New Zealand has a small military -- by U.S. standards, at least. But its contingent in Afghanistan, which I recently visited, has been heavily engaged in a complex reconstruction and security mission in north-central Bamiyan Province.
Now it looks as if New Zealand will be contributing members of its elite counterterror and special operations troops -- and scaling back on the reconstruction mission. A few days ago, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced that he would send a contingent from the country's elite Special Air Service, the first such deployment for the unit since 2005.
The unit won praise for its performance in Afghanistan -- and SAS Corporal Willie Apiata won a Victoria Cross for his actions there. But New Zealand's commitment to the mission has proven politically controversial. Critics in New Zealand have suggested that the current government is deploying these troops to curry favor with Washington. But as media commentator Bill Ralston noted, it's hard for the Kiwis to refuse: The SAS, he writes, "is regarded as a serious frontline addition to US and Nato strike-power against the Taliban and Al Qaeda."
Controversy over troop contributions to the NATO force in Afghanistan are not unique to New Zealand. They mirror similar debates taking place in Britain, Canada and Germany. In Iraq, the multi-national coalition gradually dwindled to one player: The United States. It's not implausible to imagine a similar scenario someday in Afghanistan.
[PHOTO: Nathan Hodge]
See Also:
