A leading academic has told SBS he thinks is it unlikely the Afghan army will be ready to take over security as quickly as the government would like.
Professor William Maley, Foundation Director of the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy, sounded a warning for proponents of an Australian withdrawal.
The Greens and independents, he said, must 'reflect very carefully on what negative outcomes could result from a precipitave withdrawal on foreign forces from Afghanistan'.
They should do so with consideration for the Afghan people, he said, but also in terms of the wider security of South Asia, where in India and Pakistan, there are two nuclear states.
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He says having foreign forces present can play a constructive role, and he hopes for a mature debate that comes to terms with the complexities of the debate in parliament.
Maley added that there is also a need for the international community to take a firmer stand on electoral fraud.
