Thread by @StuartMcCarthy_

My piece in today's @canberratimes:

"The farcical, in-country visa paper-shuffling exercise inflicted upon these [Afghans at risk of reprisals] by our diplomats & Defence chiefs must end today."

This is no time for bureaucracy: the Taliban are closing in canberratimes.com.au/story/7320624/…

As the first country to suspend it's diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, this decision not only precipitated an undignified rush to the exits but paved the way for the continued slaughter of Afghan civilians who we are obliged to protect under IHL, at the hands of the Taliban.

During a Senate hearing early this month, @CDF_Aust downplayed the significance of the Taliban's military resurgence and subscribed to their implausible political assurances that Afghanistan's fate is "very much going to be a negotiated settlement."

Campbell's assessment would be laughable if the consequences for the Afghan civilians who played a crucial role in our war effort weren't so tragic. In April, the US Defense Intelligence Agency assessed that "prospects for a peace deal will remain low during the next year."

"The Taliban is likely to make gains on the battlefield, and the Afghan Govt will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support." The Taliban’s military strategy “very likely focuses on preparation for large-scale offensives against provincial centers."

Taliban tactical commanders will also continue to target civilians associated with western troops or govts for reprisals including kidnappings, assassinations, murders or ritual executions. Taliban death threats & official propaganda refer to these ppl as "slaves to the infidel."

The consequences of our failure to protect these civilians extend far beyond any humanitarian considerations. Our interpreters and other staff worked at high levels with our partners in the Afghan government, military, intelligence and non-government agencies.

In 2015, five Save the Children employees of @AusAID's $36 million flagship Children of Uruzgan program were kidnapped and held hostage for a month before being executed. At least one of the surviving local employees is now in hiding, still in Uruzgan.

The local CADG manager of the $6.7 million AusAID-funded Municipal Infrastructure Program, also in hiding, says that at least 9 of his former employees have been murdered by the Taliban since 2014. This manager's visa application was rejected by #auspol @MarisePayne last Monday.

Even if these staff could somehow miraculously obtain a visa in such circumstances, their chances of escaping Taliban controlled areas and boarding civilian flights to Australia are effectively zero.

For a #YourADF evacuation operation to succeed, the only thing required is for the #auspol federal govt to give the green light. And a green light it must give - today - because the consequences of failing to do so would destroy Australia's international standing for decades.