ABC News Radio with Marius Benson
Thursday, 02 July 2009
Topic: Visit to Afghanistan
Marius Benson Julie Bishop, you’ve just returned from what was your first visit to see Australian troops in Afghanistan, what was your impression?
JULIE BISHOP The troops are well trained, they’re focussed, they understand the tasks they have to perform and morale was very high. They are extremely professional and dedicated people who are doing a fantastic job in trying to secure a safer Afghanistan and Australians can be very proud of the work they are doing.
Marius Benson A common assessment of the Australian presence in Afghanistan is that in a localised sense they may be winning battles but the larger war against the Taliban, when you look at Afghanistan and the border areas with Pakistan, the larger war is by no means being won.
JULIE BISHOP Well the Australians are essentially in Orūzgān province and so they are doing an amazing job there in those areas of special operations, reconstruction and mentoring and I think it will be a province by province effort and the international community is working extremely well.
We visited our base at Al Minhad in Dubai and flew to Afghanistan to meet with our troops at Kandahar air field base and they are working with Americans and Canadians, the Dutch and the British, and all the NATO forces. So there is a combined effort with a real sense of purpose and I believe we will see a considerable improvement in the near future.
Marius Benson There was a degree of confusion and mystery about the whereabouts of the Opposition Leader and yourself for about a day or more in Australia and some reporters have been unkind enough to suggest that Afghanistan might have provided a more peaceful setting for the Liberal leadership given the poll news back in Australia.
JULIE BISHOP It was a pretty dangerous place to be, but given the high level of security that is required for a visit such as this, there is considerable planning in terms of logistics and security. It was planned for some months in advance and we of course, for security reasons, could not say we were going into Afghanistan. We did not want to put our troops at risk in any way. But it certainly was well worth the effort. We gained a first hand understanding of the operations of our troops and what they are actually doing in the Middle East and particularly in Afghanistan. And meeting with the troops and experiencing just a little of the conditions and circumstances they are operating under certainly assisted my understanding of what we are seeking to do in Afghanistan.
Marius Benson There has been bipartisan support for an indefinite presence in Afghanistan. Coming back from Afghanistan do you have anything more definite in you mind about how long Australian troops will have to stay there?
JULIE BISHOP Well, as I said, progress is being made. We are contributing to the overall NATO International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. It is essentially to prevent Afghanistan again becoming a safe-haven for international terrorism, and we are also rebuilding the country so it is secure and safe and putting responsibility in the hands of the Afghanistan government and its security forces so that they can run the country. That is the aim and I think we should focus on ensuring that is what we can achieve. There are elections coming up in August and I have suggested that Australia should consider sending election observers to help ensure that the upcoming Presidential election is free and fair, of course on the condition that adequate security could be provided. It’s clear that the insurgents will seek to disrupt the process and deny the Afghanistan people the right to freedom and democracy. It is a fledging democracy but we must help build and maintain confidence in the electoral process.
Marius Benson Julie Bishop, thanks very much for talking to us on your return from Afghanistan.
JULIE BISHOP My pleasure.
