNI allowed it to succeed," White said.


Interfet was the name of the 1999 Australian led mission to restore order after East Timor declared its independence from 24 years of harsh Indonesian occupation. BJ Habibie was the then President of Indonesia who permitted East Timor to hold a UN supervised referendum.


White, who was the deputy secretary (strategy and intelligence) in the Defence Department, and the mastermind behind the Interfet mission, fails to mention four big factors behind the success.

They are: the brilliant leadership of two Australian Army generals, Frank Hickling and Interfet Commander Peter Cosgrove, the calibre of the Special Forces, the SASR, and the ordinary digger when confronted by the pro-Indonesian militia groups.

There was a secret war in East Timor fought by Indonesian Special Forces: Kopassus. The objective was to inflict as many casualties on Australians and New Zealanders in the hope that their respective governments would withdraw.

The Howard government at the time deliberately used the Army’s elite Special Forces unit, SASR (Special Air Service Regiment), to do most of the fighting in East Timor: fighting which should have been performed by the infantry.

The political logic was that the public and media would accept SASR casualties rather than a 19-year-old infantryman, fresh out of home or from a small country town.

But political logic does not necessarily make good military sense and vice-versa. In East Timor the pro-Indonesian militia tried to inflict as many casualties as possible on our infantry units, including battalions made up of many reserve/part time soldiers, in the hope that Australia would withdraw.

White is quiet on the issue of throwing reservists into the deep end after the regular army had been gutted; it was only the quality of the ordinary Australian soldier which stopped a disaster from happening.

It was General Frank Hickling’s foresight in 1998 as the Chief of Army that should be acknowledged. He issued his famous “back to basics” order that all Australian soldiers, regular and reserve, must sharpen their war fighting skills. He was concerned at the rundown of the Army.

Ironically, it was White and another defence expert, Paul Dibb, who were the prime movers in cutting back Army numbers in the late 1980s. Neither have ever served in uniform.

Respected Brigadier Jim Wallace, former Special Forces Commander, wrote in 2003:

"Unfortunately, Australian defence policy has been mainly wrong for the whole of this period. Even after we committed troops to East Timor, Professor Paul Dibb, the policy's chief architect, was standing in front of parliamentary committees vowing that Australia would not be conducting what he called "expeditionary" operations out of the region. This was despite a series of major UN deployments over many years to places as far a field as Rwanda and Somalia. Afghanistan and Iraq have hopefully now discredited this logic.

"At the same time, Dr Hugh White was arguing in initial drafts for the 2000 white paper to reduce the size of our army to about 19,000, on the basis that, like Professor Dibb, he didn't see the Government needing options for deployment out of the region, particularly for sending the army. The result has been an incredible demand on the dedication and professionalism of our special forces as they have again been thrown into the breach that our supposedly expert defence planners couldn't predict."

War is a serious business and it needs to be left to the professionals, not arm chair generals.

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Links:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24591926-5013871,00.html
Howard fear for Diggers in Timor

John Lyons, November 03, 2008
The Australian newspaper

GULF WAR SYNDROME REVISITED

Royal Australian Navy sailor. Photo: US Defense Department.

GULF WAR SYNDROME REVISITED

An American study into Gulf War Syndrome has found the illness is real, according to Australian veterans' news site...http://theaussiedigger.com/TheAussieDiggerForum/

But the issue here in Australia has been downplayed by politicians and some in the media, who see themselves as future government advisors and therefore do not want to rock the boat.

I was one of the first journalists to take a closer look at the political dimension to Australia's connection to Gulf War Syndrome...

In 2007, I put in a Freedom Of Information request for documents relating to Gulf War but the request was knocked back. At the time one prominent Australian journalist with ties to the ALP threatened to take legal action if I persisted in my investigation. He simply wanted to shutdown any scrutiny.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21207600-5006029,00.html

LABOR MUST HELP STRICKEN SOLDIERS

Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper -- 12 February, 2007

by Sasha Uzunov

OPPOSITION Leader Kevin Rudd has been flexing his political muscles over the Howard Government's involvement in Iraq War No 2.

But he seems to have forgotten that the Labor Party has unfinished business from Iraq War No. 1.Labor wants to pull out the Diggers from Iraq War No. 2, but it has not taken care of its responsibilities from the first war with Saddam Hussein.

Iraq War No. 1 started after the Iraqi dictator invaded Kuwait in 1990.

George Bush Sr was president of the United States and was quick to respond to the Iraq takeover.

So, too, was Australian prime minister Bob Hawke, who offered ships and sailors. Behind this decision was an ALP government wanting to score international recognition.

In his 1992 book The Gulf Commitment: The Australian Defence Force's First War, respected academic David M. Horner gives a behind-the-scenes look at the political scramble to get our sailors and a small contingent of Diggers into the Gulf.

The key players listed were prime minister Hawke, defence minister Robert Ray, foreign affairs minister Gareth Evans and two key advisers.

Professor Paul Dibb was deputy secretary of Defence and Hugh White was an international adviser to the prime minister.

Iraq War No. 1 was mercifully short. It was over by the next year, but the legacy is Gulf War Syndrome, which is a term used to cover a wide range of illnesses or conditions suffered by ADF personnel.

Illnesses include chronic fatigue, migraines, nerve damage, dizziness, nausea, skin rashes and ulcers.

American and British inquiries have found evidence to suggest Gulf War Syndrome has affected a substantial number of veterans.

But Australian authorities have refused to accept these findings.

A study headed by Associate Professor Malcolm Sim of Monash University in March, 2003, found veterans were likely to suffer from mental health and respiratory problems.

However, it could not positively link these conditions to Gulf War Syndrome.

The three-year study of 1400 veterans found they faced increased risks of nerve damage.
Australian governments of both political persuasions are reluctant to accept liability.

It took decades for (US) Vietnam War veterans to prove their case in the Agent Orange controversy. This was the name given to the defoliants sprayed over Vietnamese jungles in the 1960s. Agent Orange resulted in illnesses in American and Australian servicemen.

LABOR has been as eager as conservative governments to send Australians into conflict to gain international kudos.

When Paul Keating became prime minister after Bob Hawke, he and foreign affairs minister Gareth Evans were keen to gain international clout.

They sent a small number of Australian peacekeepers into the African hell of Rwanda.
Inadequate rules of engagement meant Australian soldiers were powerless to stop ethnic massacres.

Former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan admitted Rwanda was a humanitarian disaster.

But the Australian Labor Party is still to admit its responsibility over Iraq War No. 1 and needs to do so before it can be taken seriously in its claims to have a responsible foreign policy over Iraq War No. 2.

The issue of Gulf War Syndrome remains a stain on ALP policy.

None of the key players has publicly expressed concern for veterans who might be suffering from it.

Nor, for that matter, have other senior Labor figures of the time, such as Brian Howe and Dr Neal Blewett.

They, too, remain silent on what was a major issue while they were federal MPs.

Yet Blewett was a vocal anti-Vietnam war activist in his youth and Howe has returned to his calling as a minister of religion.

Kevin Rudd, who professes to be a man of faith, needs to heal the wounds caused by Gulf War No. 1.

The Opposition Leader needs to clarify his position on sick Australian veterans from an earlier Iraq conflict.

SASHA UZUNOV is a freelance journalist who covered the second war in Iraq and served as an Australian soldier in East Timor

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Link: http://theaussiedigger.com/TheAussieDiggerForum/ Forum (Mr Keith Tennent)
GULF WAR ILLNESS REPORT FROM AMERICA‏

Panel finds widespread Gulf War illness

“The extensive body of scientific research now available consistently indicates that ’Gulf War illness’ is real, that it is the result of neurotoxic exposures during Gulf War deployment, and that few veterans have recovered or substantially improved with time,” said the report, being released Monday by a panel of scientists and veterans. A copy was obtained by Cox Newspapers.

Webmaster's Commentary: http://whatreallyhappened.com/

The chemical poisoning of our own troops by the government and military supposed to protect them is nothing new (remember the enduring legacy of the defoliant Agent Orange to both the Vietnamese People and our Vets?)

But what we have here, through this definitive research, is the sure and certain reality that we've done it yet again.

The question is, what is the VA and the Federal Government going to do about it this time, to take care of these Vets and the families which love them?

Every Vet who has gone out there and put their life on the line, particularly those who have been injured (or chemically poisoned, as has happened here), should receive the same level of medical care that (US Vice President Dick) Cheney gets.

That they do not speaks volumes about our national priorities, and about the degree these people become disposable, once they have done their jobs on the battlefield.