Monday, July 5, 2010

4 Corners

Might be worth a look tonight.

Chris Masters reports on our troops in Afghanistan. It may be an eye-opener for those who think the Taliban are human (and humane). I heard an interview on ABC radio today between some presenter and Chris Masters.

A Careful War - Part 1
Reporter: Chris Masters
Broadcast: 05/07/2010

If any proof was needed, last month made it clear Afghanistan is a dangerous place to be. Five Australian soldiers died, more were wounded. Two of the men lost in action were Sapper Jacob Moerland and Sapper Darren Smith. Four Corners recently spent a month with Australian troops, much of it with their company. They were there on the day Jacob and Darren were hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). Now reporter Chris Masters asks the men on the frontline if Australia is making headway in this brutal conflict, and if the pain they suffer is worth the gains they are making.

They are called Mentoring Team Alpha, part of Mentoring Task Force 1 (MTF1) - a company of Australian soldiers backed by engineers whose job is to wage war against the Taliban in the Miribad Valley in Afghanistan. Fighting the Taliban is only part of their job. They must also protect the local people as well as train the Afghan National Army.

5 comments:

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Boy on a bike said...

Thanks for the heads up. It was a good show. I was waiting to see if I recognised any of the names.

Getting spam?

kae said...

Chinese spam, tastes like chicken... but it's probably pork.

I didn't recognise any names, except the two we lost recently - that's on next week's program.

I'll need to have the tissues ready.

Those men are just amazing.

1735099 said...

Interesting program - it looked as it Masters got close to the action.
Some things haven't changed - soldiers are still good for hanging heavy things on - just different things these days.
Speaking of tissues - my company lost 1 KIA and 2 WIA when we encountered bunkers in April 1970, I don't recollect any pollies (of either side) attending their funerals.
Given the division caused Vietnam back then, in retrospect it's bizarre that the government that conscripted young Aussies to fight and die couldn't be bothered to sent representatives to their repatriation and funerals.
It looks like as a nation we may have learned something in 40 years.