I appeared again last night on ABC TV News 24 The Drum with former politician Kerry Chikarovski and ABC journalist Chris Uhlmann (previous appearances here). The show is available here.
We discussed Australia’s role in Afghanistan and whether the country should maintain troops there. It appears that the US alliance and “national security” reasons are enough for an open-ended commitment despite serious negotiations already occurring with the “enemy”. Staying in a war “to get the job done”, as our major political leaders say, is deeply embarrassing and parochial. At least independent Andrew Wilkie and the Greens are calling for a rational withdrawal. Propping up a corrupt and illegitimate government in Kabul is a strange and immoral way to back Washington.
A leading Victorian unionist said yesterday that he believed 9/11 was an inside job and not orchestrated by Osama Bin Laden. Kevin Bracken was dismissed on TV as a conspiracy nut but I argued that there has never been a robust investigation of the September 11 attacks and though I didn’t believe the Bush administration was behind the outrages the general public doesn’t know the full story of that fateful day.
Finally, the issue of an open and frank debate about drugs in society was canvassed. Surely the question of decriminalisation should be addressed, as the Portuguese example is an inspiring model. The current path, with soaring drug problems due to illegalities, isn’t working.