A blank cheque

I sought a response from the office of the Prime Minister, and that of Defence and Foreign Ministers. Neither the office of the Prime Minister nor of Defence responded.

I sent the following; "The ABC reports today that outgoing US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, has said that talks are taking place with the Taliban. These talks have been taking place for at least several weeks and involve other countries as well as the US. Is Australia a party to these talks? If not, was it advised of the talks? If so when?"

The reply from the office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs was; "The US has made no secret of its interest in facilitating a political solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.

The Australian Government has long stated that the conflict in Afghanistan will not be solved by military force alone.

Australia supports reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan.

Australia believes this process must be Afghan-led and subject to insurgents agreeing to renounce violence, sever links with terrorist organisations, and abide by the constitution of Afghanistan."

I thought the response defensive and irrelevant. No attempt was made to answer the questions posed, which given the non response from Gillard's and Smith's office and the attempt at deflection from Rudd's office, led me to believe that the Australian government knew nothing of the feelers ('outreach initiative') being extended to the Taliban.

However the response does raise some interesting questions. Despite the lack of US secrecy I would like to have spelt out what political solution(s) the US envisions as possible or probable in Afghanistan? In what ways does the Australian government see resolution of the conflict by means other than military? With whom and by what means does Australia support reconciliation in Afghanistan? Does Australia regard the ISI as a terrorist organisation? Who is going to define terrorist, given that not only does the ISI support the Taliban, it also deals with US and Australian officials?

Obama now states that, "We do know that peace cannot come to a land that has known so much war without a political settlement. So as we strengthen the Afghan government and security forces, America will join initiatives that reconcile the Afghan people, including the Taliban."

This statement ignores the fact the US took one side in the war which rendered reconciliation impossible, and until recently one of the stated aims of the war was to militarily defeat and crush the Taliban. The Presidents statement indicates the change if not reversal in US policy toward Afghanistan – a change that has gone unremarked in Australia.

The nature of the conflict in Afghanistan might better be described as a civil war, why, in that case, would the Taliban want to abide by the constitution of Afghanistan? Such a pre-condition would not aid or assist a negotiation and reconciliation process.

Removed, as it appears to be, from the 'outreach initiative' and absent both physically and intellectually from the policy process now unfolding, Australian has once again given the United States a blank cheque to do what it likes with our troops; without an Australian input into US foreign policy and strategic plans in Afghanistan our contribution becomes little more than supplying mercenaries.