Aussies to deploy an extra 30 Diggers

AUSTRALIA will increase its troop numbers in Afghanistan by 30, taking the number of defence personnel in training and advisory roles to 300.

Defence Minister Marise Payne announced the “modest increase” during a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra yesterday.

“Given the centrality of Afghanistan in the global fight against terrorism, an enhanced Australian contribution to the resolute support mission is both timely and appropriate,” she said.

Some members of the Australian contingent are mentoring at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy in Kabul.

NATO, in a request to Canberra, did not nominate a specific number, Senator Payne said.

Australian Defence Force chief Mark Binskin said all coalition countries were asked to re- examine their contributions.

The Trump administration is still weighing up whether to increase US troop numbers in Afghanistan.

Earlier in the year, US General John Nicholson described the security situation in Afghanistan as a “strategic stalemate” and called for about 5200 more foreign troops for training and mentoring of local security forces.

“While there have been some expected setbacks in the security situation since 2015, the Afghan security institutions continue to demonstrate resilience in the face of a challenging security environment,” Senator Payne said.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said it was important Afghanistan did not become a safe haven for terrorists intent on destroying Western democracies.

“We’ve made a commitment in blood and the lives of people and we’ve got to see this commitment through,” he told ABC Radio.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, a former senior intelligence analyst turned whistleblower, said the war in Afghanistan was lost long ago. “Australia really should get out of the place and let it find its natural political level,” he said.