Terror threat 'closer than you think'

AUSTRALIANS are unaware of the many "near misses" from terrorist attacks, and a premature withdrawal from Afghanistan will only increase the threat, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has warned.

The former prime minister today said Australia would stay the course in the conflict, as a parliamentary debate on the war resumed.

And, in a warning of the scale of the threat, he said reports had put the number of post-September 11 terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists around the world at about 18,000 - many by people trained in Afghanistan.

Australian forces first entered Afghanistan in 2001 following the September 11 attacks, and redeployed in September 2005. The conflict has cost the lives of 21 soldiers with another 152 wounded.

"Of course, there have been many near misses," Mr Rudd said.

"In fact, many more than the general public is ever likely to know.

"The problem is the success of effective counter-terrorism strategy is much harder to recognise than its failure."

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop backed her counterpart's sentiments, warning the war-torn country must never again be allowed to become a haven for terrorists.

"Even before coalition forces entered Afghanistan on the 7th of October 2001, some 2977 innocent civilians, including 11 Australians had been killed in New York and Washington," she said.

Ms Bishop urged the government not to set a timeline for the withdrawal of Australian troops, warning doing so would only embolden the Taliban.

"It is vital that the Australian government not set artificial timelines for the withdrawal of troops. The Taliban would use any such timeline regardless of how far into the future to promote its cause among the Afghan people," Ms Bishop said.

Labor and the coalition officially support the war.

But at least one Labor MP has now broken ranks with party policy, voicing support for a Greens call for the parliament rather than the executive of the government to decide whether troops are sent overseas.

Labor's Kelvin Thomson this morning said he was supportive of the concept behind the Greens' move, but would wait to see the detail of the legislation when it is introduced in the lower house.

"It's something the parliament should have control of, other than in the case of direct attack," he said.

"In the multitude of counsellors, there is wisdom."

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has rejected the proposal, which would require both houses of parliament to approve the deployment of troops to overseas conflicts.

"The only justification for going to war is self defence," Mr Thomson said.

But Attorney-General Robert McClelland, charged with overseeing the nation's intelligence services, and a member of the national security committee of cabinet, said Australians had been directly affected by attacks from terrorists trained in Afghanistan.

"In light of this terrible history, no responsible government could disregard the clear links between these horrific acts, attacks against Australian citizens, and terrorist safe havens in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan," he told parliament.

He warned there would be an even heavier price paid by the international community if Afghanistan was abandoned.

"There is a saying that, each time history repeats itself, the price goes up. In September 2001, the world witnessed the consequences of allowing Afghanistan to fester as a failed state.

"Neither Australia nor the international community can afford to make that mistake again."