Australian forces to remain in Afghanistan

Australia says the death of Osama bin Laden will not speed up the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said Monday that Australian forces deployed in the southern province of Uruzgan will "stay the course until our mission is complete."
He said Australia respected the timetable of President Hamid Karzai, under which Afghan forces are due to take charge of security by 2014. Rudd said: "We are well on track toward achieving that. We see no change as a result of the events of the last 24 hours." Rudd was speaking after talks at the State Department with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.