SeekerBlog

There’s no doubt the Pakistanis have been good allies in the fight against terrorism, I guess in relation to Afghanistan we’d like them to be even better allies. - John Howard on Tuesday

Greg Sheridan examines the increased Australian commitment to Afghanistan and the poor performance of Pakistan. Sheridan is the author of the remarkable modern history of the Australian-American relationship “The Partnership”.

…Howard admires the way Musharraf turned Pakistan around after the 9/11 al-Qa’ida terror attacks and made it into an ally of the West in the war on terror.

But if that Howard-Musharraf relationship was worth anything, it needed to be put to use now. This week Howard announced the effective doubling of Australia’s military commitment to Afghanistan. This will reach 1000 Diggers by next year. It is one of the most dangerous and militarily important troop commitments Australia has made in decades.

The key to the new commitment, to leave within days, is a special forces group of 300. This will be made up of a Special Air Service contingent, backed up by commandos with heavier weaponry and armour, and a strong intelligence component.

It was because of concern for the safety of these Australian soldiers that Howard was writing to Musharraf. His letter acknowledged Pakistan’s importance as a partner in the war on terror and expressed understanding about the many pressures and difficulties that Musharraf faces.

But the nub of the letter was to complain about the infiltration across the Pakistan border of Taliban forces into Afghanistan. The reason Howard was complaining about this was because it threatens the lives of Australian soldiers. It will especially threaten the lives of the special forces group going to Oruzgan province in Afghanistan’s violent south.

Howard wasn’t the only leader to send this message to Musharraf. US President George W. Bush and Britain’s Tony Blair had sent similar messages, as had some continental European nations with troops in southern Afghanistan. US Vice-President Dick Cheney went to Afghanistan straight after his recent visit to Australia and read Musharraf the riot act.

The Australian forces are the complete opposite of the EU forces — they are authorized to actually fight the Taliban.

…Their mission in Afghanistan will be dangerous and demanding. They will pay some attention to making sure the Australian reconstruction team is secure. With the Dutch inclined to stay in and around Tarin Kowt the tactical situation was deteriorating because Taliban forces were free to move around the rest of Oruzgan. This increased the long-term risks to the Australians already deployed there.

The Australian special forces group will also play some role in training Afghan forces, some of whom will work alongside them.

But the key to their mission will be to search and kill the Taliban leadership, to make Oruzgan a non-permissive environment for the Taliban.

They will start with small, long-range patrols to build up the deepest possible picture of the province. They will move with speed and stealth and great lethality, and at times they will pursue their quarry relentlessly.

They will be there, probably in rotations of a little less than six months, for at least two years.

They will not give up. They will be the most formidable force in southern Afghanistan. They will make a huge difference.

And they will take huge risks.

The EU forces may or may not be capable of fighting — we’ll probably never know. As Richard Fernandez wrote in “Why we flight”:

But not so great as the risks run by those for whom war is a costume party; to whom victory is a dirty word. The Australians know what the Europeans should soon rediscover: the danger comes from within one’s self; that there are none so lost as those who have misled themselves.