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Australia troops to retreat from Afghanistan within two to four years

23 June 2010 17:55 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Australia on Wednesday announced it could complete its core mission and pull hundreds of troops out of Afghanistan within two to four years, APA reports quoting â€œXinhuanetâ€.
The move came as the nation’s military has suffered its deadliest month since joining coalition forces in Afghanistan in 2001, with five soldiers dying in a bomb attack and a helicopter crash since June 7.
According to Australian Associated Press, public support for the war has been on the wane, and it is likely to continue to fall following the deaths of three commandos in a helicopter crash.
A poll by Essential Research showed 61 percent of respondents wanted Australia to withdraw from Afghanistan, and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who likely faces an election this year, has noted it is an unpopular conflict.
Defence Minister John Faulkner said Australia could begin withdrawing its soldiers once they have completed their mission to train the Afghan National Army 4th Brigade in Uruzgan Province.
Based on the latest advice from the Australian Defense Force ( ADF), Senator Faulkner said that Australian troops were expected to complete that mission within two to four years.
"I have been very clear ... what our operational objective is in Afghanistan: it is training the 4th Brigade of the Afghan National Army until a point when it is able to take over responsibility for security and stability in Uruzgan Province," Senator Faulkner told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
"On the basis of our solid progress to date, Defense now estimate that within two to four years we will be able to transition the main security responsibility to the Afghan National Army in Uruzgan Province," the senator added.
"At some point within that two year to four year timeframe we would see our training mission transition to an overwatch role and that would obviously mean at that time we would start to see a reduction in the number of Australian troops in Afghanistan," he said.
Australia has some 1,550 soldiers in Afghanistan, mostly working alongside Dutch taskgroup in southern Uruzgan province since 2006.
The Dutch had provided key support including a hospital, combat aircraft and helicopters and artillery. However, they were set to start withdrawing troops in August 1.
As responses, senator Faulkner and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith on Wednesday announced the new multi-national command structure for Uruzgan Province in Afghanistan.
The multinational effort, called Combined Team Oruzgan, has been endorsed by the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Faulkner told reporters in Canberra.
Australia will play a core role in the Provincial Reconstruction Team, including having an Australian civilian lead the team.
"Australia will take on a new responsibility by providing a civilian head of the Oruzgan provincial reconstruction team, which will be a very important part of the Combined Team Oruzgan," the minister said.
This new timetable for Australia’s role in Afghanistan came as polls showed the Australian public has becoming increasingly frustrated by the war in Afghanistan.
Three Australian commandos were killed when a helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan on Monday.
The crash, not suspected of being caused by enemy action, brought Australia’s death toll in the warzone to 16, following on the deaths of two Australian soldiers killed in a bomb blast on June 7.
The subject is likely to be on the agenda when Rudd meets U.S. President Barack Obama at the G20 meeting in Toronto this weekend.