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Australia to double Afghan force
Australia is planning to almost double its troop numbers in Afghanistan by next year, PM John Howard has said.
Australia currently has some 550 soldiers in Afghanistan, supporting the Nato-led multinational force that is fighting the Taleban insurgency.
Mr Howard said the extra troops would include 300 special forces.
"We're not losing the war but we will not win it without renewed and increased effort," he said, warning this could mean Australian casualties.
Dangerous region
The total Australian deployment in Afghanistan will reach approximately 950 by mid-2007, and will peak at about 1,000 in the middle of 2008, according to Mr Howard.
"We have done this against the background of a deterioration in the security environment in southern Afghanistan," he told a news conference.
He said the special forces commandos would be sent to Uruzgan province, where a smaller task force operated for a year until last September.
More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6540135.stm
Mr Howard said the extra troops would include 300 special forces.
"We're not losing the war but we will not win it without renewed and increased effort," he said, warning this could mean Australian casualties.
Dangerous region
The total Australian deployment in Afghanistan will reach approximately 950 by mid-2007, and will peak at about 1,000 in the middle of 2008, according to Mr Howard.
"We have done this against the background of a deterioration in the security environment in southern Afghanistan," he told a news conference.
He said the special forces commandos would be sent to Uruzgan province, where a smaller task force operated for a year until last September.
More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6540135.stm
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John Howard said the deployment would take the number of Australian soldiers in Afghanistan to about 1,000 by mid-2008.
The new deployment would be largely made up of about 300 special forces soldiers, sent to Uruzgan province in southeastern Afghanistan.
"It is a very crucial phase in the modern history of Afghanistan," Howard said, pointing to renewed Taliban activity in the country.
Australia withdrew its special forces from Afghanistan in September but kept about 500 soldiers to help with reconstruction work in Uruzgan province.
More
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/743BC03E-2488-46FB-906B-9785EA74BCCC.htm