Australian troops being readied for possible deployment from Pakistan to Lebanon
Editors note: if war starts with Syria it will be another act of aggression based on lies like Iraq was and will only benefit the elite who profit from these wars as innocent people die. We already know that for over 2 years many NATO nations such as the US, UK and France have been funding, arming and training al qaeda in the region and sending them in to destabilise the Syrian government.
Australias new Defence Minister, David Johnston, says he wants to keep the military battle-ready for further possible conflicts in the unstable Middle East and south Asia.
Senator Johnston said that after 14 years of involvement in overseas conflicts from East Timor to Afghanistan, the Australian Defence Force had a strong fighting momentum that should not be lost as troops return from Afghanistan.
In an interview with Fairfax Media, he said he plans to maintain and augment our readiness for future fights, which will most likely be in the unstable region stretching from
Pakistan to the Levant, including even fresh trouble in Afghanistan.
It will be Pakistan across to Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan. Thats the area where there will be instability and thats the area that we might need to go back into at some point in the future.
I cant foresee that right now, but
if you were to look at where the next area of instability is likely to be and were seeing it unfolding in Syria today a contribution from Australia is most likely to be in that part of the world in the future.
I think Pakistan is also highly problematic.
The West Australian Senator (pictured), a former justice and customs minister in the Howard government and Tony Abbotts defence spokesman, stressed he did not see Australians fighting in Syria.
He said he was not preparing for any particular conflict in an alarmist sense but was determined to build on the knowledge and skills the Australian Defence Force had gained running counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan. That included exposure to enemy tactics such as the use of improvised explosive devices and fighting in urban areas among a civilian population against a very, very resourceful and callous enemy.
These are experiences that weve lived and breathed for 10 years and weve become quite expert in those things. And weve got to make sure those lessons are passed on to our soldiers in the future.
Operationally, were starting to come down [in Afghanistan], so weve got to maintain some interest for the troops. Theyve got to keep training, got to keep a level of readiness.
The bulk of Australian troops are set to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of the year. However, in a reminder of the continuing danger, three special forces soldiers were wounded last week in a battle with insurgents.
A Defence statement issued on Friday said the three elite soldiers had received minor fragmentation wounds while helping Afghan forces fight off insurgents.
Senator Johnstons remarks come amid a continuing international standoff over the response to Syrias suspected use of chemical weapons.
can be send back to Stone age in a matter of minutes by Pakistan.
