Afghanistan blow-out-Please Explain

[mellie]

Some of you might recall Kevin Rudd and his wife visiting Afghanistan recently.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd must explain how Australia blew almost $1 billion on projects in Afghanistan


Kevin Rudd meets the Deputy Governor of Uruzgan Khoday Rahim Khan during a visit to Afghanistan. Australia has pumped $710 million into reconstruction projects since 2001, with another $250 million pledged until 2016. Source: Supplied

IT'S time for Kevin Rudd to tell us all he knows about the waste of hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers' money on "white elephant" reconstruction projects in Afghanistan.

Hospitals and schools were built with not enough doctors, nurses and teachers and there was bribery and corruption in allocating much work, a bipartisan Senate Foreign Affairs committee found.

However, Australia's misadventure in Afghanistan is a scandal that dare not speak its name.

Prime Minister Rudd was foreign minister as the full extent of the folly began to emerge. So far he has said nothing, not in public anyway.

He visited Afghanistan again recently for a photo opportunity but spoke not a word of the controversy which has embarrassed the Department of Defence and Australia's international reputation.

In March 2011, Rudd flew to Afghanistan to open a $233,000 mosque built by Australian soldiers in Sorkh Murgab, in Uruzgan province.

In a solemn ceremony with much hand holding, Rudd joined the Uruzgan Governor Mohammed Omar Shizad and local leaders in cutting the ribbon.

The goodwill project, like many others in Afghanistan, quickly soured.

The Taliban declared the mosque a no-go area because it was built by Australians. A newspaper report said the Taliban threatened to punish any mullah who led prayers there, presumably because it was built by Christians.

So the handsome, copper-domed mosque sits empty, a tribute to poor management and jingoism.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opin ... 6690449667

[mellie]

Thats $710 million dollars later yet Rudd could care less about Australia’s concerning 5 year long spike in HIV cases, which he has allocated a mere $25 million toward, and only now in the lead-up to a federal election.

It's more important to build a mosque apparently.

The Labor government knew back in 2010 we had a concerning spike in HIV cases from figures retrieved from Australia’s National HIV Registry.



http://www.kirby.unsw.edu.au/sites/defa ... Report.pdf


http://www.ausaid.gov.au/countries/sout ... /home.aspx

Senate Committees

The administration, management and objective of Australia's overseas development programs in Afghanistan in the context of the 'Transition Decade'
Submissions received by the Committee


http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Bus ... ssions.htm

The AusAID Australia Awards program to Afghanistan was initiated as a pilot program in 2009 to help the Government of Afghanistan build the domestic capacity and leadership skills needed to contribute to development in Afghanistan. Australia has awarded 111 Australia Awards (scholarships) to Afghan students since 2009.

Following allegations of fraud, AusAID has suspended its Scholarships awards program to Afghanistan while an independent investigation is conducted.

http://www.news.com.au/business/ausaid- ... 6594300944

[freediver]

Seems reasonable to me. We have learned from history that leaving a power vacuum comes back to bite you. It's a lot cheaper than another war in 15 years time.