Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Defence. Would the minister explain to the parliament how the deployment of troops to Afghanistan will enhance the security of Australia?

Brendan Nelson (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Ryan for his question. He has a very strong commitment to the global war against terror. The Prime Minister yesterday, on behalf of the government, formally announced that Australia will send another 150 Australian troops to Afghanistan, bringing to 400 those who will be working with the Dutch, NATO and other forces in Afghanistan to assist the democratically elected Afghanistan government in dealing with significant political, economic, social and military challenges.

It is important that, as Australians, we appreciate that our contribution to this is not just about supporting the Afghanistan government but also about upholding our responsibilities to be a part of the solution in relation to global terror. Australians, and too many Australian families, have been touched, if not scarred, in this decade by two Bali bombings and by the bombing of our embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. And we have seen other evidence of terrorist activity in our region.

There are a number of links between those who planned and committed these heinous crimes and Afghanistan. Samudra, who was sentenced to death for plotting the Bali bombing, testified during his trial that he had fought in Afghanistan in the 1990s, alongside Osama bin Laden. He also testified that it was his duty as a true Muslim to wage jihad against the West. The International Crisis Group in our region is headed by Sidney Jones—the respected and pre-eminent expert in Indonesian terrorism. A 2003 document to the International Crisis Group on Jemaah Islamiah in South-East Asia documented the relationship between those who trained in Afghanistan and terrorist activity in our region. Zulkarnaen, for example, who trained in Afghanistan in 1985, was a senior military commander of JI. Muklas, who was sentenced to death for the Bali bombing, trained there in 1986. Hambali, who is JI’s chief strategist and primary link between JI and al-Qaeda, also trained there in 1987.

Dr Zachary Abuza, who is head of the Department of the Political Science and International Relations at Simmons College, in a paper that was published in 2002 looking at Hambali and the relationship between those who trained in Afghanistan and global terrorism, said:

One cannot underestimate how important the Afghan connection is.

It is, he says, the basis for the al-Qaeda network throughout the world. It is extremely important for us as Australians to appreciate, particularly when five per cent of the Australian population is overseas at any one time, that the defence and security of our country, our people, our interests and our values is not just about our borders, nor indeed our region. It is about ensuring that we make a contribution, along with others, to demonstrate what the Australian newspaper describes as ‘moral musculature’ in taking up the struggle against global terrorism. There is no greater source of it than Afghanistan. We have responsibilities in this area. We are very proud of the Australian Defence Force, what it is doing and what it is about to do on our behalf and on behalf of the next generation.