Australia's Commitment to Afghanistan

I find it strange that coming up to a Federal Election, Prime Minister Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott both agree on one thing - supporting the war in Afghanistan. Ever after the death of another Australian soldier was announced yesterday, Julia Gillard said she intended to stay and fight and was immediately supported by Tony Abbott. Why is it so when the polls tell us that 61 per cent of Australians oppose the war? In this instance, our pollies don't care about the polls and are in complete agreement with each other.

"There will be Australians today who are asking themselves in the face of this loss why as a country do we continue to pursue our mission there "Gillard said. "We pursue that mission because Afghanistan is a safe haven for terrorists." Really? There was a recent report that said there were very few terrorists left in Afghanistan and it's general knowledge that Pakistan is where most of the terrorist training takes place.

Michelle Grattan was the first Australian woman to become editor of a daily metropolitan newspaper - The Canberra Times - and is now political editor for The Age. She puts it like this: Australia will stay in Afghanistan for as long as the Americns want us to, which means as long as the US is there. It is one of those commitments to the alliance. We do it even though the prospects of "victory" are probably bleak. The real reason for Australia's involvement is maintaining the close alliance with the US. Given our real reason for being there, we are more likely to score points with the US if we accept a prominent role, rather than hiding behind someone else's possibly less competent leadership."

Remember Mark Latham? He wrote "The US alliance is a funnel that draws us into unnecessary wars". He added in a radio interview promoting his book "I think we should have a look at how New Zealand has made itself the safest country in the world. There's no terrorist threat to New Zealand that has been identified but one here because if you go supporting bad American policy, you make yourself a bigger target".

So whatever the reason, it seems we will be in Afghanistan until America tell us that we can go home. I'm all for looking after your friends but I wonder if this is taking loyalty a little too far.