We have no say in blind support for unwinnable war

BY declaring his support for President Donald Trump’s escalation of the conflict in Afghanistan, Malcolm Turnbull has intimated increasing Australian military presence in that conflict should Mr Trump make that call.

In other words, Mr Turnbull has already committed us to another unwinnable phase of this ongoing Afghan war. For hundreds of years, there has been ongoing conflict in this war- torn nation, and no one yet has claimed victory over its people, and no one ever will. It is the nature of the beast, but still we see people like Mr Trump and Mr Turnbull who are prepared to tear up the history books in an en- deavour to rewrite their own chapter of failure.

The world has short memories, but the glaring fact is that during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan several decades ago, it was with sophisticated American military weaponry and assistance, including surface to air missiles, that the then Muja Hadeen ( Taliban now) were successful in forcing the Russians to withdraw from Afghanistan to join the list of unsuccessful invaders who had gone before them.

Someone suggested recently that Mr Turnbull is going to the people to gauge support for the approval/ disapproval of same sex marriage, but when it comes to commit- ting Australia to the costly unwinnable Afghan war, the electors do not get a look in on this very important decision, and there is nothing more important than human life, or should I say, the waste of human life, and the price all Australians will have to pay. DON MORRIS,

Cranbrook.