Secret missions
At the height of the Vietnam War, John Ali was in a team of truck drivers recruited on the orders of the then army minister Malcolm Fraser for a secret mission delivering military supplies deep into Cambodia where US and Australian forces were officially not supposed to be.
Hmm
Greens senator Penny Wright told parliament last night that Mr Ali’s treatment by successive governments was shameful. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and lives with the debilitating effects of his experiences in Vietnam and Cambodia, Senator Wright said. “He jumps at the sound of thunder and takes about 20 tablets a day.”Greens senator Penny Wright. Hmmm. I wonder why Malcolm Fraser didn’t use the thousands of soldiers already in country and subject to military law. And don’t think because we weren’t supposed to be in Cambodia that we weren’t. It’s one thing to convince a Greens Senator of outlandish claims. Let’s face it, they believe that the Earth is doomed unless we spend hundreds of billions of dollars and otherwise ruin the economy by locking coal in the ground, but it’s another matter entirely to convince the DVA and us skeptical old soldiers. If he wasn’t in the military then any compensation is a matter for other government bodies, not the DVA. He could try talking to Malcolm Fraser to confirm the story. Oh hang on, he’s dead. I’m surprised his problems only came to light after Malcolm was interred. Really surprised.