War role under harsh spotlight

CANBERRA - Australia's role in Afghanistan - seen as an important measure of the nation's alliance with the United States - is coming under increasing scrutiny ahead of United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's looming visit.

Parliament's first debate on the war has been coloured by its widespread unpopularity, fear of terrorism and dispute over the significance Afghanistan now holds for global jihadists. In addition, the Greens plan a private member's bill demanding parliamentary approval for all future military commitments.

As the Senate began its debate on the war yesterday the Defence Department confirmed that four special services soldiers were wounded - one seriously - in a battle in northern Kandahar province last week.

Reports of the casualties were delayed until the operation in which they were taking part was completed.

The injuries take to 156 the number of Australians wounded in Afghanistan, 56 of them this year. Twenty-one Diggers have been killed.

The parliamentary debate, which began in the House of Representatives last week, was part of the deal Prime Minister Julia Gillard struck with the Greens to win their support for a minority Labor Government.

New polls show the fragility of Gillard's position as she conducts a debate that previous administrations have declined: Morgan last week reported a 1.5 per cent fall in support, and yesterday a Nielsen poll in Fairfax newspapers gave the Coalition a two-point lead in the two-party preferred vote, with a 2 per cent rise in support for the Greens.

While there is no real chance that Gillard will lose on Afghanistan, the fact that the war was forced into Parliament is her first real taste of the clout the Greens and independents will wield, especially when the Greens assume the balance of power in the Senate next July.

The debate has also allowed potentially divisive opinions on Canberra's position on negotiations involving Taleban leaders, and revealed that while previous exit timetables have focused on a further two to four years for Australia's central training role, the nation's involvement in Afghanistan could last for a decade.

The debate has also cemented a firm bipartisan approach to the war, overshadowing earlier sparring between Gillard and Opposition leader Tony Abbott and confirming a solid commitment that will ensure parliamentary approval.

Greens MP Adam Bandt intends introducing a private member's bill requiring power to commit troops abroad be removed from the Prime Minister of the day and handed to Parliament, where deployments must be approved by both Houses.

There is little chance of its success.

Neither major party would support the proposition, and in her address to the House Gillard hardened her support for a commitment to Afghanistan she said was necessary for the global war on terrorism and because of the US alliance.

Gillard also emphasised that the 1550-strong Australian force was part of a 47-nation coalition authorised by the United Nations Security Council, that she would remain firm despite the certainty of more casualties, and that Australia would probably be there for another 10 years.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith later told the Nine Network that Gillard had wanted to avoid giving the false impression that the end of Australia's present training mission in Uruzgan province would automatically mean withdrawal.

He said that with about 800 of the present force involved in training units of the new Afghan National Army, numbers would fall as the mission ended and there would be "an adjustment of our role as we effectively transition out".

The debate has also indicated a shift in the Government's resistance to peace negotiations involving the Taleban, with Smith telling Parliament that Afghanistan required an enduring political - as well as military - solution.

Afghanistan and Australia's commitment to the conflict will play a large part in Clinton's discussions when she arrives in Australia as part of a six-nation tour early next month.

Clinton and US Defence Secretary Bob Gates will meet their Australian counterparts in Melbourne on November 8 for the annual Ausmin conference, the bilateral series that began 25 years ago after New Zealand left the Anzus alliance.

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said the talks would also embrace wider challenges in the Middle East, the evolving strategic architecture of the Asia Pacific region, and the emergence of the East Asian Summit, which now embraces the 10 Asean nations, US, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, India and South Korea. The United States is not yet a member.

* 1550 Australian troops serving in Afghanistan

* 21 Australians killed

* 156 Australians wounded

* 56 Australians wounded this year