Trump call for more Diggers in Afghanistan

The US has formally asked Australian defence officials for a commitment of more troops in Afghanistan.

The US deployment in Afghanistan stands at 8400 after peaking at 100,000 in 2010.

The US has asked Australia to commit more troops to Afghan­istan under a NATO push for greater strength to combat a ­resurgent Taliban.

The Weekend Australian has confirmed Pentagon officials formally approached the Australian Defence Force this week to sec­ure a response to a NATO request made two weeks ago for contributions from Australia as part of a possible ­allied surge.

A senior Turnbull government source confirmed the US had “in the past week” sought a pledge from Australia that it would contribute to the NATO request.

It is understood the ­national ­security committee of cabinet is “close” to making a decision.

It is likely the Trump ­administration is seeking assurances from its allies before it makes its own decision, believed to be imminent, on whether it will send up to 5000 troops back into the war-torn country where ­Islamic State has also been trying to gain a foothold.

The US deployment stands at 8400 after peaking at 100,000 in 2010.

Defence Minister Marise Payne said two weeks ago that the Turnbull government was still considering the NATO request to increase numbers in what is Australia’s longest war.

The request comes as former chief of army Peter Leahy warns that it may take another decade to ­secure lasting peace in ­Afghanistan.

Just 270 Australian defence personnel are left in Kabul and Kandahar since the first ­deployment in 2001, down from a peak of about 1550 in 2011.

Sources said there was a strong case to commit more training forces, which were highly regarded by the US.

A government source said that although the US appeal was not directly linked to or a condition of Donald Trump’s reluctant decision to honour the Nauru refugees deal, it was likely the Turnbull government would feel obligated to deliver on the request for more forces.

Amid a rapid deterioration of security in Afghanistan, the US is expected to announce within days that it will recommit troops.

It is understood the ­request to Australia was for more training and mentoring forces to bolster the Afghan army, which is under renewed pressure from Taliban forces following the Obama administration’s 2014 decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.

Although sending troops to conduct training was thought to be potentially less dangerous than combat roles, one of Afghanistan’s largest private security operators, Australian Garry Sweet, yesterday warned of a high risk of “green on blue attacks”, where Afghan ­soldiers turned on foreign allies.

Writing in The Weekend ­Australian today, Professor Leahy, the director of the National Security Institute at the University of Canberra and the chief of army from 2002 to 2008, backed calls for an Australian recommitment but said it should not involve combat troops.

“There is good reason to ­increase our commitment,” Professor Leahy writes. “Afghanistan remains on the edge and needs our support. Of course, we could withdraw and let them fail, but we were there at the start and their predicament is partly our responsibility.”

Professor Leahy says that, in providing more military support, Australia “must resist any mission creep or further engagement of Australian forces in close ground combat”.

“This is primarily a task for ­indigenous and regional forces enabled by our training expertise,” he says.

“The Afghan security forces are the ones who should be leading the fight for their country.

“We went to Afghanistan to punish terrorists and deny them a base of operations. The terrorists have returned, they are gaining strength and, under a Taliban government, would gain further strength. We need to deny ­Afghanistan to them.”

Professor Leahy says he does not expect the situation in ­Afghanistan to improve quickly.

“This is a long-term commitment — potentially more than a decade,” he writes.

NATO, under US command, still has more than 13,000 troops in Afghanistan, mainly in the role of training, advising and assisting, and as force protection.

There is now considerable fear that unless the Taliban can again be contained, the country will revert to being a terrorist haven.

Additional reporting: Rory Callinan