(BUGLER PLAYS THE LAST POST)
AMAL WEHBE: From Africa to the Western Front to Vietnam,
Australians have served in many places and in many conflicts.
But the longest war was in Afghanistan,
a conflict that has spanned nearly two decades,
kept families apart and cost more than 40 Australian lives.
Afghanistan is here in Central Asia.
It's a country of mountains and deserts with a rich history.
For part of the 20th century,
it was a peaceful and prosperous place.
But in the late '70s,
the country was torn apart by political unrest,
violence and civil wars that lasted decades.
In the '90s, a group called the Taliban began to gain more power.
They were an extremist Islamic group
who tried to control many aspects of people's lives,
from banning the flying of kites
to stopping girls from going to school.
The Taliban killed many people in Afghanistan,
but it wasn't until 2001 that other countries became involved.
On September 11, 2001, a group called al-Qaeda carried out
the biggest terrorist attack in history against the US.
We will find those who did it and we'll bring them to justice.
(SPEAKS IN ARABIC)
Al-Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden, wasn't from Afghanistan,
but he trained there,
and the Taliban was protecting him and other terrorists.
On my orders,
the United States military has begun strikes
against al-Qaeda terrorist training camps
and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
It wasn't just the US against the Taliban.
Its allies, including Australia, the UK,
and other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,
or NATO,
joined the Afghan army in fighting against the extremists.
But it was difficult and dangerous.
More than 2,300 US soldiers,
along with hundreds of their allies, died,
and many more were physically and mentally injured.
Many innocent Afghan people were also killed,
and the US and some of its allies
have been accused of committing war crimes.
A recent investigation has found 19 Australian defence workers
illegally killed people in Afghanistan.
But the Australian government says most did the right thing
and Australian soldiers did a lot of good,
from building roads and schools to training Afghan soldiers
to protect their country,
which held its first election in 2005.
In 2011, the US captured and killed Osama bin Laden.
Good evening.
Tonight, I can report to the American people
and to the world
that the United States has conducted an operation
that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda.
By 2013, Australian soldiers
were no longer fighting against the Taliban,
but that wasn't the end of our involvement in Afghanistan.
Since then, a small number of soldiers
have been working alongside the US and NATO
to support the Afghan army.
But the new US president has announced
that will soon come to an end.
I've concluded that it's time to end America's longest war.
The last 13,000 American troops
will leave Afghanistan by September 11,
20 years after the terrorist attack that started the war.
And Australian soldiers will be coming home too.
But back in Afghanistan,
some are worried about what this means for their future.
The country has taken some big steps forward.
It now has a free media, fairly elected leader,
girls can go to school and women can work.
But the Taliban is still in control in parts of the country,
and some are worried about what will happen
if they become more powerful.
While Afghanistan's future is far from certain,
here in Australia, many are happy to see our longest war
finally come to an end.