Deployment of Australian troops to Afghanistan is a big mistake

The Sydney Peace & Justice Coalition strongly opposes the Howard government’s decision to deploy over 150 SAS Australian soldiers to Afghanistan for 12 months from September this year, as part of the US military force.

Providing SAS troops to fight under US leadership, instead of contributing to the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) effort to provide security is clearly not the best way to nurture democracy for the Afghan people.

Afghanistan does need international help, but not a larger war. Australia should send engineers and mine clearing teams, not the SAS. That would be a genuine response to the stated wishes of the Afghan people for whom landmines and unexploded ordinance are a serious hazard.

The UN Security Council has been calling for international assistance with both security and the rebuilding of Afghanistan. But Australia is sending troops now in response to US and British requests, but is merely thinking about sending engineers to assist with rebuilding in twelve months time - perhaps.

Neither the Howard government nor the Labor Opposition has clearly stated what has gone wrong in Afghanistan and therefore what is the mission objective for Australian troops.

Any mission objective must take seriously the military and political complexities in Afghanistan, in which it is not only the Taliban who are guilty of violence and undermining renewal. The US military are killing civilians and torturing prisoners in Afghanistan, and this is also a major cause of instability. The SAS are likely to be caught up in this disastrous policy.

Despite some electoral success, the Karzai government cannot ensure security even in Kabul, let alone in provinces ruled by brutal warlords and drug czars who are part of his regime. Just which of these thugs would the SAS be fighting for?

The Sydney Peace & Justice Coalition opposes the SAS deployment and calls instead for a total review by the international community through the UN of the obvious failure of the international military and political program in Afghanistan. This review, involving Afghan political forces, must develop a new strategy, which does not rely on military force, to improve the economic, social and security conditions of the Afghan people.

The Labor Opposition appears to be trying to score points off the Howard government while staying in the Bush good books. It too seems to think there is a simplistic military solution. The Sydney Peace & Justice Coalition calls on the Labor Opposition to stop playing politics with war.

Background

The US-led military coalition attacked the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in October 2001, in the aftermath of the September 11 terror outrages in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, because the Taliban were harbouring Osama Bin Laden. Australian military forces took part, until they were withdrawn in 2002 to prepare for the Bush Administration's illegal and unjust invasion of Iraq. The Karzai government was set up and promised a huge aid program for reconstruction, which has largely failed to materialize. Three years later, the regime is in peril and the US and British are moving to boost their forces there.

The UN Security Council has authorized the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan until October 13, 2005, to provide security in and around Kabul. ISAF is led by NATO. ISAF also organises Provincial Reconstruction Teams outside of Kabul. The Howard government says it may send 200 army engineers to Afghanistan by June 2006 as part of a PRT. Separately, the UN Security Council also recognises the US-led "Operation Enduring Freedom Coalition", which is not limited to Kabul, and is mainly pursuing Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces, to which the Australian SAS will be attached.

The March 2005 UN Security Council resolution includes the following clause:

"Stresses the importance of security for the credible parliamentary, provincial and district elections, and to this end calls upon Member States to contribute personnel, equipment and other resources to support the expansion of the International Security Assistance Force and the establishment of provincial reconstruction teams in other parts of Afghanistan, and to coordinate closely with UNAMA and the Government of Afghanistan;"

Following the relatively successful Presidential elections of October 2004, parliamentary elections are now set for September 18, 2005, about the time the Australian SAS would arrive, and just before the ISAF mandate expires. The September elections are definitely under threat of violence, however the SAS will arrive too close to these elections to really help with security.

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Last Modified: Wednesday, 22-Feb-2006 14:20:46 EST
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