[quote]Prime Minister Julia Gillard says Australia is prepared to pay its "fair share" to keep Afghanistan on track, as troops start to withdraw in mid-2013.
Ms Gillard has used a speech in Canberra on Tuesday to spell out the future of Australia's role in Afghanistan 11 years after the first troops were deployed.
Since the first deployment, 32 Australian soldiers have died and 209 wounded in the mission which has centred on Oruzgan province.
Ms Gillard said a summit on Afghanistan in Chicago next month would be a key milestone.
"A crucial point: when the international forces will be able to move to a supporting role across all of Afghanistan," she told the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
SPECIAL SECTION - DIGGERS IN AFGHANISTAN
"I also expect President (Hamid) Karzai to make an announcement on transition in Oruzgan and other provinces in the coming months, including which areas of Oruzgan will begin the process first."
Once this process began it would take 12 to 18 months to pull the troops out.
"We will have completed our training and mentoring mission with the 4th Brigade," Ms Gillard said.
"We will no longer be conducting routine frontline operations with the Afghan national security forces."
The Australian-led provincial reconstruction team will have completed its work.
"And the majority of our troops will have returned home."
The prime minister said Australia's ongoing effort in Afghanistan would include niche training for Afghan security forces, support for the UK-led Afghan National Army Officer Academy, training and support for local police and a limited special forces contribution.
"I will go to Chicago prepared for Australia to pay our fair share," Ms Gillard said.
What is your family history of war? We're looking for personal stories from the last century for a special Anzac Day interactive. Send your stories and any photos to [email]anzacday@news.com.au[/email].
Ms Gillard's announcement comes after a brazen Taliban attack on Kabul ended yesterday when insurgents who had holed up overnight in two buildings were overcome by heavy gunfire from Afghan-led forces and pre-dawn air assaults from coalition helicopters.
Diggers coming home
Earlier, Tony Abbott said he wants Australia's troops to come home from Afghanistan as "quickly as possible" - but not before they have accomplished their mission.
“I think all of us want our troops to come home as quickly as possible but I think all of us want to ensure that their job is done and done successfully before they come home,” the Opposition Leader said in Melbourne this morning.
"We want them to come home with a success under their belt, not a failure.”
Mr Abbott said Australia had made “a very big” contribution to Afghanistan.
“Thirty-two Australian families are racked with the tragedy of losing a loved one,” he said.
“We want to make sure that that sacrifice has been worthwhile and that will happen if our troops come home soon but with their mission accomplished.''
The Opposition Leader has twice visited Australia’s troops in Afghanistan, and said that discussions with troops and senior commanders on the ground indicated “they think they are doing very good work”.
“They think that very significant progress has been made, is being made, will be made,” he said.
“We do have to respect their judgement but I have no reason to think that it shouldn't be possible to finish the job sooner rather than later.''
Read more: [url]http://www.news.com.au/features/anzac-day/after-10-long-grim-years-our-war-in-afghanistan-draws-to-an-end/story-e6frfldi-1226328243840#ixzz1sGWJvXqm[/url]
[/quote]
[url]http://www.news.com.au/features/anzac-day/after-10-long-grim-years-our-war-in-afghanistan-draws-to-an-end/story-e6frfldi-1226328243840[/url]
[quote]The Federal Opposition has questioned Prime Minister Julia Gillard's motives as she prepares to announce that most Australian soldiers will be pulled out of Afghanistan before the next election.
In a speech to be delivered to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute this lunchtime, Ms Gillard will lay out plans to pull troops out of Afghanistan a year earlier than originally planned.
Troops could start leaving as early as this year, with most troops home by the end of 2013.
A 2013 pull-out date will be a year in advance of the 2014 deadline previously laid down by NATO-led international forces, and will mean that the majority of troops are likely to be home before the next election.
But Defence Minister Stephen Smith has confirmed that some Australian soldiers, including special forces, will remain in Afghanistan after that date.
This morning Opposition acting defence spokesman George Brandis said he hoped the Prime Minister was not acting on purely political motivations.
"It would be a shameful thing if after nearly 12 years of deployment in Afghanistan and the loss of more than 30 Australian lives this mission were foreshortened for reasons of domestic political convenience for the Labor Party," he said.
The details will be hammered out at a crucial NATO meeting on Afghanistan in Chicago next month.
Unfortunately we've made this world into such a place that sometimes it takes a life to save a number of lives.
Felix Sher, whose son, Private Greg Sher, was killed in Afghanistan in January 2009
The Australian Government and other nations involved in Afghanistan have been saying the withdrawal will be a gradual process, and differ from region to region.
But in the Uruzgan region, where most of Australia's troops are deployed, officials believe the situation is better than anticipated, and the mentoring task is going successfully.
Ms Gillard will say she is confident that local forces are now ready to take control, despite the brazen attacks across Afghanistan in recent days.
However, any withdrawal still hinges on Afghan president Hamid Karzai declaring he is confident Afghan troops are ready to take control.
The Federal Government says it expects Mr Karzai to announce that Australian troops in Uruzgan will be withdrawn over an 18-month period.
Ms Gillard is also expected to outline a program of long-term financial and military support which will continue after the troops pull out.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said he would back the early withdrawal of Australian troops serving in Afghanistan if they had achieved success.
Mr Abbott said he believed it should be possible to "finish the job" in Afghanistan "sooner rather than later."
"I have been twice to Afghanistan, I have been lucky enough to talk to our senior commanders on the spot, to talk to our troops on the ground," he said.
"They think that they are doing very good work, they think that very significant progress has been made, is being made, will be made.
"We do have to respect their judgement."[/quote]
[url]http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-17/gillard-tipped-to-bring-troops-home-early/3954144?WT.svl=news0[/url]
I'm not sure what to make of this, pulling out early might make the sacrifices we made a waste. Depends if Afghanistan will fall into anarchy again or not
[QUOTE=download;35602997]
. Depends if Afghanistan will fall into anarchy again or not[/QUOTE]
No doubt it will.
There is alot of corruption in the middle east, So it wouldn't surprise me if they did right after everyone withdraws.
Australia fights in wars?
[QUOTE=AJisAwesome15;35603054]Australia fights in wars?[/QUOTE]
You're an idiot
[QUOTE=download;35603081]You're an idiot[/QUOTE]
It's a joke
They fought the emu war
I hope the total NATO withdrawal doesn't totally fuck up everything we've tried to do. I lost a buddy to build schools and hospitals, I hope it's not all for nothing.
Never knew Australia was In Afghanistan.
[QUOTE=gooldude;35603187]Never knew Australia was In Afghanistan.[/QUOTE]
We've been there since the start
[QUOTE=download;35603284]We've been there since the start[/QUOTE]
Don't act like people not knowing that Australia was in Afghanistan is a horrible, unforgiveable thing.
Australia's actions have probably been in major American media like never.
Had a thing on Afghanistan on Four Corners just last night. Shit's gonna go down when they leave.
Either the Taliban will agree to peace and slowly become more docile similar to Hezbollah, the Afghan police we've been training will completely dissolve and the Taliban will go on a rampage, or civil war will break out and we'd better hope we've bet on the right horse. The civil war option is why I prefer if some bases are kept and violent Warlords aren't alienated but allied.
[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;35603350]Don't act like people not knowing that Australia was in Afghanistan is a horrible, unforgiveable thing.
Australia's actions have probably been in major American media like never.[/QUOTE]
I could probably list nearly every county that is or has been in Afghanistan, get educated
[QUOTE=download;35603964]I could probably list nearly every county that is or has been in Afghanistan, get educated[/QUOTE]
[img]http://filesmelt.com/dl/emot-allears3.gif[/img]
Afghanistan was better before we ever went there, leaving will give the Taliban free reign to attack, civil war is virtually unavoidable. History will repeat itself, many country's have tried to control Afghanistan and it has failed, eliminating religious fanatic guerrillas is almost impossible.
It's a good call, the boys really need to come back home their families miss them so much. It's so heart warming when I hear families reunited after war.
Sounds like they're needed to fight off the Kangaroos.
I guess they are doing it gradually, if all of NATO left at the same exact time, there would just be a sudden gap the Taliban would fill instantly.
[QUOTE=ThePinkPanzer;35604336]I guess they are doing it gradually, if all of NATO left at the same exact time, there would just be a sudden gap the Taliban would fill instantly.[/QUOTE]
They will fill it anyway, the outcome will be the same.
[QUOTE=SpaceGhost;35604556]They will fill it anyway, the outcome will be the same.[/QUOTE]
Better to do it slowly so security forces have a small chance to prepare.
We should have never went there in the first place.
[QUOTE=Grimezy15;35605132]We should have never went there in the first place.[/QUOTE]
OH BOY HERE WE GO
Yeah let's all laugh at Australia because the only thing Australia is known for is kangaroos and emus and surely their military isn't making significant contributions by rebuilding destroyed infrastructure in Afghanistan and providing vital medical aid to the civilian populace or anything.
[QUOTE=Grimezy15;35605132]We should have never went there in the first place.[/QUOTE]
Our duty to the Americans...
[QUOTE=gooldude;35603187]Never knew Australia was In Afghanistan.[/QUOTE]
Still living the american dream..........where you're still think America is America, and there's nothing but Oceans except the only thing there is America and Afghanistan- terrorist land.
It baffles me how the Bush administration convinced all these other countries to participate in the first place.
[QUOTE=Chrille;35605929]It baffles me how the Bush administration convinced all these other countries to participate in the first place.[/QUOTE]
Bush had close to 100% congress support and a shitload of support from various allied/friendly countries in the months following 9/11. People actually liked him for a bit there, but he fucked it up later.
Thank god for that
We got dragged into this conflict, and we had no real reason to fight it either
Why should our soldiers pay for the US's mistakes?
It's about time. A conventional army can't fight against guerillas, they will just get their asses kicked.
Not that I think the Taliban should be given free reign to kill everyone without other countries intervening, but even after 11 years, what have we accomplished there in terms of eroding Taliban influence?
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
