Honored Allies

We pause to honor our Australian allies.  They lost five soldiers in Afghanistan last week.

Australia has fought alongside the U.S. in every modern war in which we have been involved.  They have been staunch allies in the fight for freedom.

Australian plans to begin withdrawing troops once the Afghan battalion is fully trained, as early as next year. Gillard said the latest bloodshed would not speed up that timeline.

"Our strategy is well defined, our strategy is constant. And we cannot allow even the most grievous of losses to change our strategy," Gillard said. "We are there for a purpose and we will see that purpose through."  

And they fight until the end.