International operation should reign back ambition in Afghanistan
Updated
Australia's defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon says the international operation in Afghanistan needs to reign in its ambitions. He says the International Security Assistance Force needs to focus on the core goal of building a government that can take care of its own security. His comments come as the Taliban has claimed responsibility for three attacks on government offices in the Afghan capital, Kabul, in which at least eight citizens and five suicide attackers were killed.
Presenter: Linda Mottram, Canberra correspondent
Speaker: Joel Fitzgibbon, Australian defence minister
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FITZGIBBON: The reality is it's unrealistic to talk about Afghanistan in security terms as one nation as if it's the same in every locality. In the Oruzgan province for example I believe the security situation is improving, but it is also true that in other parts of the country it's deteriorating. So all that means is that we continue to face a very, very challenging task and we do need a new plan to ensure greater success.
MOTTRAM: Recently Australian military analyst David Kilcullen, who was formerly the counter insurgency advisor Condoleezza Rice, suggested that failure was looking likely in Afghanistan. Do you think that that is possible?
FITZGIBBON: I have read his views and I have enormous respect for his contributions, he is a renowned expert in these matters so it's another reason for us to be concerned and alert but more determined to push our allies for a new plan, a new plan that ensures success. We need a properly coordinated resourced civil, military and political plan if we are to achieve our long term objectives.
MOTTRAM: Just in terms of the NATO meeting, what specifically do you expect the NATO defence ministers to come up with bearing in mind that there's also a NATO leaders meeting coming up in April, which I think President Obama will be present at?
FITZGIBBON: Look I think Poland's very important; I'm not sure how many outcomes we will get at Poland because we have the April meeting following and we might have to wait for some more substantive announcements then. But Poland certainly provides an opportunity for me to put more pressure on those under-committed NATO nations to do more, I think that's critical to the formula that's a better success. To get an update from Secretary Gates, obviously Secretary Gates' contributions to those meetings are all important and our best opportunity to get an update on what the United States is thinking, how Petraeus is coming with his work on new strategies, and I'll certainly be taking the opportunity to restate Australia's view that while we're always prepared to consider requests to do more if they are to be forthcoming, we've got certain tests.
MOTTRAM: There is a view that new emphasis should be given in Afghanistan to building a sense of security for the Afghan people. The top US commander in southern Afghanistan, Brigadier General John Nicholson has said we will array our troops to secure the population, in reference to the new US approach that you're talking about. Is that the approach that you think is needed?
FITZGIBBON: Look I think for me Afghanistan is about ensuring that the country doesn't once again descend into a breeding ground and safe haven for those who seek to perpetrate their acts of terror around the globe, including our own backyard, and that's why it's such an important campaign for Australia. I think sometimes we need to lower our assumptions; the idea of producing a model western democracy in Afghanistan I think is rather ambitious. We need to focus on the point I made earlier in ensuring that we have a government in Kabul which is unprepared to provide that safe haven and those training grounds for terrorism, the shipment of arms, the production of opium that goes into the funding of terrorist events both within Afghanistan and beyond. And of course that government needs in the long term to be able to enforce its own security. That's our key objective there and that's where we should be concentrating our efforts. I think that the ISAF partners have to consider just lowering their ambitions and getting back to that core goal of establishing the government, making sure it's the right kind of government and making sure it's capable of taking care of its own security.
MOTTRAM: And President Karzai doesn't satisfy those requirements?
FITZGIBBON: No I wouldn't say that but President Karzai is working in very difficult circumstances. I think if we're going to secure our objectives we need to make sure that the government of the day, whoever is leading that government, assuming that is a person who shares our ambitions for Afghanistan, has all the support he or she needs.
MOTTRAM: Minister thank you.
FITZGIBBON: That's a pleasure.
