PM praises derring-do of SAS warriors By John Kerin August 11, 2005 From: <http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/?from=ni_story> JOHN Howard yesterday paid tribute to Australia's secret warriors, to whom he has given more work and more money than any previous Australian prime minister. Launching a book on the Special Air Service Regiment, the Prime Minister said he felt a special obligation to the SAS - as well as all others in the defence force - because he had sent them into Iraq and Afghanistan. "It is true that in the time I have been Prime Minister, the activities of the SAS have been the most intense since the time the regiment was formed," Mr Howard said. As Australia's premier counter-terrorist force, the SAS has been granted vast resources in recent years. Mr Howard said his associations with the SAS, most recently when the soldiers provided protection for his trip to Iraq late last month, had left an indelible impression on him. "They have left first and foremost the impression of that high derring-do courage which is so essential to special forces and so characteristic of how we like to depict ourselves as Australians," he said. "They have left the indelible impression of superb professionalism and, where necessary, discipline. They have also left a great impression of a humanitarian understanding of the role of a modern army." Army chief Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy said much was asked of the Perth-based unit of about 500 highly trained SAS troops. "The public know little of the Special Air Service Regiment and this is by choice and for good reason," he said. "We ask the men of the SAS Regiment to do difficult tasks, usually at short notice and in very complex, dangerous and often sensitive circumstances. "This book lifts the veil of secrecy that surrounds the SAS ever so slightly." The book, The Amazing SAS by journalist Ian McPhedran, details the exploits of the special forces soldiers in East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as in the controversial MV Tampa affair in 2001. The SAS prides itself on its mystique. McPhedran said he managed to convince senior officers and soldiers their story should be told, and the book is the product of hundreds of hours of recorded conversations. A group of special forces soldiers was now preparing to return to Afghanistan. "Some may not return, and it is my hope that under such tragic circumstances their families will be looked after properly," McPhedran said. "Things have improved in terms of compensation for war veterans, but there is a long way to go. It's not good enough for families to have to rely on charities such as the SAS Resources Trust." Additional reporting: AAP [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> <font face=arial size=-1><a href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12hg67h7g/M=362329.6886306.7839369.3040540/D=groups/S=1705323667:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1123767836/A=2894321/R=0/SIG=11dvsfulr/*http://youthnoise.com/page.php?page_id=1992 ">Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back!</a>.</font> --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
