NZ to leave Afghanistan earlier

New Zealand troops to leave Afghanistan sooner than scheduled

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says Wellington will pull out its troops from Afghanistan earlier than scheduled.

Press TV,

21 August, 2012

Key announced on Monday that it was "highly likely" that New Zealand would start to withdraw its 145-strong contingent by April 2013, about six months earlier than expected, Reuters reported.

Earlier on Monday, three New Zealand troops were killed in a roadside bomb attack on their convoy in central Afghanistan, raising the number of deaths the country suffered in Afghanistan in August to five.

"I want our boys and girls to come home and it's awful that we've lost them," Prime Minister Key said.

"But we are in this now and we've been in it for a long time and we have to make the exit in a considered way. We're not the sort of country that cuts and runs," he added.

On August 4, two New Zealand soldiers were killed and six others injured in the Bamyan province.

The increasing number of military casualties in Afghanistan has caused widespread anger in the United States and other NATO member states, undermining public support for the Afghan war.

Key, however, claimed that the accelerated timetable was not because of the five soldiers killed in the Bamyan province and growing unpopularity of the US-led war among voters.

According to the website icasualties.org, over 300 foreign troops, mostly US personnel, have lost their lives in Afghanistan so far this year.

A total of 566 US-led forces died in Afghanistan in 2011. However, 2010 remains the deadliest year for foreign military casualties, with a death toll of 711.

Insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan, despite the presence of about 130,000 US-led forces in the country. 

Killed soldier criticised PM's funeral no-show

One of the soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan at the weekend criticised the Prime Minister for not attending the funerals of two colleagues killed in an attack in the same region just weeks earlier.

Stuff,

21 August, 2012

Corporal Luke Tamatea, 31, from Kawarau, was killed on Sunday alongside medic Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker, 26, of Christchurch, and Private Richard Harris, 21, of Pukekohe, while serving in Bamiyan province.

The fatal blast occurred while they were travelling in a humvee transporting a fellow soldier to see a doctor.

The attack occurred just kilometres northwest of Do Abe, near where lance corporals Rory Malone and Pralli Durrer, both 26, were killed in a firefight on August 5.

A memorial service and funeral was held for both Malone and Durrer, which Prime Minister John Key said he had to make the "hard call" to miss because his son was playing baseball in the United States.

Just days before Tamatea's death, he took to his own Facebook page to criticise Key's decision, saying "If i was a leader of a country i would attend the funerals of our fallen soldiers..... i wouldnt be at a f****** baseball game!!"

The next day on August 10, he posted "Baseball..... i think i have a new sport i hate."

Key visited the families both Durrer and Malone and explained why he would not be there in person.

His son Max is a member if the New Zealand U-17 baseball team, and was part of the team representing the country for the first time at the Senior League World Series.

Key has confirmed he will attend the funerals of Tamatea, Baker and Harris even if it clashed with the upcoming Pacific Island Forum. The funerals will be held this Saturday however, just before the forum is due to start on Monday.

Key said he had huge respect for Corporal Tamatea and did not want to comment on his criticism.

"This was a very brave New Zealand soldier that lost his life in the defence of New Zealand. I have huge respect for him and I don't intend to engage in any other comments he might have made."

He would be speaking to the families of the dead soldiers this afternoon and arranging a time to see them.

Labour leader David Shearer said it was a personal decision for Key to make, but he was pleased the Prime Minister would be attending the funerals of the three soldiers who had died most recently