Australian Forces May Return to Afghanistan
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
July 12, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - A national security committee of Australia's cabinet on
Tuesday mulled a new deployment of troops to Afghanistan, where an apparent
regrouping of Taliban and other terrorist elements has been threatening
stability.
Australian elite special forces troops and aircraft were involved in the
post-9/11 U.S.-led campaign to topple the Taliban regime and its al-Qaeda
allies, but the 1,550 troops were withdrawn almost a year later. Australia
today has just one Army mine clearance officer deployed in Afghanistan.
Parliamentary polls in Afghanistan -- the next step in the war-torn
country's democratic evolution -- are scheduled for September, and in recent
months terrorist activity against U.S. and Afghan forces has accelerated.
The June 28 shooting down of a U.S. helicopter and loss of all 16 onboard
was the deadliest single attack on American forces there since 2001.
Last week, Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah urged Australia to
help.
Prime Minister John Howard's government now looks set to send troops back to
the country.
Defense Minister Robert Hill has suggested sending special forces troops to
join the hunt for Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants in the lawless border region
with Pakistan, as well as military engineers for reconstruction missions.
Australia's highly-regarded special forces troops served in Afghanistan and
in Iraq.
If it goes ahead, the new deployment will be unpopular in some quarters.
Green Party Senator Bob Brown complained Tuesday that Howard was putting
Australian troops "at the service of the White House."
Howard said earlier he would not be swayed by popular sentiment. "When you
take decisions of this kind you don't first do an opinion poll," he told
reporters. "My responsibility is to do things that I believe are in the
interests of the country."
The Australian Labor Party, which opposed Australia's participation in the
Iraq war, indicated Tuesday that it would support sending troops back to
Afghanistan, which the party has called "terrorism central."
Labor also used the opportunity to press for Australia not to add to the
more than 1,300 troops it has in Iraq, whose presence there the party has
never supported.
British newspapers reported this week that Australia was discussing the
possibility of increasing its military commitment in Iraq by taking over
coalition command in the south of the country from the British.
But Howard said the claim was news to him, adding that there had been no
discussions between senior British and Australian defense officials about
any such move.
The British media reports, citing a leaked government memo, said the U.S.
and British were planning significant troop withdrawals from Iraq in 2006.
Both the White House and Downing Street Monday played down the reports,
saying contingency planning was underway and that the strategy was to train
up Iraqi forces and gradually hand over responsibility.
"The president has made it clear that we are going to complete the mission,
and then our troops will return home with the honor that they deserve,"
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
"As we stand up the Iraqi forces, we will stand down coalition and American
forces."
In Afghanistan, terrorism has been on the rise, with more than 700 people
killed in the past three months. At the same time, the opium trade is
flourishing, prompting the State Department recently to call it "an enormous
threat to world stability."
Australian Labor Party defense spokesman Robert McClelland said the Afghan
narcotics trade, estimated to be worth some $2.3 billion a year, was funding
terrorist organizations, including those in Australia's neighborhood, "so
it's crucial that we assure the stability in Afghanistan."
U.S. combined forces command in Afghanistan said Monday a 700-strong Army
airborne infantry battalion was preparing to deploy to the country to
provide additional security around the September elections.
The troops from the 82nd Airborne Division would operate alongside existing
coalition forces, Afghan army and police to "provide greater flexibility to
continue offensive operations and enhance security during the election
period," said Brig.-Gen. Jack Sterling in a press statement.
"We want to provide Afghanistan with an environment for democracy to
flourish. It is our goal to allow security that promotes participation in
the election process."
--
"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We
want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction program."
- President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998
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