A 'more active partnership' between Canberra and Washington
Updated
Australia and the United States are promising a 'more active partnership' but Australia says that doesn't mean it'll send more troops to Afghanistan for now. But Afghanistan did at least get a mention when US President Obama made his first post-inauguration phone call to Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Presenter: Linda Mottram, Canberra correspondent
Speaker: Joel Fitzgibbon, Australian defence minister; Dr Ron Huisken, senior fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University
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MOTTRAM: When Barack Obama pledged to make Afghanistan a priority, it fuelled anticipation in Canberra that a request would soon come for more Australian troops there. There are currently 1,090 Australian personnel involved in various military and reconstruction tasks in Afghanistan, mostly in Oruzgan province. Its widely acknowledged as being a contribution above and beyond expectations, particularly in light of criticisms of NATO's restricted role.
But Australia's defence minister says the US has made no request to him for additional Australian forces. And if it was discussed during a 25 minute phone conversation between President Obama and Prime Minister Rudd in the past day, that's not been made public.
Indeed, Australia's defence minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, said prior to that phone call that any such request would have to come with a convincing argument.
FITZGIBBON: That Australia doing more in Afghanistan would make a difference and of course alone we can't make a difference. A substantial number of countries would have to do substantially more and we'd need to be convinced that they have the plan and the will to win and that of course means a properly resourced and co-ordinated civil, military and political plan.
MOTTRAM: It was a coherent statement of Australia's view, though its also to be expected that Australia may not want to signal any likely military boost. But its also in keeping with Barack Obama's consistent view that Afghanistan should be a priority, should always have been a priority and now needs a more reasoned approach, according to Doctor Ron Huisken, who's senior fellow at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University in Canberra.
HUISKEN: It has to be a smarter, more holistic plan I think which has clearly digested the experience of the past seven or eight years.
MOTTRAM: That experience is particularly about the Bush administration's now discredited general view that the key conflagrations, in Iraq and Afghanistan, were military problems requiring only military solutions, Doctor Huisken says.
Australia's defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon has also cited Australia's other strategic responsibilities as a reason for resisting any expanded Afghanistan role.
FITZGIBBON: Our allies and in particular the US understand that we have a major role to play in our own region, in particular the South Pacific and they look to us to play a lead role in the region and they understand that we need to keep or hold capacity to deal with contingencies in our own region.
MOTTRAM: This is a constant of Australia's security position .. and a sensible one for Australia to restate, Doctor Huisken says.
HUISKEN: If the wheels fall off some place, in some manner or other, be it Solomons or Fiji or other places, there is an expectation both within the region and internationally if you like, we, that is other governments, don't have to put this on the top of agenda, because the Australians and New Zealanders can be expected to deal with it.
MOTTRAM: And so, when Barack Obama made his telephone call to Kevin Rudd, the two leaders discussed the big issues of the day, the President thanked the Prime Minister for Australia's contribution in Afghanistan -- they reconfirmed the closeness of the Australia-US alliance and they foreshadowed an even more active partnership into the future, at least that's what a spokesperson for Mr Rudd told the media.
