PM Transcripts

Subjects: Australia';s involvement in the fight against terrorism
GRIMSHAW:
Prime Minister, good morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning, Tracy.
GRIMSHAW:
Our troops will face forbidding terrain, extreme weather conditions and an enemy, it would seem, completely unafraid to die. Do you concede that you might be sending Australians into an unwinnable war?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don';t believe it is unwinnable. I know it will be dangerous and I haven';t tried to hide that from the Australian people and I won';t try and hide that from the Australian people. But it is a battle and a struggle that Australia must be part of and Australia, along with other countries, has to win because if we don';t, you have to think of the alternative. I mean, remember that this is about a response to an unprovoked attack in which probably 5000 to 6000 people, including 22 or 23 Australians died. I mean, don';t forget that there were Australians in that World Trade Centre going about their business, doing offence to nobody, just living out their lives as you and I hope to do in a daily fashion and without any provocation and in a completely cold-blooded fashion they died. Now, that';s the kind of threat the world faces and it';s not just confined to the United States. And people who condemn what we have decided to do don';t answer the question - do they really imagine that if we do nothing this won';t happen again.
GRIMSHAW:
Prime Minister, exactly what is the objective of this campaign, is it to wipe out the Taliban, is it to capture Osama Bin Laden, is it to eradicate terrorism?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it is certainly to eradicate terrorism but it is primarily to bring to justice or otherwise eliminate Bin Laden and his terrorist cells. It is not a war against the people of Afghanistan and it is not a war against Islam but it is certainly targeted at terrorism not only in Afghanistan, but principally there, but also potentially in other parts of the world because the operations of Bin Laden, on all the evidence made available to me, is not confined to Afghanistan. But can I go back to the central point and that is that we are doing this because of the absolutely unprovoked, unforgivable character of the attack on the United States and an attack which claimed the lives of over 20 Australians as well.
GRIMSHAW:
Sure but I guess, to use a military term, what is our exit strategy? If Osama Bin Laden, for example, is captured do we come home because you referred yesterday to terrorist cells operating outside of Afghanistan, do our troops remain committed even if he';s caught?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, at the moment – and I said this yesterday – at the moment our commitment is in relation to Afghanistan. If the Americans said, look, we want to go somewhere else, well, that is something that we will have a look at and make a decision then in the light of the available evidence and the available circumstances. We do this bit by bit. The Australian forces will be under immediate Australian command. Obviously that Australian command will operate in discussion and consultation with the Americans who are in overall charge obviously because of their far greater commitment and their far greater capacity because of their sheer size and centrality to the whole issue but there will be a separate Australian command. And I haven';t, at any stage, said if the Americans say we want you to go somewhere else that there';s a blank cheque for that. We will make a decision on that if and when the circumstances arise.
GRIMSHAW:
You talked about Australians being under separate command. They';ll be under the command of Brigadier Ken Gillespie. If the Coalition, if the overall Coalition commander wants to send, say, Australian SAS troops on a suicide mission what power of veto will Brigadier Gillespie have?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we don';t allow Australian troops to go on what you literally describe as a suicide mission. No…
GRIMSHAW:
Let';s say a mission that he might technically or morally disagree with.
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I';m sorry, Tracy. Can we just please understand that we are talking about a very serious issue and I don';t really think, with respect, using an expression such as suicide mission…
GRIMSHAW:
I take it back. Let';s say a mission that he might disagree with, what power of veto does he have?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we decide, we decide what missions our people are going to be involved in, of course we do. That';s the whole idea of having a separate command. But clearly there';ll be cooperation and discussion and we';re not going into this operation on the basis that you quite literally pick and choose in relation to everything that we might do. We accept that we';re going in quite openly. We';re going in with a strong commitment. We preserve a separate national command. We will have our own rules of engagement and clearly we won';t just uncritically, without question, unconditionally, no if buts or maybe's, accept everything that we';re asked to do by the Americans. But please understand, the Americans are not insensitive to the sanctity of human life and the difficulties that these men will face. They don';t want to take casualties any more than we do. I mean, people shouldn';t assume that the Americans are going to be insensitive to our people let alone their own.
GRIMSHAW:
Prime Minister, experts have suggested that with East er, experts have suggested that with East Timor, coastal security and our other defence commitments we will be stretched to the limit, is that the case?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we can manage this contribution. That';s the advice I have. And I';m not a soldier, I';m not a military expert. I have to rely on the advice of our service chiefs and they have told me that we can manage this. It is a big commitment for a nation of our size but it is a commitment that we can deliver on.
GRIMSHAW:
Okay, thank you for your time this morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
You';re very welcome. Thank you.
[Ends]