Australia boosts troop and financial assistance to Afghanistan
Updated
Australia is to send four-hundred-and-fifty extra soldiers to Afghanistan, along with additional funding and police and civilian assistance.
Prime Minster Kevin Rudd made the announcement in response to Washington's call for more forces and President Barack Obama's shift in Afghanistan strategy. Prominent Australian diplomat Ric Smith will also become Australia's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, boosting diplomatic focus on the volatile region.
Presenter: Linda Mottram
Speaker: Kevin Rudd, Australian Prime Minister; Dr Benjamin MacQueen, Melbourne University, Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies;
Professor William Maley from the Australian National University's Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy.
- Listen:
- Windows Media
MOTTRAM: Kevin Rudd ended months of speculation with the announcement of 450 extra Australian troops for Afghanistan, lifting the country's total commitment to about 15-hundred-and-fifty. Mr Rudd acknowledged conditions in Afghanistan were deteriorating, that the war was less and less popular and that more Australians were likely to be killed. Still he said Australia had two overarching interests in the country.
RUDD: First, we need to deny sanctuary to terrorists who have threatened and killed Australian citizens. Second, we also have an enduring commitment to the United States under the ANZUS Treaty.
MOTTRAM: Mr Rudd said Australia's interests intersect with those of the Obama administration's redefinition of the international mission in Afghanistan.
RUDD: Australia has therefore decided to increase its medium term contribution to Afghanistan, not as a blank cheque but with the explicit objective of training Afghan forces so that responsibility for Oruzgan province can in time be handed over to the Afghans themselves.
MOTTRAM: The Australians will specifically seek to build a new brigade of the Afghan National Army, comprising 3,300 personnel. There's also a broad range of associated functions for the Australian forces in building the broader capacity of the Afghans to take overarching control of security and civilian operations in Oruzgan province. Mr Rudd says achieving that goal is Australia's exit strategy, though he wouldn't commit to an exit date. Doctor Benjamin MacQueen from Melbourne University works on the impacts of US foreign policy on political transformation in the Middle East.
MACQUEEN: Its a single sort of goal he's got in mind and it is an achievable goal depending on where you set the definition of that capacity being built. I think here he's trying to differentiate himself, and I think this flows on from discussions he's had with the U-S President, about not going in with this open-ended commitment, all this sort of vague ideas as we did in Iraq. I think he's very much trying to avoid that.
MOTTRAM: Key to the new approach in Afghanistan is the notion of strategic denial to ensure al Qaeda and the Taliban don't re-establish training bases in Afghanistan. Benjamin MacQueen says its vital to help the Afghan government control its own territory, but it also means extra danger for Australian forces.
MACQUEEN: Because Oruzgan province is one of the main areas where these groups are operating. Focus will also shift more intensely to the Pakistan border. The Taliban have increased their foothold in the Swot Valley region and they're now looking to expand beyond that area despite this agreement that they'd lay down their arms with the Pakistani government.
MOTTRAM: On the road to building Afghan capacity then there's likely to be a spike in violence, particularly also since insurgents can be expected to target Afghanistan's preparations and holding of election in August. Some of the extra Australian troops will be dedicated to providing security for that poll. At the same time, the new strategy is intended to promote political progress and Australia is adding extra police and civilian training elements to its presence in the country.
Professor William Maley from the Australian National University's Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy says that there is hope for progress in Afghanistan.
MALEY: The opinion polling evidence that's been collected in Afghanistan suggests that there's still strong local support for an international presence, with a BBC poll this year showing that 59 per cent of respondents support the presence of NATO troops and 63 per cent support the presence of American troops. The difficulties in Afghanistan arrive militarily because of the availability of sanctuaries in Pakistan and those sanctuaries are now very much the focus of the Obama administration's regional politics and that has opened the possibility of progress in Afghanistan that we haven't seen for quite some time.
MOTTRAM: It won't though be quick, and while Kevin Rudd has sought to define an achievable goal militarily with a view to getting Australia's troops out, he's also said Australia's wider commitment to building the country will be long term.
