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FM AMEMBASSY CANBERRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2456
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBN/AMCONSUL MELBOURNE PRIORITY 6856
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH PRIORITY 5120
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY PRIORITY 5125
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUHEMAB/PACOM CCP  PRIORITY
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CANBERRA 001119 
 
SIPDIS 
NOFORN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS AS AF
SUBJECT: AS POLICE PLAN THEIR "SURGE" IN AFGHANISTAN, UNION 
TAKES AIM AT RUDD 
 
REF: CANBERRA 1103 
 
CANBERRA 00001119  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Acting Pol/Econ Conselor Forest Yang for reasons 1.4(b)( 
d) 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (C/NF) Summary:  The Australian Federal Police (AFP) 
union has been loudly critical of Prime Minister Rudd,s 
plans to increase Australia,s police presence in 
Afghanistan, and has vowed to fight any "significant" 
expansion of the AFP commitment.  Officials predicted that 
between 10 and 20 new officers will be assigned and the AFP's 
focus will shift training Afghan police.  A final decision on 
the size of the police effort is expected in February.  While 
some AFP officials are dismissive of the union's saber 
rattling, Rudd will be sensitive to the public criticism.  A 
greater AFP role in Afghanistan is inevitable, but the 
government may limit the size of the increase to avoid a 
public confrontation with the union.  END SUMMARY. 
 
10 to 20 Additional Officers to Afghanistan 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C/NF) During a recent visit to Washington, Prime 
Minister Kevin Rudd announced that Australia would expand the 
Australian Federal Police (AFP) effort in Afghanistan as part 
of a broader civilian surge.  The announcement came as Rudd 
reaffirmed that he does not plan to increase the Australian 
military commitment.  Planning of the civilian effort has 
gone slower than expected, but Special Envoy for Afghanistan 
and Pakistan Ric Smith told us that he expects it will 
include between 10 and 20 more AFP officers (reftel).  The 
plan is being worked out at the Cabinet level and will likely 
be finalized in February. 
 
¶3.  (C/NF) The AFP plans to focus more on police training in 
Oruzgan province and shut down its counternarcotics programs. 
 There are currently 22 AFP officers serving in Afghanistan. 
Ten of these officers are training Afghan police in Oruzgan 
province, with the rest engaged in broader counternarcotics 
efforts.  National Manager of the AFP's International 
Deployment Group Frank Prendergast, who overseas deployments 
to Afghanistan, said Rudd has asked that the AFP focus more 
on Oruzgan, where the bulk of the Australian military forces 
in Afghanistan are deployed.  Prendergast says this will mean 
closing down the AFP's counternarcotics program and ramping 
up police training efforts in Oruzgan. 
 
¶4.  (C/NF) Officials are skeptical of how successful a police 
training program in Afghanistan will be.  Smith questioned 
what AFP trainers would be able to accomplish given the 
"train wreck" that they had been given to work with in the 
Afghan National Police.  Even Prendergast, who was generally 
optimistic about AFP efforts in Afghanistan, noted that the 
odds were stacked against success.  Current training programs 
are hampered by illiteracy, corruption, drug addiction and 
insurgent penetration within the pool of trainees. 
Prendergast also said that for the time being the government 
has ruled out running any AFP programs "outside the wire" due 
to security concerns.  This places major limits on what the 
AFP can be expected to accomplish.  He believes that a 
successful police training program will take 20 years to be 
effective in Afghanistan. 
 
Police Union Will Fight "Significant" Expansion 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
Q 
¶5.  (C/NF) Rudd's announcement has drawn harsh public 
criticism from the Australian Federal Police Association 
(AFPA), the AFP's union.  AFPA CEO Jim Torr criticized Rudd 
for playing politics with the AFP in a statement that was 
widely reported in the media.  He believed that Rudd's pledge 
to expand the AFP presence as a convenient alternative to 
sending more military forces, which Rudd has publically ruled 
out.  Approximately 10 to 15 percent of AFP officers are 
currently deployed overseas in various capacities.  The AFPA 
asserts that this is approaching the point where domestic 
policing duties will begin to suffer unless new officers, 
promised by the Rudd government prior to coming to power, are 
hired.  Torr also said that security and training for AFP 
officers deployed to Afghanistan has been inadequate. 
 
CANBERRA 00001119  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6.  (C/NF) The AFPA is prepared to fight any "significant" 
increase in AFP personnel in Afghanistan, though Torr 
declined to quantify what he would consider significant.  If 
the government's plan involves an unacceptable increase, the 
AFPA will "dig in its heels."  At the extreme end, the AFPA 
would order its members to boycott Afghan missions, which are 
currently assigned on a volunteer basis.  Torr claims that 
since making his public comments he has received universal 
support from the union's membership.  He is furious that they 
have yet to be consulted by the government on the proposed 
Afghan deployments, but indicated that he would be willing to 
seek out a compromise position with the government. 
 
AFP Brass Dismissive 
-------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C/NF) A clearly irritated Prendergast dismissed Torr's 
statements as "rubbish," believing it was simply an effort to 
draw attention to the union.  He brushed aside claims that 
there was any mass discontent within the AFP, noting that 
there has never been a lack of volunteers to serve in 
Afghanistan.  Prendergast also rejected worries that 
international deployments were affecting the ADF's domestic 
responsibilities.  He did not have any plans to consult with 
the AFPA prior to the rollout of the additional Afghan 
deployments, but acknowledged that some within to government 
were concerned about being criticized by the police union. 
 
¶8.  (C/NF) COMMENT: The government was caught off guard by 
the AFPA's strong reaction to what was thought to be a less 
controversial alternative to troop increases.  While a 
boycott of Afghanistan assignments is highly unlikely, 
criticism from the police union will not sit well with Rudd, 
who is very sensitive to public opinion about the Australian 
effort in Afghanistan.  The AFP surge in Afghanistan will 
move forward, but there will be pressure to reach some kind 
of accommodation with the AFPA if only to avoid another round 
of negative media coverage.  END COMMENT. 
 
CLUNE