Tenth Australian killed in Afghanistan

Kevin Rudd: Keep Afghanistan troops or risk terrorism in Australia

By Max Blenkin, Defence Correspondent
The Daily Telegraph
March 20, 2009 05:15pm

AUSTRALIA must stay the course in Afghanistan or risk terrorist attacks on our own shores, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said today.

His warning followed news that a second Australian soldier had died in the strife-torn country this week. The unnamed soldier, a explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialist, died instantly as he tried to defuse a Taliban improvised explosive device (IED).

His death followed that of Corporal Mathew (Mathew) Hopkins, shot dead by insurgents in a firefight on Monday. The latest fatality takes Australia's death toll in Afghanistan to 10 since 2002. In a parliamentary tribute, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull described EOD technicians as among the bravest of the brave.

They walked straight into danger zones to clear the way of mines, roadside bombs and other suspect devices strewn by terrorists in their path, he said. Few details of the latest incident have been revealed. Defence head Angus Houston said Australian soldiers were involved in route clearance at an unspecified location when the IED was detected. In the course of dealing with the device, there was an explosion. "It is believed that the soldier, who was a specialist EOD technician, was killed instantly," Air Chief Marshal Houston told reporters. Mr Rudd said it had been a sad week for all Australians with the loss of two proud and respected soldiers.

Terrorists who killed more than 100 Australians in major attacks since 2000 found sanctuary in Afghanistan and the border regions with Pakistan, he said. "We cannot allow Afghanistan to yet again become another safe haven for terrorists who then present a threat to the security of people everywhere, including Australians at home and abroad. "The implications of this would extend well beyond Afghanistan itself to our wider region and possibly to our own shores."

Mr Turnbull said the EOD technician gave his life trying to protect the lives of others. The technicians were chosen for their calm, skill, mental discipline and, above all, nerves of steel. "They are part of a dedicated, courageous and selfless group that say to their comrades in arm 'keep your heads down and let me clear a safe way for you'," he said.

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon again cautioned that rising casualties came at the expense of public support. "It is true that the longer you are in a campaign and the more people you lose, the more difficult it is to maintain the support of your local population," he said. IEDs, often deployed as roadside bombs, pose a significant risk to coalition troops and have claimed the lives of four of the nine Australian soldiers killed since October 2007. Other soldiers have been wounded. In November 2007, bomb disposal expert Sergeant Michael Lyddiard lost an eye and an arm in the explosion of an IED he was seeking to disarm. Another roadside bomb blast in September 2007 killed an explosive detection dog and injured his handler.

Is Kevin "I have never been a Socialist" 07 Rudd, the first Western Socialist political party leader to perhaps understand, just a little, the threat of Islam, or as the Islamic appeaser in Chief, Obama demands be described as "man caused disaster" facilitators ?
If so, I hope he is able to impart his understanding of the Islamic / "man caused disaster" facilitators threat to civilization how I wish Rudd's reported concern for our security were genuine.
Australia's Kevin "I have never been a Socialist" 07 Rudd, PM is many things, however, above all he is a shameless liar, who has even invoked the death of his father to legitimise / excuse his membership of Australia's largest Socialist Marxist funded political party, the Australia Labor Party, of which he is now the leader, his appalling slander and character assassination of those who tried to save his fathers life will go down in Australian political history as one of Labor's lowest efforts to gain office at any cost.

I agree with Rudd and his remarks "AUSTRALIA must stay the course in Afghanistan or risk terrorist attacks on our own shores" Why then does he and his party have an open borders illegal immigration policy into Australia?
I mean if you believed that the Taliban / Islamic Terrorism, aka "man caused disasters" in Afghanistan were a threat to Australia and Australian's, why would you at the same time have an open borders illegal refugee policy that allows anyone who flies by plane from Afghanistan to Islamic "man made disaster" supporter, Indonesia, then boards "refugee boats" and is then intercepted in Australian waters by the Royal Australian Navy or Australian Customs forces, not turned back but under orders of the Rudd Socialist Government, escorted to Christmas Island then under Rudd's International Socialist "humane" refugee assessment program granted residence after answering "NO" to the question of "are you a terrorist",to Taliban and Islamic Terrorism supporters aka "man caused disasters"

If Rudd was so concerned about the security of Australia and Australian's he would direct his immigration department to refuse ALL Islamic immigration into Australia, and carefully vet those Muslims already living in Australia with a view to deporting those we are able to do so.
I am sure it is amusing to the Australian Labor Party and their Islamic Multicultural / Cultural Diversity fifth column seeing Australians been shot and blown to pieces in Iraq and Afghanistan while their "refugee" policy allows the killers / potential killers and supporters of those who want to kill Australians into Australia.

Labor and their Marxist financiers, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, (ACTU) have always been supporters of any force that wants to destroy Australia and it's people, from destroying military equipment and supplies to our troops in WW2 to their monetary and moral support of the North Vietnamese,Vietcong, in the Vietnam war under the guise of the "Peace Movement"

I would ask Rudd what his policy on Iran is? given Iran is a major sponsor / facilitator of Islamic Terrorism aka "man caused disasters" in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If the west does lose the war against Islamic Terrorism, aka "man caused disasters" it will not be because of a lack of courage or ability on the part of those whose job it is to fight it,it will be as was the case in the Vietnam War, due to the anti west fifth column existing within the borders of the west who use the rights,freedoms and privelges, that only exist in NON Muslim, NON International Socialist Judeo / Christian Western Democracies they demand be destroyed in the name of world wide "peace, tolerance and diversity".