AFGHANISTAN: Australia's role 'may be futile'
Updated
In Afghanistan, hundreds of American and Afghan soldiers have attacked positions believed to be Al-Qaeda hideouts in the country's east. The air and ground assault was in the mountainous Tora Bora region, on the Pakistani border, the last known hideout of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. A US military official said targets were carefully chosen to eliminate civilian casualties. Such attacks have caused large numbers of civilian deaths in the past, heavily undermining local goodwill. Now, a leading defence expert has spoken of what he calls "the well-meaning futility" of the Australian Defence Force's role in Afghanistan.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speakers: Professor Hugh White, head of the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University
