Australia gets a place at the NATO table for war planning

This is just excellent news for the war on terror.

The Aussies have gotten NATO to agree to allow them to participate in NATO intelligence and provide input to battle strategery. I say, thanking God for that!

And may God bless all of you clear-thinking, straight-shooting Aussies.

We love you, man. (Germany? Not so much. Germans balk and claim WW2 hangover when it comes to sending addl troops to Afghanistan for the upcoming mission. Grrr.)

Australia Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said the nation will have access to NATO intelligence on Afghanistan and will be included in strategic meetings.

``It substantially upgrades our input,'' Fitzgibbon told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio in Canberra. Fitzgibbon met NATO Secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Feb. 15. ``He has reaffirmed his commitment to ensure we do have access to the relevant information and at all times we are involved in any meeting which is considering the way forward in Afghanistan.''

Australia is a partner of NATO's International Security Assistance Force and has 1,000 personnel in southern Uruzgan province and around Kandahar Airport.
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