# Australia Says It May Send More Troops to Afghanistan



## GAP (22 Feb 2007)

Australia Says It May Send More Troops to Afghanistan  (Update1) 
By Gemma Daley and Ed JohnsonFeb. 22 (Bloomberg)
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Australia may deploy more troops in Afghanistan to help the North Atlantic Treaty Organization battle Taliban insurgents and is sending a team to evaluate requirements, Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said today. 

Australians shouldn't be surprised ``if we did decide we need to increase our numbers there,'' Nelson told Sydney Radio 2UE. He declined to comment on a report in the Australian newspaper that the national security cabinet will next month approve doubling the size of the contingent. 

Australia has 550 soldiers in Afghanistan, including 110 personnel belonging to a CH-47 Chinook helicopter detachment that provides logistical support to coalition partners, according to the Defense Department's Web Site. 

NATO expects a renewed offensive by insurgents in coming months and has appealed to allies to commit more troops and resources. The future of Italy's 1,800-strong contingent in Afghanistan could be in doubt after lawmakers yesterday failed to back a motion supporting Italian participation in the NATO mission, prompting Prime Minister Romano Prodi to resign. 

Prodi has been under pressure from the Green Party and the Party of Italian Communists to draft an exit strategy for the troops in Kabul and Herat. 
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