PLAN TO SPEND MILLIONS ON AFGHANISTAN UNCOVERED

Dylan Welch April 14, 2012

AUSTRALIA is five weeks away from signing a crucial strategic agreement with Afghanistan that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars and outline Australia's postwar role there, but the government has yet to inform the public of its existence.
The previously undisclosed pact - revealed this week by the office of Afghan President Hamid Karzai (pictured) - is a strategic agreement that will see Canberra provide hundreds of millions of dollars in aid in the post-2014 decade
The international community has set the end of 2014 as the deadline for all international combat operations in Afghanistan. After that time security will be the sole responsibility of the Afghan army and the Afghan National Police.
Yesterday the office of Defence Minister Stephen Smith - who visited Afghanistan this week and met Mr Karzai - said the document did not relate to his portfolio, and referred The Saturday Age to the Foreign Minister, Senator Bob Carr.
However, a statement released by Mr Karzai's office on Wednesday after a meeting with Mr Smith appeared to contradict the view.
It said: ''[The] Australian Defence Minister said Australia is interested in forging a strategic partnership with Afghanistan.''
The release went on to discuss a draft of the agreement - recently handed to the Afghan foreign ministry - and said it would be signed by both countries during a NATO summit in Chicago on May 20 and 21.
''Minister Smith … hoped that the draft be finalised as soon as possible by the governments of the two countries,'' the statement said.
Another statement on Wednesday, from Afghanistan's Canberra embassy, also referred to the plan, saying it covers long-term co-operation involving ''security, development, trade and investment, cultural and people-to-people links and migration and humanitarian affairs.''
A spokesman for Mr Smith said his visit to Kabul had nothing to do with the agreement, which was a matter for Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Senator Carr.
The agreement was mentioned ''in passing'' during a conversation with Mr Karzai, the spokesman said, but ''did not concern either the content or detail''.
Despite that, it does not appear that Ms Gillard, Mr Smith or Senator Carr have told the Australian public about it.
Yesterday Mr Smith's office pointed to a speech by Ms Gillard to Parliament on November 21 last year that they said referred to the agreement.
More than 20 minutes into a half-hour speech Ms Gillard touched on a discussion with Mr Karzai about a ''long-term framework agreement for the future of the Australia-Afghanistan partnership''.
''This kind of co-operative, country-to-country approach is an important framework for our long-term plans. We seek an enduring relationship with Afghanistan beyond 2014 as Afghanistan takes on responsibility for its own security and governance,'' she said.
That appears to be the only discussion of a bilateral plan with Afghanistan.
It comes in the middle of a furious debate in the international community about what support will be provided.
The US has said at least $US4.1 billion ($A13.5 billion) a year will be needed to support the Afghan military and police alone, but after years of heavy spending on Afghanistan, some European countries affected by war weariness and slow economic growth are keen to scale back support.

This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/national/plan-to-spend-millions-on-afghanistan-uncovered-20120413-1wyz9.html