Rudd to send more police and aid workers

WASHINGTON: Australia will send more police trainers and aid workers to Afghanistan to help with civilian reconstruction, a core pillar of Barack Obama's new military strategy.

Kevin Rudd, who met the President in Washington on Monday, ruled out sending more troops and did not give a number of police and aid workers.

This would be announced once the national security committee of cabinet had worked through requirements with the Australian Federal Police and AusAID, he said. At present there are about 20 federal police trainers in the country.

Mr Rudd said the White House understood Australia had lifted military numbers by nearly 40 per cent in April to 1550, which made it the 10th biggest contributor to the NATO-led effort.

''I believe that what President Obama has developed is a credible strategy designed to achieve success in Afghanistan,'' Mr Rudd told reporters. ''A key element, which Australia fully supports, is an integrated civilian-military approach, designed to deliver security to the Afghan population, as well as better governance for the Afghan people.''

Mr Rudd denied that the new strategy, which will put greater emphasis on building up Afghan institutions such as police, government and infrastructure, amounted to ''mission creep'', taking objectives much further than the current counterinsurgency strategy.

''The core mission for Australia in Afghanistan is very clear,'' he said. ''It is to create, in the province of Oruzgan, the capacity to transfer security responsibility to the Afghan security forces.''

Mr Rudd said he fully supported the US approach.

''We will be with America in Afghanistan for the long haul,'' he said he told Mr Obama.

A White House statement said: ''The two leaders discussed their close co-ordination on Afghanistan. The President expressed his great appreciation for Australia's substantial commitment, military and financial, to our shared mission there and for Prime Minister Rudd's support for American strategy and objectives.''

Australia and the Netherlands have been responsible for security in Oruzgan, training local police and assisting the provincial government with building schools, transport and other civilian infrastructure.

Source:smh.com.au