Australia looks to boost Afghan fight with US
Posted: 10 April 2009 0927 hrs

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WASHINGTON: Australia has said it was looking at how it could boost the fight against extremism in Afghanistan while stepping up cooperation with the new administration in Washington.

The Australian and US defence and foreign affairs chiefs held a day of talks in Washington on Thursday - a session held annually but one that for the first time in 14 years comes as centre-left parties hold power in both countries.

In one sharp change, the two countries found common cause in seeking a world without nuclear weapons, vowing to work together to lay the groundwork for a key international meeting on non-proliferation.

The session comes two weeks after Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd held a warm first summit with President Barack Obama, who has pledged a new focus on rooting out Islamic extremism from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said that while the United States did not make any requests, the Australian government would make a decision in "a matter of weeks" on whether it can do more.

"We had a discussion about what, if anything, more Australia could do in the civil reconstruction or training area, in military contribution, and also, importantly, any temporary contribution we could make for the election in August of this year," Smith told a four-way news conference.

Australian Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said: "We would always, of course, consider any request from our closest and most important ally.

"The important thing from our perspective is: would an additional contribution from us in concert with additional contributions from other partner nations further achieve progress in Afghanistan and, on that basis, allow us all to go home sooner rather than later?" he said.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, keeping with Obama's more humble approach in foreign affairs, said he was not pressing Australia for troops.

"Australia has been there with us throughout and has been in the thick of the fighting, has lost too many of its sons," Gates said. "What Australia is prepared to do is clearly up to the Australians."

European nations offered more than 3,500 troops during Obama's recent tour to join the effort to help stem a tenacious Taliban-led insurgency.

Australia has some 1,100 troops in Afghanistan. While Rudd has pledged that Australia will stay in Afghanistan "for the long haul," he has said that sending more troops would be unpopular with the public.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the four ministers had "shared values and common approaches" on a wide range of issues.

"We talked about our cooperation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, how we will intensify our efforts to defeat extremism, strengthen the rule of law and promote economic development," she told reporters.

In a new point of agreement with Australia, Obama in a major speech Sunday in Prague pledged to work for a world without nuclear weapons, in a sharp policy change from his predecessor George W. Bush.

Rudd - who had visibly tense relations with Bush - has championed nuclear abolition and last year set up a commission with Japan to lay the groundwork for next year's nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference.

In a joint statement, the United States and Australia "affirmed their goal of a world free of nuclear weapons" and pledged to "cooperate closely" ahead of next year's conference.

Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, speaking later to a think tank, said his country was "very, very keen to re-engage" in international talks on denuclearization.

"I think it is important on these issues to be ambitious," Fitzgibbon told the Centre for a New American Security.

- AFP/yb