That is a moral obligation we have. And it was a moral obligation that was shamefully discarded many years ago when we pulled out of Vietnam. I do not want to see a repetition of that failure in relation to Afghanistan.”
The country’s obligation to genuine Afghan allies of the ADF is real enough but I’m not subscribing to the Alan Jones solution just yet. The broadcaster has this week demanded that asylum claimants be popped on a plane and evacuated to Dubai forthwith. That wouldn’t be prudent.
This is another Morrison government and ADF debacle not because wheels are turning slowly but because protocols were not drawn up months – if not, years – ago for precisely this situation. If as much manpower and intelligence resources had been used to maintain a Schindler’s list of good-to-go interpreters as has been expended on framing Australian war veterans, Mr Howard wouldn’t be alluding to Vietnam. It’s a pity, even so, that he didn’t see the parallels when the Brereton-ists began spitting on servicemen. The latter returned, after all, from a war to which he sent them and which was always going to end suddenly.