Those fellow Australians with loved ones in uniform who have spent many long midnight hours pacing anxiously over the last three years since 9/11 will of course sympathise with the terrible uncertainties that surround this 'war on terror' of George n' Tone n' John's. Yes, the worst of it all is the absence of concrete information, I feel. (Is my little brother still alive? Is he dead? Is he being beheaded by some fanatic - right now, even as I vomit into the dunny at 3.00 am? Or...is he exposing himself to future 'war crimes' prosecution? Does he have legal and political 'top cover' for the act of controlled violence he is committing, right now...?)

Ah yes, it's the 'not knowing' that drains you the most, I feel...so NHJ! readers will understand how much it pleased me to receive this 'stray' ADF telegram just now. Whether good, bad, or - like this - utterly sickening, hard news of any kind can only help keep the rising panic down.

FROM: HQADF CANBERRA
TO: HQ TASK FORCE BAGHDAD
CLASSN: POLITICALLY