Mr Turnbull, who visited the region ahead of Anzac Day, confirmed he has been asked by NATO for additional resources.
‘We are certainly open to increasing our work there, but we’ve obviously got to look at the commitments of the ADF in other parts of the region and indeed in other parts of the world,’ he said on Friday.
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‘But it is very important that we and our other allies in the effort in Afghanistan continue to work together to build up the capacity of Afghanistan’s own security forces so that they can keep that country secure from the threat of terrorism, both ISIL and of course the Taliban.’
More than 1700 Australian Defence Force personnel are deployed in the Middle East, with about 750 in Iraq and Syria and 270 in Afghanistan.
Since 2002, 42 Australian troops have been killed in Afghanistan and two in Iraq.
¿I’m happy to take a drug test anytime’: Malcolm Turnbull…
Something keeping you up guys? Malcolm Turnbull’s front…Outgoing Defence secretary Dennis Richardson said anyone who went into Afghanistan in 2001 should have realistically expected Australian troops to remain there for a long, long time.
‘I think that is what the coalition is doing. That is sensible,’ Mr Richardson told the National Press Club in Canberra on Friday.
‘We have now moved beyond the involvement in the direct fighting phase. We are now placing emphasis on building the Afghan forces themselves and that will take a long, long time.’
Mr Turnbull (left) poses for a ‘selfie’ photograph during a BBQ dinner at the Australian Defence Force (ADF) recreation area in Afghanistan in 2016
‘We are certainly open to increasing our work there, but we’ve obviously got to look at the commitments of the ADF in other parts of the region and indeed in other parts of the world,’ Mr Turnbull said (Pictured in 2016)
Australia must also brace for providing financial aid to Afghanistan for many years to come.
While Iraq can earn upwards of $30 billion depending on the price of oil, Afghanistan has a total income from within its own domestic sources of less than $3 billion a year.
‘It costs over $4 billion a year to keep the Afghan national security forces in operation, apart from other things that we need to assist the Afghanis with,’ Mr Richardson said.
Mr Turnbull said on Friday that it is important Australia and Afghanistan continue to work together to keep the country secure from the threat of ISIL and the Taliban
Mr Turnbull also announced in Sydney on Friday that Australia’s most notorious Islamic State terrorist Neil Prakash will be extradited from Turkey within months.
The Melbourne-born 25-year-old, who is also known as Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, has been held in a Turkish maximum-security prison since his arrest last year.
‘Neil Prakash should never ever be released from custody and I will do everything I can to ensure he remains behind bars, full stop,’ Mr Turnbull said on Friday.
The prime minister said once Prakash is processed by Turkish authorities ‘we should be getting him back within months.’
‘We are satisfied Neil Prakash, who has been one of the key financiers and organisers in ISIL (Islamic State) – this barbaric terrorist group that we are determined to destroy – will be brought back to Australia and he will face the courts,’ he said.
However, several government sources told AAP that Australia was still working with Turkish authorities and no indications of a timeframe for the extradition had been given.
Source: Australia considers sending more troops to Afghanistan | Daily Mail Online
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