Australian commandos may already be active in covert operations with US and British troops in Afghanistan, Defense Minister Peter Reith said Sunday.
Reith refused to say whether Australian SAS (Special Air Service) troops were already in Afghanistan but he said they were attached to American or British units and could be deployed with them.
"We are already providing a ship in the Persian Gulf, which is not directly associated but obviously frees up capability there," Reith told Channel Nine TV.
"We also do have very close intelligence relationship [with the United States] and ... we are assisting already and we have people already on exchange.
"It's not a question of are we going to be helping. The fact of the matter is we are already helping," Reith said.
American and British special forces troops were reported to be already carrying out reconnaissance missions inside Afghanistan in the hunt for terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden.
Reith said Prime Minister John Howard had spoken to US President George W. Bush this weekend and Chief of the Defense Force Admiral Chris Barrie was in Washington.
"Quite frankly there is a lot going on in the security and intelligence area and for very sensible reasons the government is muted in its public statements," he added -- SYDNEY (AFP)
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