http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/#11029
Australia refuses more troops for Afghanistan ISN SECURITY WATCH (01/04/05) - Australia rejected a NATO request on Friday to send more troops to Afghanistan, though its government agreed with the alliance chief that Afghanistan's burgeoning opium crop was an urgent international problem. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer invited Australia to play a greater military role in Afghanistan, where NATO provides security following the US-led war that ousted the Taliban regime in 2001. "I think Australia could play an important role, but I have to realize and I have to follow what the priorities of the Australian government are," de Hoop Scheffer told reporters after Friday's meeting in the capital, Canberra, the Associated Press reported. Australia sent troops to back up US forces in the invasion of Afghanistan, but their numbers have fallen from 150 at the conflict's height to just one soldier today. Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill said sending more troops was not a priority for Australia. The government recently broke an election promise by agreeing to send 450 more troops to Iraq to boost Australia's 900 military personnel in the Middle East. Australian soldiers are working with NATO troops to train Iraqi security forces. Also on Friday, the NATO chief signed a security agreement with Australia aimed at improving communications on defense and counterterrorism and laying the groundwork for Australia to send its first defense attach� to Brussels. (By Ekrem Krasniqi in Brussels) ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
