Media Room: Defence Speech

CHIEF OF DEFENCE FORCE UPDATE ON AFGHANISTAN OPERATIONS

 

Russell Offices, Canberra, 28 May 2009

 

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CHIEF OF DEFENCE FORCE, AIR CHIEF MARSHAL ANGUS HOUSTON:

Good morning and thank you for attending this Operational Update today.

 

I thought it was important to provide you with an overview of our operations in Afghanistan. I will also release an Inquiry Officer’s report into allegations of civilian casualties during an Australian Defence Force operation in January this year. I will then take some questions.

 

While timing today has necessitated that I focus on Afghanistan, all our operations continue to progress well. I am very proud of all our deployed forces. The men and women of the ADF are held in the highest regard by our allies, operation partners and host countries. They continue to display courage, professionalism and commitment in even the most trying of circumstances. All Australians should be very proud of the young men and women who are at this moment facing danger and hardship while protecting Australia and its interests.

 

Afghanistan

One month ago, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, announced a significant increase in Australia’s military and civilian commitment to Afghanistan. 

 

The Prime Minister referred to Australia’s three strategic objectives in Afghanistan. They are: to deny sanctuary for terrorists; stabilise the country; and train the Afghan National Security Forces in order to hand over security responsibility in a reasonable timeframe. 

 

The Government’s decision to commit extra troops will build on the excellent progress already achieved by the ADF and our Dutch and Afghan partners in Oruzgan province and will better enable us to meet the tasks we have been assigned.  

 

I am pleased to inform you that efforts to prepare the additional troops for deployment are proceeding well.  Of note is the Election Security Force which I anticipate will be in place by July prior to the Afghanistan Presidential election on August 20.

 

This election is vital to the future of Afghanistan and it is critical that the international community provides assistance to ensure that a successful and legitimate ballot occurs in a peaceful and secure manner.  This is the second national democratic election since the overthrow of the Taliban and every vote cast will represent a rejection of the Taliban.

 

Furthermore, I am delighted that a highly professional and capable Australian Army Officer, Brigadier Damian Cantwell, has been appointed as Chief of ISAF’s Election Task Force and will oversee the coordination of military support to the elections.      

 

Separately, preparation to deploy two additional Australian Operational Mentor and Liaison Teams is also well advanced. Training the Afghan National Army lies at the heart of Government’s strategy in Afghanistan and our focus is on mentoring and assisting Afghans to take a greater role in their own security.

 

The new OMLTs will supplement the existing team which is working closely with the Afghan National Army in Oruzgan province.  These additional OMLTs will significantly increase the capabilities of Afghan Army soldiers and expedite plans to hand over security responsibility to local authorities. 

 

The first additional OMLT is expected to deploy in September followed by the second early in the New Year.

 

Training and mentoring is a job Australians do very well. Since December 2008 the Afghan Battalion being trained by the current OMLT has supported a number of ANA led security operations in Oruzgan.  These have occurred successfully, with the ANA demonstrating pleasing commitment and professionalism in spite of the challenging environment.  I want to acknowledge the great strides the ANA is making, and I am confident will continue to make, in partnership with us.   

 

In addition to the training effort, Australia’s Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force continues to provide local construction and development support. Through the opening of roads, schools, windmills, health facilities and training centres, the MRTF is helping the provincial government spread its authority and influence throughout Oruzgan. They are leaving a lasting legacy for the people of the province while also taking the fight up to the Taliban.

 

Since last December, combined MRTF and ANA patrols have uncovered six caches containing significant amounts of weapons, ammunition and explosives material. These joint successes continue to disrupt Taliban activity.

 

The MRTF and the ANA have also been involved in 19 separate contacts with the Taliban The MRTF has also been the subject of 10 indirect fire attacks and there have been 12 improvised explosive device incidents.

 

At the same time, the Special Operations Task Group is making inroads in dismantling Afghanistan’s insurgent network.  Since January 2009, our special forces soldiers have participated in nine major operations against senior Taliban leadership, culminating in the deaths of key Taliban insurgent planners and bomb makers and the capture of others. 

 

Key Taliban leaders that have been successfully targeted this year include Mullah Abdul Rasheed, who was killed during interdiction and disruption operations near the Baluchi Pass in January, Mullah Abdul Bari who was killed in March during a special forces operation in Mirabad and Mullah Noorulluh who was killed in coalition operations last month.

 

And today I can reveal that Mullah Qasim, a senior insurgent commander who had planned attacks against Coalition Forces and who controlled suicide bombers in Oruzgan province, was successfully targeted and killed on May 24.

 

He was killed during a short battle between insurgents and a combined SOTG and Afghan National Security Force element.

 

Qasim facilitated and coordinated the placement of deadly IEDs in Oruzgan province.

 

He was also responsible for setting explosive devices aimed at killing Afghan government officials and local community leaders. In December last year, he is believed to have also attempted to kill local Afghans with an IED in a bazaar in Tarin Kowt.

 

Another effective integrated Australian, Coalition and Afghan National Security Forces operation was a recent major combat strike against Taliban insurgents. It involved British, US, Dutch, Afghan and Australian troops. Our SOTG troops were in the field, deep inside a Taliban stronghold, for 26 days. They were involved in 11 major contacts with insurgents, resulting in many Taliban deaths.

 

There are clear signs our operations are having an impact on the Taliban.
There are strong indicators that the Taliban insurgent network within Oruzgan has been seriously disrupted and its resources significantly degraded. We do not use body-count as a measure of success, however, a significant number of Taliban have been killed in the past six months and 14 caches have been seized, including weapons, ammunition, rockets, mortars and significant amounts of material that are key ingredients to the manufacturing of IEDs and arming the insurgents. This is in addition to six caches I mentioned earlier.

 

As a key new development, the SOTG has recently established a partnership with an Afghan Provincial Police Reserve (PPR), a new Afghan Uniformed Police unit that will deploy for secure and hold operations to assist in the provision of security. Australia is one of the few nations to partner with a police unit – an essential element of counter insurgency operations for security and stability.

 

Despite the excellent work and the sound strategic framework in which we are pursuing our objectives, we must not forget that Afghanistan remains an extremely dangerous place.  Since January, we have suffered three tragic deaths of fine soldiers - Private Greg Sher, Corporal Mathew Hopkins and Sergeant Brett Till. We in the ADF continue to mourn their loss and our determined efforts in Afghanistan continue in their memory.

 

Civilian Casualty Incident – Jan 5

 

I now want to inform you of the findings of the inquiry into possible ADF involvement in an alleged civilian casualty incident on January 5 this year.

 

The Inquiry Officer’s redacted report can be found on the Defence website.

 

The death of civilians and non-combatants during any conflict is very regrettable.

 

However, it is important to appreciate the environment in which our troops operate.

 

Counter-insurgency operations carry risk, and tragically, despite the best training, preparation and leadership, civilian casualties can occur.

 

Let me make it clear, Australia's Rules of Engagement are specifically designed to avoid civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.

 

When allegations of civilian casualties as a result of ADF operations are raised, Defence investigates these incidents in the most comprehensive manner possible given the high threat and extremely dangerous environment in which these incidents take place.

 

There is often difficulty in visiting the incident sites, obtaining detailed eye witness accounts and complications arising from language and cultural barriers. The experience of this inquiry was no different.

 

On January 5 at about 1:30pm, eight injured Afghanis presented to an ISAF patrol base in Oruzgan. A man assisting them claimed they had been injured by mortar fire in the Baluchi Valley earlier that day.

 

He also claimed that another 10 Afghan civilians had died in the same mortar fire incident.

 

The injured were provided with immediate first aid and four were medically evacuated to the military hospital in Tarin Kowt for further treatment.

 

Later that night one person died as the result of his injuries.

 

In accordance with ISAF orders, the allegations were reported and ISAF commenced a review of the operation and advised that Australia’s SOTG may have been involved in the incident.

 

On January 9, I directed Australia’s Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Mark Evans, to order an inquiry and two days later the inquiry team deployed to Afghanistan to investigate if an indirect fire mission by the SOTG had resulted in unintended civilian casualties.

 

While the inquiry was ongoing, ‘Honour payments’ were made to the families claimed to be affected based on a list of the dead and injured compiled by the Afghan Provincial Governor.

 

These payments were made under the Australian Government ‘Act of Grace’ payment arrangements and were made through the Governor.

 

I stress that these payments are in no way an admission of guilt on our part. Afghan custom dictates that issues must be settled quickly in accordance with tradition. Otherwise, retribution is sought and enemies are made.

 

Payments were made to protect our forces and to maintain the good relationship between local populations and our soldiers.

 

I can now tell you the Inquiry Officer concluded there was no evidence to support a finding that the SOTG caused civilian casualties on January 5.  

 

In reaching this conclusion, the Inquiry Team gathered oral, documentary and physical evidence from Afghan, Australian and coalition sources. These sources included some of the injured civilians, their family members, the Afghan Provincial Governor and his Chief of Police.

 

The Inquiry Team also sent shrapnel removed from one of the injured and a mortar round from the same batch fired by the SOTG on January 5 back to Australia for scientific comparative testing.

 

Let me tell you about the tactical environment at the time of the alleged incident.

 

The SOTG had been involved in an operation in the Baluchi Valley which was aimed at disrupting Taliban insurgent networks by targeting local Taliban leadership. The key target was an important insurgent commander who was prominent in coordinating and controlling numerous small arms and IED attacks against both Coalition and Afghan National Security Forces. The operation included the clearing and searching of two suspect compounds that were linked to the insurgent leader.

 

The SOTG were located in two adjacent compounds which had been cleared and searched earlier. As the morning progressed Taliban insurgents attempted to establish their position and engaged our forces with small arms fire. The intensity and frequency of the small arms fire increased over time, and groups of insurgents were identified moving around the SOTG position.

 

Critical to the context of the investigation is that our forces were being engaged from multiple directions and locations and found themselves in a complex, life-threatening situation.

 

The SOTG returned fire with small arms, mortars and a supporting aircraft was deployed in an attempt to disperse insurgent concentrations.

 

Up until the time the eight injured nationals presented at the ISAF patrol base, the SOTG had fired six mortar missions and employed one air-to-ground missile.

 

All of these missions were fired at clearly identified targets and were in accordance with Australian and ISAF targeting procedures. All but one of the mortar missions were fully observed by a SOTG member and no civilian casualties were evident.

 

The one exception was a mortar mission intended to have been observed by aerial means, targeting a group of insurgents that were actively coordinating the attacks against the SOTG. One of these insurgents was identified as the key insurgent commander our forces were targeting. 

 

The SOTG initially engaged the insurgent group with an air-to-ground missile as they moved down a track. The missile strike was followed immediately with a mortar mission.  While the missile strike and the area surrounding it were viewed by aerial means, the impact of this mortar fire was not.

 

Due to the lack of aerial observation, the possibility that civilian injuries may have been caused by this mission cannot be completely excluded.

 

While the SOTG employed indirect fire discriminately and followed Australian and ISAF targeting procedures, the Taliban insurgents did not. On two occasions the Taliban employed indirect fire against the SOTG with no apparent regard for potential civilian casualties.

 

In particular, at around 10am the insurgents engaged the SOTG position with an airburst rocket propelled grenade and with one high explosive free flight rocket. Both of these rounds missed the SOTG, passed overhead and detonated well to the rear of their position, in the vicinity of civilian compounds.  It appeared that the RPG detonated in the air over the compounds.  It is not known if the compounds were occupied at the time, but evidence indicated that there were civilians in that location earlier that morning.

 

The Inquiry Officer also concluded that given that several insurgents were killed on January 5 and funeral activities were observed on January 6, it is clear that deaths occurred in the vicinity of SOTG operations. However, no firm conclusion can be reached as to whether they were Taliban insurgent combatants or civilians, or both.

 

However, it should be noted that the scientific analysis of the shrapnel recovered from one of the injured determined that it was not from an exploding mortar round used by the SOTG.

 

In relation to the conduct of the indirect fire missions by SOTG on January 5, the Inquiry Officer found:

 

All of the seven indirect fire missions that SOTG were involved in from midnight to 1:30pm on January 5 were conducted in accordance with the applicable ADF and ISAF targeting procedures.

 

Six of the seven indirect fire missions were conducted in accordance with applicable ADF Rules Of Engagement. Mission five fell short of the ADF Rules Of Engagement requirements as the mortar rounds were not observed.

 

Nevertheless, the Inquiry Officer said he was satisfied that there was no culpable breach of the Rules Of Engagement as the observer’s intention was to observe the mortar fire.

 

He found that due to a misunderstanding in relation to indirect fire terminology, mission five could have been better executed, if indeed it needed to be executed at all. The Inquiry Officer also found that those involved were trained to call in indirect fire, however, they were not qualified observers.

 

As a result, he recommended a review of current and future force structures which include mortar assets to ensure there are sufficient qualified observers to use them more effectively in combat.

 

The Inquiry Officer also found that were no other shortcomings in Defence actions or decisions, and recommended that no adverse action should be taken against any member.

 

Lieutenant General Mark Evans has accepted the Inquiry Officer’s findings and recommendations and is in the process of implementing them.

 

Other Civilian Casualty Incidents:

 

I will now update you on the findings of two inquiries into other operational incidents that Defence has previously announced.

 

Firstly, Defence has completed an assessment in light of accusations contained in recent media reporting of possible ADF involvement in an incident which resulted in the death or injury of members of Mr Abdul Khaliq’s family on July 5 2006.

 

The assessment included a review of available operational reporting and a review of the investigation conducted by the United States into these claims.

 

The assessment found that there is no evidence, nor any suggestion or indication that such evidence may exist, to support media reporting that Australian Special Forces were involved in the incident.

 

In regards to the second inquiry, last December a Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force patrol, supporting Afghan National Army operations in Oruzgan province, was forced to use lethal force during an incident in which a man approached a patrol with a suspicious wire leading across his body. He was signalled to stop and told to stop walking towards the patrol by MRTF members and through an interpreter. His actions in failing to comply with these directions were considered a threat to the soldiers and the man was fired upon and killed.

 

A review of the operational circumstances found that the man behaved and appeared in a manner that was consistent with intelligence reporting of a suicide bomber that was planning an attack. The MRTF patrol had been involved in a combat operation the previous day and an IED had exploded in the vicinity of the patrol. The review officer found that the MRTF patrol had acted appropriately, in accordance with the threat and within their Rules of Engagement.

 

As you would be aware a number of other inquiries are being conducted by Defence. They remain ongoing.

 

I stress, however, that I regard the completion of theses inquiries as a high priority and I assure you that I will make the findings available to you soon as I can.

 

I am now happy to take your questions.

 

 

Media contact:

Defence Media Liaison: 02 6265 3343 or 0408 498 664