300 troops could be sent to Afghanistan

CANBERRA: Australia has the capacity to send up to 300 more troops to Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says.

The Government is considering bolstering its commitment in Afghanistan and may send special forces to the war-torn nation ahead of an expected surge in activity by the Taliban in the northern hemisphere spring.

A small group of military officers has been sent to Afghanistan to assess the security environment before advising if more Australian troops should be deployed to Oruzgan province.

Mr Downer said Australia had the capacity to increase it troops. "If we were to send a small number of additional forces to Afghanistan we could certainly do that," he said.

"Two hundred, three hundred, that sort of number." Labor supports any increase in troop numbers in Afghanistan based on the fact that Afghan-trained terrorists were responsible for the deaths of 88 Australians in the October 2002 Bali bombing.

Mr Downer criticised Labor for wanting a victory in Afghanistan while supporting defeat in Iraq. Labor wants Australia to start withdrawing troops from Iraq. Mr Downer said Labor leader Kevin Rudd’s position was hypocritical.

"Why is it that Mr Rudd would rather we won in Afghanistan and lost in Iraq?" he said. "I would have thought you would have wanted to win in Afghanistan and Iraq."