ID :
36423
Fri, 12/19/2008 - 05:54
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/36423
The shortlink copeid
Rudd makes quick trip to Afghanistan
(AAP) Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has made a surprise visit to Afghanistan to wish Australian troops a merry Christmas and to reassure them they are being thought of back home.
"We haven't forgotten, we know what's going on here," he told a gathering of troops
at the Tarin Kowt base, in the volatile Oruzgan province.
In a mission that was kept secret for security reasons until Mr Rudd had left
Afghanistan, Mr Rudd slipped out of Darwin on Tuesday afternoon, and flew overnight
to Abu Dhabi.
He flew into Afghanistan on Wednesday afternoon (AEDT), and spent about
two-and-a-half hours on the ground.
He arrived back in Abu Dhabi at about 3am on Thursday (AEDT).
As well as presenting troops with a cricket kit, he presided over three promotions,
saw an unmanned aerial drone being launched, toured a workshop where Australians
train locals to be tradesmen, and witnessed a display of firepower from a special
forces unit which trained heavy weapons fire on a hillside.
Mr Rudd told the troops that their mission of restraining al-Qaeda and the Taliban
was worthy and he reflected on the Australian deaths in Afghanistan, of which there
have now been seven.
"I've been to too many funerals and I don't like going," he said.
"But when we say goodbye to one of our own, the nation is united in a common purpose."
Mr Rudd empathised with the troops who will miss Christmas at home but spend it in
what he described as "a hell hole" and a "Godforsaken place" with "shitty weather".
"I'm going to go home and spend Christmas with my wife and three kids and you're
not," he said.
"The nation will be thinking of you this week."
Mr Rudd's visit, his second as prime minister, was dogged by wet and freezing
weather and nearly had to be cancelled.
Plans to fly from Abu Dhabi directly to the base at Tarin Kowt were aborted after
heavy rain made the dirt runway unserviceable.
The C-130 Hercules instead flew to the Kandahar airport, about 120km south of Tarin
Kowt, from where Mr Rudd and a much-diminished entourage were ferried by Dutch
Cougar helicopters to Tarin Kowt.
Australia has about 800 troops at the base, comprising mainly of a reconstruction
task force and a special forces unit.
Mr Rudd also planned to tour of the Australian warship the HMAS Parramatta which is
currently helping protect offshore Iraqi oil assets.
His visit comes hot on the heels of trips by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and
the US President George W Bush.
"We haven't forgotten, we know what's going on here," he told a gathering of troops
at the Tarin Kowt base, in the volatile Oruzgan province.
In a mission that was kept secret for security reasons until Mr Rudd had left
Afghanistan, Mr Rudd slipped out of Darwin on Tuesday afternoon, and flew overnight
to Abu Dhabi.
He flew into Afghanistan on Wednesday afternoon (AEDT), and spent about
two-and-a-half hours on the ground.
He arrived back in Abu Dhabi at about 3am on Thursday (AEDT).
As well as presenting troops with a cricket kit, he presided over three promotions,
saw an unmanned aerial drone being launched, toured a workshop where Australians
train locals to be tradesmen, and witnessed a display of firepower from a special
forces unit which trained heavy weapons fire on a hillside.
Mr Rudd told the troops that their mission of restraining al-Qaeda and the Taliban
was worthy and he reflected on the Australian deaths in Afghanistan, of which there
have now been seven.
"I've been to too many funerals and I don't like going," he said.
"But when we say goodbye to one of our own, the nation is united in a common purpose."
Mr Rudd empathised with the troops who will miss Christmas at home but spend it in
what he described as "a hell hole" and a "Godforsaken place" with "shitty weather".
"I'm going to go home and spend Christmas with my wife and three kids and you're
not," he said.
"The nation will be thinking of you this week."
Mr Rudd's visit, his second as prime minister, was dogged by wet and freezing
weather and nearly had to be cancelled.
Plans to fly from Abu Dhabi directly to the base at Tarin Kowt were aborted after
heavy rain made the dirt runway unserviceable.
The C-130 Hercules instead flew to the Kandahar airport, about 120km south of Tarin
Kowt, from where Mr Rudd and a much-diminished entourage were ferried by Dutch
Cougar helicopters to Tarin Kowt.
Australia has about 800 troops at the base, comprising mainly of a reconstruction
task force and a special forces unit.
Mr Rudd also planned to tour of the Australian warship the HMAS Parramatta which is
currently helping protect offshore Iraqi oil assets.
His visit comes hot on the heels of trips by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and
the US President George W Bush.
