””””CANBERRA, Jan. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard on
Thursday argued for his decision to send troops to the Middle East, according to
the Australian Associated Press.
””””Speaking to the John Laws radio program in Sydney, Howard claimed his
decision was fair for the troops who may take part in a war against Iraq. "I
don't think it's fair to the troops to expect them at the last minute, if we
were to decide to send them,as part of the UN force or hypothetically in any
circumstances, not to have pre-positioned them is unfair to them because they're
not fully acclimatized and they're not fully ready," he asserted.
””””The prime minister put himself on a defensive place, saying "You can always
bring the troops home if you decide not to take theaction. If you decide to take
the action and the troops are not there, weeks, months can go by and a lot of
circumstances can change before anything happens."
””””Howard described the military build-up as a pressure on Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein to destroy his weapons of mass destruction, and as a result, to
avoid any action. "You are far more likely to get a diplomatic or peaceful
outcome if the world community indicates a willingness to take as a last resort
military action in the event that Iraq does not comply with the United Nations
resolutions," he said.
””””According to the report, Howard released he talked to US President George
W. Bush last night for about 35 minutes about thesituation in Iraq and North
Korea and told the US president he believed the UN weapons inspectors should be
given more time aftertheir January 27 reporting date.
””””"I put it to him from Australia's point of view the UN processshould be
followed as fully as the circumstances would allow," Howard was quoted as
saying.
””””However, he refused to say if Australian troops would be removed from the
region if the UN failed to back a war against Iraq. "Until we know the final
working out of this situation I can't answer that question," he said, adding
"You may end up with a UN outcome that is not black or white."
””””On Thursday morning Howard along with Governor-General Peter Hollingworth
and defense chief General Peter Cosgrove farewelled in Sydney about 350 military
personnel on the logistic landing ship HMAS Kanimbla to the Persian Gulf.
””””Howard's statement was made when anti-war sentiment was getting high in
Australia. A poll released Tuesday found 61 percent of Australians were opposed
to Australian involvement in any military action without UN approval. The figure
was up 8 percent on a similar poll in October. All parties not in office oppose
the government's stance.
””””More than 150 anti-war protesters converged outside the naval harbor
Sydney's Garden Island to voice opposition to the deployment of troops to the
Persian Gulf. Enditem
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