DEFENCE Afghanistan – Lessons to be learnt According to Opposition spokesperson for Defence and Veterans Chris Penk MP, New Zealand must learn lessons from Afghanistan if we are to respond properly to the moral and military challenges of the future.
Chris Penk MP is the Opposition Spokesperson for Defence and Veterans. He has served as an officer in both the Royal New Zealand Navy and Royal Australian Navy.
Let’s talk about Afghanistan. The security situation in that country has undergone such a dramatic transformation in the past several weeks that it’s probably unwise of me to record my thoughts on it now. After all, the next several weeks could yet register a further shift – as the situation is clearly not settled, as I write – that other lessons to be learnt may well overtake any that I offer now. On the other hand, some points feel so compelling that they simply must be made at the earliest opportunity. More importantly, though, a number of lives hang in the balance now. First, I want to emphasise my gratitude (and I hope the gratitude of every Member of Parliament) to the brave men and women of our New Zealand Defence Force who served in Afghanistan. I’m referring to all those who deployed these past two decades, including those most recently as part
of the evacuation mission, Operation Kōkako. On a similar, sombre note, I want to express my deep heartfelt sympathy to the families of the brave US soldiers and Afghan civilians who were killed during an attempted evacuation from Kabul Airport. I also want to pay tribute to those Afghanis who worked closely alongside the NZDF and the troops of our friends and allies, helping to make their country a safer and better place. The events of the past month have not decreased the significance of such service. Sadly, though, these events will inevitably have increased the prospect that the Taliban will seek to enact reprisals against these people. New Zealand owes a moral obligation to every such man, woman and child. This has been met in part – but by no means yet in full – by Operation Kōkako. The government, on our behalf, simply cannot turn its
Kabul at dawn.
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Line of Defence
