Australia will remain "combat ready" in Afghanistan until the end of 2014, its foreign and defence ministers said Thursday, after Prime Minister Julia Gillard spoke of a troop withdrawal in 2013, according to dpa. "All of us ... must continue to be present in support of the (Afghan National Security Forces) and be combat ready to do so until transition is finally complete at the end of 2014," Foreign Minister Bob Carr and Defence Minister Stephen Smith told NATO counterparts in Brussels, according to a statement. Australia was "committed to supporting and sustaining" Afghanistan "beyond 2014," the two ministers said, when Western nations will be expected to contribute 4 billion dollars a year for the upkeep of the country's security forces. Gillard will take part in NATO's summit in May in Chicago and confirm that "Australia will pay its fair share," Carr and Smith said. They added that "under the right mandate," their country could also deploy a special counter-terrorism unit in Afghanistan. On Tuesday, Gillard said that troops in Uruzgan province would hand over security responsibilities to local Afghan forces this year and would be out of the country within 12-18 months. Australia has about 1,550 troops in Afghanistan - 32 of its soldiers have died in the conflict, with 209 wounded. Polls said that more than 70 per cent of Australians are opposed to the war in Afghanistan.
