Australia to Withdraw From Afghanistan Earlier Than Planned

By MATT SIEGEL

HOBART, Australia — Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia said on Tuesday that she expected her country to complete its military withdrawal from Afghanistan a year ahead of schedule, citing recent security improvements there while also acknowledging that “the peoples of the world’s democracies are weary of this war.”

Ms. Gillard, in a speech to a policy institute in Canberra, said that the withdrawal would begin as soon as President Hamid Karzai declared that Afghanistan’s forces were capable of taking over responsibility for security in Oruzgan Province, where most of Australia’s 1,550 troops are stationed.

Mr. Karzai is expected to make that announcement this month, meaning that the timetable would be significantly advanced for Australia, which had planned to withdraw its troops by the end of 2014. Under the new schedule, Australia’s troops would be home before the end of 2013, and possibly before the country’s federal elections next year, which must be held by Nov. 30.

“I’m now confident that Chicago will recognize mid-2013 as a key milestone in the international strategy, a crucial point when the international forces will be able to move to a supporting role across all of Afghanistan,” Ms. Gillard said, referring to a NATO meeting scheduled for next month in Chicago, during which she plans to present formally the new timeline.

The Australian military, which sent more than 2,000 troops to fight in Iraq, has the largest contingent of any non-NATO member fighting in Afghanistan. At least 32 Australian soldiers have been killed and 219 wounded in Afghanistan since 2001, and the war has become increasingly unpopular with the Australian public in recent years.

Ms. Gillard rebutted the many domestic critics of the war, insisting that participating in the conflict had been in the country’s interest.

“Australia has an enduring national interest in ensuring that Afghanistan does not again become a safe haven for terrorists,” she said.

Ms. Gillard said that a contingent of special forces soldiers would remain in Afghanistan after the general troop withdrawal to help with training and to conduct counterinsurgency operations.

NYT