Australia sends troops back to Afghanistan

Sydney (dpa) - It's in the national interest to ensure democracy succeeds in Afghanistan, Prime Minister John Howard said Wednesday when bidding farewell to a fresh deployment of 190 Special Air Service (SAS) regiment troops.

"If the democratic experiment in Afghanistan fails then that's a huge victory for terrorism,'' Howard said on the day of their departure.

The fresh commitment comes in response to requests for troops from Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai and the governments in Washington and London.

The opposition Labor Party is backing the initiative, claiming Australia withdrew from Afghanistan too quickly when its troops were brought home in 2002 after the fall of the Taliban regime in Kabul.

Howard said the SAS troops were world-renowned and well-prepared. "They do a fantastic job, they are superbly trained, they are well-equipped, their morale is high and like true professional soldiers they're keen to go,'' the prime minister said.

"But it is a dangerous mission and there is a risk of casualties and I don't want to overlook that, I don't want to avoid saying that, but equally if training means anything in terms of preserving life and avoiding casualties then these blokes are the best trained in the world.'' dpa sa pw