Dutton holds off on Aussie help for Afghans fleeing Kabul hell
Australia won’t send planes into Afghanistan’s Kabul airport while it’s engulfed by chaos as people attempt to flee the Taliban.
Videos have emerged of people swarming Kabul’s airport to try and get on military evacuation flights.
Footage has shown people clinging to planes taking off, with some seen falling to their deaths.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton says the Australian military is preparing to assist evacuations from Afghanistan but will not land for now at Kabul airport where there have been chaotic scenes as the Taliban approaches.
Hundreds of Afghans ran alongside a US military plane, some clinging to its side, as it taxied on a runway at Kabul’s airport in a desperate bid to flee the Taliban-controlled capital, video showed.
Local media reported that some people who had clung to the outside of the plane plunged to their deaths after it took off.
Dutton told Nine News that last week he authorised the Australian Defence Force to make plans to predeploy equipment and troops to assist in evacuating Australians and others “but we won’t be landing into Kabul in these circumstances”
He said the government had been criticised for previously removing its embassy staff from Kabul but that was the right decision to make.
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Dutton said the government would assist Australians working with NGOs or who are contractors, or who might be dual nationals, who had decided to stay in Afghanistan “but that will take some time”.
Australian forces would work form a secure base in the United Arab Emirates with the Americans and others “to make a very difficult, a tragic situation as best as it can be,” he said.
In a televised address on Monday afternoon, US President Biden said he did not regret his decision, insisting he had had to decide between asking US forces to fight endlessly in what he called Afghanistan’s civil war or follow through on an agreement to depart negotiated by Republican former president Donald Trump.
“I know my decision will be criticised but I would rather take all that criticism than pass this decision on to another president of the United States,” Biden said.
Dutton said he had no issue with the way the US administration had handled the withdrawal.
“They’re either dammed if they’re in place and they’re damned if they withdraw,” he said.
“We would have, I think, suffered multiple terrorist attacks of a significant scale had we not gone into Afghanistan 20 years ago. It was always going to be a difficult departure.”
Allied troops who served in Afghanistan should be proud of their service, Dutton said.
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“As President Biden pointed out, if people aren’t prepared to fight their own country, it is very hard for the US to fight for it.
“You could stay in Afghanistan for another 20 years, another 100 years and you may or may not see peace.”
Dutton said the surprising factor was the rate at which the country was overtaken by the Taliban.
Since April, hundreds of locally engaged Afghans and their families had been brought to Australia, with more expected to be evacuated in coming weeks.
More than 250 Australian defence personnel will be deployed to Afghanistan to support three RAAF aircraft to evacuate citizens and visa holders under a US-led operation.
The US sent about 3000 extra troops to evacuate embassy staff and others as the capital fell.
The UK also said it was deploying troops to help British nationals and local translators flee.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison met with national security ministers on Monday to discuss the next steps.
“As in any crisis situation, the Australian government’s priority is to ensure the safety of its citizens,” Morrison said in a statement.
“We have over 130 Australians in Afghanistan, working in the UN, non-government organisations, and elsewhere, and we are working to bring them and their families home.
“We are also assisting those who have been granted humanitarian visas, and others who are in the process of applying for protection.
“Those preparing to leave the country must be able to do so without threat or hindrance. We will continue to work with key partners in the days ahead to enable this safe passage,” he said.
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