WBB

cut n paste time.

Australia has unveiled plans to spend up to A$1 billion ($760 million) on unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.
Defence Minister Robert Hill said the money had been set aside to buy the drones under the new Defence Capability Plan (DCP) 2004-2014.

He said the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq had proved the value of the drones for battlefield surveillance.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/3457601.stm

Amazulu

Good to see that Australia is increasing their defence spending, unlike the UK, where Brown spends our money on Working family tax credits (& mess's it up) & funding asylum seekers, whilst British soldiers go into action without flak jackets.

Bix

They will be used to track down the ferals

ButtonMoon

Oh yes I feel so much safer since we rolled over Saddam.I actually felt safe before that ,what scared me most was George bush.
It's great to see that we are spending our taxes on complete bullshit items,Johnny boy,I think your time has come.....

WBB

you need some ejumacation.

:lecture:

bondipom

Do you feel safer now that Iraq is a crack pot nation drawing billions from the UK, US and Australian governments. However much of a typrant Saddam was no one has any idea who will replcace him. Another fear is that the country could decend into a civil war with 3 sides.

There is far more uncertainty now than when Saddam was in power. Probably the reason Iraq was not invaded after the first gulf war. When insurgents are able to fire rockets at planes landing at Bagdad airport you have to question the US control on terror groups in the region.

With regards to the drones I hope it is a worthwhile expenditure and not a white elephant like the missile defence scheme Howard seems so keen to join.

WBB

yes, actually i do.

lets hope saddam is getting a good shoeing in the middle of the desert.

bondipom

Militant groups can operate at will in Iraq. They are safer now than under Saddam.

WBB

not much chance of them developing WOMD though, they will be small terrorist type cells that do not have much C+C and will be poorly trained.

these drones will be ideal for monitoring them.

bondipom

Seems like Saddam wanted WOMDs but wasn't developing WOMDs. The terror groups still have access to funding and there are plenty of places for them to train in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US seems to have been in more terror alerts since the end of the gulf war. Maybe they are false alerts but Al Qaeda is still functional and deadly and the US is scared.

Declarations of victory in the war on terror are premature. Capturing Saddam was a small but highly symbolic win. The war will carry on until some fundamental issues in the Middle East are sorted out. These issues can only be resolved with time, diplomacy and changes to a style of government that helps the Arab people.

WBB

there have been plenty of alerts but no significant attacks, we have so far managed to head them off, these drones will be another vital piece of intelligence gathering equipment.

simbacat

So what about the rest of the Worlds WMD? The ones that already have them and willy nilly give them to anybody who pays up? I am more afraid of places like China, North Korea and any state of the former USSR then I ever was of Saddam.

sjn2003

Nah you're all wrong ! They will have been bought to spy on the Aussies to make sure they are not breaking the water restrictions