AUSTRALIA is pursuing "half a strategy in Afghanistan", with one of the nation's most respected army commanders warning there is confusion over its mission and what it wants to achieve in the decade-long war.
Peter Leahy, who served as chief of army from 2002 to 2008, told The Australian yesterday that time was running out to get the strategy right. "The Australian government has traded off the bravery, resolve and professionalism of its soldiers for too long," he said. "The nation-building task at hand is not a job for soldiers alone, but it seems that only soldiers are available to do the job."
Professor Leahy - now a director of Canberra University's National Security Institute - suggested a key role for Kevin Rudd as a senior minister with broad responsibilities embracing more than defence to oversee development of a wider strategy.
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