Australia considers Nato call for more troops in Afghanistan

AUSTRALIA: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said yesterday he is considering a Nato request for more troops in Afghanistan, as US President Donald Trump considers whether to expand the Nato-led mission there by several thousand.

Turnbull did not specify the details of the request from Nato’s military authorities, which he received during a visit to Afghanistan late last month, although he said he was ‘‘open’’ to the idea.

‘‘We are certainly open to increasing our work there, but we’ve obviously got to look at the commitments of the Australian Defence Force in other parts of the region and indeed in other parts of the world,’’ Turnbull said.

‘‘It is very important that we continue – we and our other allies in the effort in Afghanistan – continue to work together,’’ he said.

Australia currently has nearly 300 troops stationed in Afghanistan, training and advising Afghan forces.

The top US intelligence official said on Thursday security in Afghanistan would deteriorate even further without a modest increase in troops from the United States and its allies for the Natoled force.

Afghan forces being trained by their Nato allies have only tenuous control in Afghanistan almost 16 years into the intractable war.

In February, US General John Nicholson, commander of foreign troops in Afghanistan, told a Congressional hearing he needed several thousand more international troops to break a stalemate with the Taleban. - Reuters