The withdrawal of the last Australian troops from Afghanistan will mark the end of a 20-year conflict. It’s an open question whether the gains made in that period are sustainable.
Soldiers from a reconstruction taskforce work alongside Afghan army engineers to build a river crossing in Oruzgan province. ADF
Perhaps the best epitaph to Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan came from from Tony Abbott, who was prime minister at the time.
“Australia’s longest war is ending, not with victory, not with defeat, but with, we hope, an Afghanistan that is better for our presence here,” Abbott said on a warm October day in 2013 at Tarin Kowt, the main base for Australian forces, at a ceremony marking the withdrawal of combat troops.
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Original URL: https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/afghanistan-it-s-about-a-net-positive-not-victory-or-defeat-20210415-p57jmm
