Australia will not fill terror fight gap after US forces withdrawal
Australia will not fill the vacuum if US forces withdraw from the war on terror in northeastern Syria, with ADF military chiefs saying no Aussie lives would be put at risk.
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Australia will not fill the vacuum if US forces withdraw from the terror war in northeastern Syria, with ADF military chiefs saying no Aussie lives would be put at further risk in the ever deteriorating region.
The fate of some 60 Australian women and children detained in the al-Hawl refugee camp now hung in the balance as Turkey was almost certain to invade Syria post a US forces’ withdrawal unexpectedly announced by President Donald Trump.
Such is the rapidly developing situation in the Middle East, the Australian Defence Force’s chief General Angus Campbell suddenly pulled out of a major address before military chiefs from more than 40 nations in Sydney for the Pacific 2019 international maritime forces expo.
He was outside the convention centre theatre minutes prior to his planned speech before he urgently met with Defence Minister Linda Reynolds on the wings before the pair rushed out of the summit. An officer hosting the event explained they had to dash back to Canberra.
While the conference was about the changing face of warfare and what the Australian defence industry could offer in hardware, the buzz among the some 4500 delegates from around the world was the situation in the Middle East.
President Trump yesterday blindsided allies including Australia and apparently his own Congress as he reversed his own policy in a series of chaotic statements regarding US forces specifically working with their Allies the Kurds fighting ISIS in northeastern Syria.
His move to withdraw US forces, slammed as a betrayal of allies, came after he received a call from Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in which the Turkish leader sought US support to mount a new Middle East offensive against their ancient arch enemy and US ally the Kurds.
Trump declared U.S. troops would step aside for an expected Turkish attack on the Kurds, who have fought alongside Americans for years but he then threatened to destroy the Turks’ economy if they went too far.
Speaking outside the Sydney military summit, Senator Reynolds said the government was in contact with US officials and other allies, seeking clarity.
“It’s too early yet to speculate on the consequences this might have for Australian policy in region as it is a very rapidly evolving situation,” she said of the Trump announcement.
On Australian foreign ISIS fighters and their families in detention in Kurdish territory, she said little could be done until the situation was clear.
“Of course the Australians are very concerned about other Australians in the region but I would emphasise consular support in these regions is limited if not non-existent so any consideration of action by the Australian government will of course have to take into consideration the lives of anyone else we might send into the region and of course we will not jeopardise the lives of any other Australians.
“It is a very difficult situation, it is a very dangerous area and we will not be endangering the lives of other Australians, it’s that simple.”
On Gen Campbell’s sudden departure and that of other senior officers, a Defence Spokesman said: “It is regrettable that General Campbell wasn’t able to participate in the ‘Australia and the Indo-Pacific’ session at Sea Power 2019 as initially planned. General Campbell’s schedule is always subject to change, given the nature of his role and international circumstances.”
There are 20 women and 44 children in tents in the detention centre as well as at least six Australian fighters.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s Syrian offshoot the PYD said they would release “all the terrorists” being held in detention by them if Turkey launched an offensive against them.
Meanwhile, ironically as Australia was scrambling to understand the latest Trump thinking and how the ADF would respond, Senator Reynolds’ headline speech to the global defence summit concluded the ADF’s much vaunted 2016 Defence White Paper would need a rethink.
“The world has changed more quickly than we assessed in 2016,” Senator Reynolds told the conference.
“We need to assess these changes and challenges in a hard-headed manner to adapt to the rapidly changing world around us.”
She declined to elaborate when asked what that hard headed manner meant but said technology that would be fought in future including hypersonic missiles for which there is no defence had come about more quickly than anyone had anticipated.