Green Party Defence spokesperson Keith Locke welcomed the Government review of its Afghanistan policy which will look at whether or not to accept a request to send SAS troops to Afghanistan.

Yesterday, while discussing sending Special Forces to Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Murray McCully raised concerns about New Zealand’s capacity to react to trouble spots in the Pacific should the SAS be deployed to Afghanistan.

Today the Prime Minister pointed out that any deployment of Special Forces would depend on whether there was an exit strategy in place for Afghanistan.

"It is good the Government is not rushing into any decision to send our Special Forces back to Afghanistan," said Mr Locke.

"The Green Party recognises that our peacekeepers in Bamian province are doing a good job, and are respected by the local Hazara people.

"By contrast the United States and British-led war effort seems to have de-stabilised much of the south of the country and helped the Taliban recruit more fighters."

Many raids by Western-led forces end up killing innocent civilians. Accurate figures regarding the number of civilians killed, maimed or injured in the fighting are hard to come by.

However, according to a 2008 report from the International Red Cross, the number of war wounded civilians and combatants had increased by over 50% from the previous year.

"The Green Party welcomes a wide-ranging review as to what we can do to help the Afghan people.

"The Green Party also welcomes the new attention given by Western nations to reconciliation efforts between the Afghan factions," said Mr Locke.

The time frame for the Government to make a decision on whether or not to commit to further deployments to Afghanistan is likely to coincide with the Government's defence review which is due to be completed by August. The Green Party will be engaging with the Government to get the best outcome in the current review.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully talking about Afghanistan

2008 Red Cross report on Afghanistan