Appearing on Q&A, retired general and former senator Jim Molan told us that he deserves to be gifted the upcoming senate vacancy which will be created by Scott Morrison’s need to get rid of Turnbull ally Arthur Sinodinis.
When asked why he felt he should be given the job, his answer was “on merit”.
Kudos for the confidence Jim, but is it actually justified?
Molan spent his whole working life in the military and has several military awards. But some question his role in the Battle of Fallujah in Iraq during 2004–05.
After he retired in 2008, Jim published a book calling Running the War in Iraq. He may be the only person who calls that war a success. The next year he wrote an article calling for us to double our troop numbers in Afghanistan. Go harder, was Molan’s advice.
It’s unsurprising that Jim sees the military solution to everything, which is perhaps why our immigration and customs turned into Operation Sovereign Borders enforced by a black-clad bemedalled paramilitary Border Force.
Jim was given a job and he did it.
He didn’t have to think about the cost. He didn’t have to think about what would happen to the people who came seeking asylum but ended up incarcerated in offshore gulags with no future in sight. Or those who were prevented from even trying to flee. He didn’t have to consider what the reaction from people smugglers would be, diverting people to travel by plane to come here or sending them on hazardous Mediterranean crossings instead. Jim stopped the boats.
He was appointed Special Envoy by Tony Abbott and given a few million for something that no-one seems able to specify.
On the back of that, Molan ran for preselection for the Coalition Senate ticket for the 2016 elections. He obviously did not sufficiently impress the powers that be who put him in the unwinnable 7th position on the ticket.
After several senators fell on the section 44 sword, Jim puffed out his chest as he was called up from the reserve bench.
After once again failing to impress his own party in the 2019 preselections, this time being relegated to the unwinnable 4th spot, Molan cancelled a scheduled appearance on Q&A, saying he “would find it hard to defend my party”. They, like many of us, had apparently failed to recognise Jim’s self-proclaimed “merit”.
Jim then ran his own personal under the line campaign much to the chagrin of the Nationals. He bragged on Q&A that he got the most votes ever of anyone in the whole wide world, or something equally as hubristic. The short answer to that is, once again, you didn’t get near enough Jim.
The thing that sticks most in my mind from Molan’s time in parliament is the climate change denialist speaking tour he went on with Craig Kelly, Tony Abbott and Andrew Hastie.
That and his constant calls for a stronger military. He stated on Q&A that we need a national security plan and “I’m your man” to deliver it. Jim has been an advocate for veterans but he’s hellbent on making more of them.
And if we don’t do something urgently to reduce our emissions, Jim will have a whole heap more refugees to deal with adding to the victims of his wars.
[textblock style=”7″]
Like what we do at The AIMN?
You’ll like it even more knowing that your donation will help us to keep up the good fight.
Chuck in a few bucks and see just how far it goes!
[/textblock]
Do we need a militarist to complete the set? – We’ve got feudalists, grifters, spooks, holy rollers and environmental vandals.
thats the problem with military solutions, you fix the present and endanger the future. The Romans had the only viable solution to winning a war, kill every man woman and child. Quite frankly, thats not a viable solution in 2019.
Yea he stopped the boats alright. Pity there is no empathy with the refugees, just a stone cold soldier. And there in lies his problem. In another life he could have been gestapo, just doing my job.
would have served the country better if he told everyone we had to get out of the middle east. Instead he chose to serve the government, not the people. score card: medals-lots, morality-fail
has there ever been a military man who can do more with less?
The best way to get a good, safe, well-paid job in Australia, with a shitload of perks, is to be
-a) Liberal MP who lost his or her seat
b) a failed Liberal candidate
c) a staffer of a Liberal MP, or
d) a staffer of a Liberal MP who lost
The bloody infrastructure of this entire country is infested with these cockroaches. The Coalition expected to lose the election
and in the last few weeks of the last term
they showered jobs among their parasites like confetti.
Molan is just a waste of space, and everyone in the LNP knows it. That is why he was relegated to 4th position.
The man hasn’t even got enough smarts to know that he has no recognisable merit.
He is an embarrassment to the LNP, and that is one he’ll of an embarrassment.
‘ Molan is just a waste of space, and everyone in the LNP knows it. That is why he was relegated to 4th position.’
A creep covers it nicely. He must have a great military mind calling Iraq a success. What did Custer say at the ‘ Little Big Horn? Don’t take any prisoners. As an aside I read the Taliban have refused to talk to the Americans about peace. They have said allegedly, why talk we are winning. They have recaptured more of Afghanistan whilst the Americans have been there.
Unbelievable arrogance of someone who feels he is “entitled” because in his mind he is a war hero, a man of substance, worthy of the nation’s respect and admiration plus all the rights, trappings and privileges he has deservedly earned. No doubt disappointed he wasn’t on the governor general shortlist, let alone at the very least given the nod for a state governorship. His stirling work for the blackshirts keeping the undeserving riffraff away from our shores didn’t even earn a good reference. No wonder he was pissed off.
Like almost all former troughsnouters, he found it cruel and humiliating to be cast away like some common peon, or ‘grunt’ as he might say. 200k and everything found, on top of a retired general’s stipend, is a huge lifestyle change. Unfortunately for him, he presents as too fascist, too meanspirited, too nasty even for the gangsters in charge and apparently doesn’t have a dirt file threatening enough to warrant a hand up. Lucky for the peons….
From all appearances this man is a “Pinochet wannabe” type and I wouldn’t want him anywhere near any of the levers of power. But just the sort Peter Dutton might like, if only he isn’t seen as competition??. Merit is just a word. When you try to break it down into actual indicators, Molan is probably useless as a senator, but if we can have Malcolm Roberts, why then….
I have known Major Generals who were a lot smarter.
Firstly, he didn’t really ‘stop the boats’.n They had close to stopped before the election in 2013 as a result of the Rudd government decision to deny refugee status to anyone arriving by boat. https://johnmenadue.com/john-menadue-a-repost-the-facts-on-boat-arrivals-that-the-media-wont-face/ Secondly, he overblows his role in Iraq to the point of absurdity.
What Abbott did stop was Labor not being able to introduce any legislation that would deal with the asylum seekers for nearly two terms of government. Needed the assistance of Greens to block all. What Labor put into the place was the Heuston Solution. It recommended reopening of Manus & Nauru as a stopgap action while a regional solution was found. Labor had begun talks with Indonesia that resulted in them changing their visa laws, which blocked the flow into the country on their way to this country. Has workes as there are the same numbers stranded in that country, in 2013.
The boats have slowed to a trickle when Abbott came to power. After 2 terms there are still 30,000 so-called legacy people that have not been assessed, unable to work, living on charity in this country.
Dutton refuses to do anything, except to treat them so inhumanly, they return back to whence they came. He still believes they have that option.
John Boyd,
According to wikipedia referencing Molan’s book as source….
” He was despatched to serve as the Chief of Operations for the new Headquarters Multinational Force in Iraq, which was being planned. However, he initially instead spent some time trying to find a specific role within the headquarters structure, before being allocated responsibility for energy security. He was eventually made Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, and served during continuous and intense combat operations.”
Sounds like they had no idea what to do with him when he turned up.
He would be a war hero in Trumps’s eyes as unlike former Senator ( and real war hero) John McCain he wasn’t captured. At least MCCain gained his spurs in conflict, not in some Doctors office paid for by Trumps father. He can’t remember which Doctor or which foot, but he had a ” very strong letter about it.” Like his tax returns it remains much talked about but never revealed.
Whilst subscribing to the piece and subsequent comments, It is interesting that he couldn’t get a seat, given the personal vote.
Annings, anyone?
He commanded modern stormtroopers persecuting legal refugees while not actually stopping the boats (they were merely made secret), and applauds the worst, most corrupt military blunder of modern history.
Yeah, what a legend… it’s easy to see why he needs to fake his greatness; if he truly faced who he was his self-worth would collapse utterly.
The butcher of Falujah should front the Hague for war crimes, he shouldnt be anywhere nere the reigns of power
Molan has the ware with all to make Australia’s milatary a major player on the world stage. A plan for future security of our nation. Does that include national service as well? I would bet my house on the fact that if these fascist scum thought they could get away with it, what advantages could be achieved regarding youth unemployment to near non existent rates with all your poor boys and girls in uniform, a fascists wet dream alright!
Yep Molan has a plan just like the rest of his jack boot Johnny fascist mates. And don’t give me that shit about the youth of today needing discipline and direction that the milatary can deliver, anyone remember Julian Knight, he was taught discipline and direction!!!!